Bachelor contestant Zoe-Clare McDonald who claimed discrimination over red hair was once blonde

She’s grabbed headlines as the poster girl for redhead rights after a bizarre rant on The Bachelor but it seems Zoe-Clare McDonald was not always so proud to be ginger.

In one of the weirdest moments from last night’s season premiere, McDonald offered a rambling — and slightly slurred — defence of rangas everywhere in an emotional all lives matter-style speech.

But eagle-eyed fans of the show have unearthed photos on social media that show McDonald was in fact once a blonde — a dye job that appears to contradict her bold statements.

Along with the usual glitz and glamour, and the obligatory alcohol-fuelled cocktail party, producers delivered arguably the most outlandish bachie villain ever in 23-year-old McDonald who felt she had been discriminated against for having red hair.

In a tearful piece to camera, she told producers that her flaming locks were “not going anywhere”.

“What’s wrong with a ranga? Do you want me to dye my hair every 10 seconds because you don’t like my colour? I’m so sorry, but this is natural guys,” she said.

The drama began when the firey redhead controversially called out Areeba Emmanuel, who she dubbed “abracadabra”, after Emmanuel gate crashed her alone-time with Bachelor hunk Locky Gilbert.

“(It) was so disrespectful for me as a woman,” McDonald declared. The other Bachelorette’s called “third-wheeling at its finest”.

McDonald felt that rather than it being the result of Emmanuel — one of the few people of colour featured in the franchise — marking her territory, she was instead targeted for being the “only redhead”.

“That’s exactly why Areeba is targeting me, it’s the red hair. It’s just ... not appropriate,” she said.

“I don’t care if you are black, white, caramel whatever, ranga, I want to be here to be like, we can win, we can win because I'm not blonde, I'm not brunette, I'm not anything other than what I am.

“I don’t want to go through this experience being different because, this sound so stupid, but the colour of my god damn hair, and that sucks, it’s the colour of my complexion.

“No one has my hair, my bone structure, my body...but you are still different, you are still a f...... ranga at the end of the day...and that sucks because they think no matter what it’s fine, she’s different.

“Did Areeba do it to any of the blonde girls?”

But eagle-eyed fans of the show have unearthed photos on social media that show McDonald was in fact once a blonde — a dye job that appears to contradict her bold statements.

When a producer then asked McDonald if any of the other women had made comments about her hair to prompt her emotional response, to which she replied “no”.

McDonald was then too “ill” to be present for the very first rose ceremony, but managed to snag a rose from Gilbert despite her curious absence.