Dates set in opulent, lily-white environments like luxury resorts have got to end, along with the materialism that makes so many adventures on the show feel like a journey through the world of upper-middle class white folks. Casting a wider diversity of people won't make much difference if they're expected to act just like the white people who have dominated the show for so many years. This goes beyond casting more non-white people on the show. The show can't be centered on white, upper-middle-class sensibilities anymore. "This is just the beginning, and we will continue to take action with regard to diversity issues on this franchise."īeyond the obvious stuff like "don't stereotype the star as an angry black man" and "hire more non-white producers behind the scenes with power," here are my recommendations to ABC and Fleiss on what still needs to happen for The Bachelor to address its problems with race: "We know we have a responsibility to make sure the love stories we're seeing onscreen are representative of the world we live in, and we are proudly in service to our audience," said ABC entertainment president Karey Burke in a statement.
#AUTHENTIC MAN PROGRAM CRITICISM TV#
Still, since the Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise often recycles stars from contestants on previous shows, sometimes almost winning is better for someone's reality TV career than actually getting picked as a mate.) (I guess we know who isn't winning this season of The Bachelorette. Now, as the show faces renewed pressure to improve its diversity track record, it names as its new star, James - a 28-year-old real estate broker who was part of this season of The Bachelorette, which paused production due to the coronavirus pandemic. Their contention was that the show deliberately excluded and diminished potential contestants of color a judge ruled that, even if they were right, the show had a First Amendment right to cast who they wanted. Galavis was named just two years after two black men who had tried out for The Bachelor and failed to make the cast sued the show for racial discrimination. But the show didn't cast a non-white Bachelor until 2014 Juan Pablo Galavis, a soccer star of Venezuelan heritage who looked an awful lot like the well-scrubbed white guys often featured on the show and had been eliminated early as a choice on The Bachelorette in 2013. The Bachelorette, a spin-off which puts a woman in the choosing position, debuted in 2003.
The Bachelor, featuring a single man choosing a mate from about two dozen aspiring women, debuted in 2002. The biggest question hanging over this moment is simple: Why did it take so long? Given how other highly criticized shows like Cops and Live PD were vaporized in the wake of current debates about police brutality and racism, it feels a bit convenient that ABC and Bachelor/Bachelorette executive producer Mike Fleiss is taking this step now. Rachel Lindsay, cast as The Bachelorette's first black female lead back in 2017, has criticized the show for its lack of diversity and wrote a column with suggestions for making it better. A petition on started 5 days ago - asking for a black bachelor, for 35 percent of the show's contestants to be people of color, and for participants to be screened for past racist behavior, among other things - has more than 85,000 signatures and counting. That's why this announcement, delivered with fanfare on ABC's breakfast-time news show Good Morning America, hit like a thunderclap at a crucial time for the franchise. It is a princess fantasy, built around the idea of a woman finding fulfillment by landing the perfect man, filtered through an upper-middle class, predominantly white lens. My longtime criticism of the Bachelor franchise speaks to the heart of the show's design. But its challenge in dismantling the show's racist and sexist elements has only begun. Matt James, who was a prospective suitor on The Bachelorette, will take on the role of The Bachelor in the show's 25th season.ĪBC may believe it has faced down some criticism by naming Matt James as the first black man to star in its dating "reality TV" franchise The Bachelor.
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