While the season started with its most diverse cast yet, critics complained that a failure to flesh out the lives of characters of color left diversity mostly as a matter of optics and token representation. The 2021 season stars Matt James, whose pedigree as a biracial Christian and former college athlete who says his dating preferences are not “race-specific” qualify him for the same exceptional blackness that Rachel Lindsay was afforded because of her colorblind philosophy. There is no hierarchy of racism where only the most bigoted and intentional acts count. And the franchise hired producers, crew members and a diversity consultant of color behind the scenes that same year, setting the stage for the first Black Bachelor to close the circle of the program’s racially problematic history.
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The series even doubled down on atoning for its homogenous casting with a Black Latina Bachelorette, Tayshia Adams, added as a mid-season replacement in the 2020 season. Even if she ended up with a white man, Lindsay was still a proud Black woman, and the show took pains not to hide that fact. Surely the producers felt they could no longer be accused of racism after having a Black protagonist and allowing her to confront a racist contestant during the season’s after-show. His outspoken and obvious attempts to provoke Black men and then claim a lack of malicious intent shifted the focus away from the show’s historical and structural racism and toward Garrett’s individual acts. Contestant Lee Garrett, the resident race-baiter, was used as a scapegoat for the franchise’s larger issues with racism. While Rachel got her canonical (and interracial) happy ending, the season was contentious.
This is no secret to fans of the franchise, which took nearly 15 years to have its first Black lead and only recently began casting contestants of color with any chance of being chosen. In 2017, the franchise made its first full-fledged attempt at progress with its highly publicized, first-ever Black Bachelorette, Rachel Lindsay, a lawyer whose upper-class background and mixed-race family was highlighted during the penultimate episode of her season. In the meantime, ET has learned, producers are still focused on casting celebrity guest hosts for Bachelor in Paradise, as it's set to begin filming later this month.The Bachelor franchise has long had a race problem. Earlier this month, a source told ET that David Spade and other guest hosts will lead the upcoming season of Bachelor in Paradise.Īs for Michelle Young's season of The Bachelorette, ET has learned that there are no decisions yet on who will host. We are thankful for his many contributions over the past 20 years and wish him all the best on his new journey."Īlong with Bristowe, Tayshia Adams is currently hosting Katie Thurston's season of The Bachelorette in Harrison's absence. In a statement to ET on behalf of The Bachelor franchise, Warner Horizon and ABC Entertainment said, "Chris Harrison is stepping aside as host of The Bachelor franchise. Both Harrison and Kirkconnell have apologized. Harrison was with the franchise for nearly two decades, but stepped away from it in February after he defended eventual Bachelor winner Rachael Kirkconnell's past racist actions.
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