Matt James’ season of The Bachelor was a complete disaster, according to many fans. They point to various reasons—racial insensitivity, the Chris Harrison controversy, too much drama—but one metric that’s often overlooked is the happiness of the show’s lead. It’s safe to say Matt did not have a good experience filming his season, and he seemed like a broken man when he appeared on After the Final Rose. So, fans were outraged when former Bachelor Arie Luyendyk Jr. made light of Matt’s mental state in a recent meme he shared.
At the end of this past season, Matt never got the happily ever after he was hoping for, and has been candid about how hard it has been to watch the show back. Matt was already under a microscope being the first Black Bachelor, but he was also stuck on a season with contestants that had not been properly vetted for a history of racial insensitivity. He ended up choosing Rachael Kirkconnell who, he found out later, had a history of going to racist Antebellum-themed parties. He broke up with her soon after and has since tweeted about needing therapy after his emotionally devastating season.
Fans’ hearts went out to Matt after witnessing all he has been through, but former Bachelor Arie didn’t get the memo. He shared, and then deleted, a meme featuring Matt. The meme shows a promotional picture of Matt as the Bachelor captioned, “Realtor when they first get a buyer lead” next to a picture of Matt looking despondent at the finale captioned, “Realtor after that buyer puts them through hell for 7 months then buys a house from their cousin.” Fans blasted the meme as being “tone-deaf” and “heartless.”
“Making a meme right after what Matt JUST went through is gross,” one fan said about the meme. Many fans spoke out against Arie, who they said “is seriously missing some kind of sensitivity chip,” after making light about Matt’s struggles. They were surprised that someone who also went through a difficult time as the Bachelor would be so flippant. “Instead of standing by a fellow Bachelor when he’s going through a hard time, Arie uses him to try to make a stupid joke,” a fan commented.
Several called him out for being so clueless about the serious racial issues Matt had to contend with, referring to Arie as “a mediocre white man who is used to being told how he is special and funny.” It’s not surprising that he wouldn’t consider the unique difficulties Matt faced as a Black Bachelor, as Arie was not among the ranks of Bachelor Nation alum who spoke out against Chris Harrison’s racial insensitivities. Many fans say Arie is, at best “the biggest airhead in the franchise” and at worst, “just another privileged a****** with no real substance besides the fact that he was on reality tv.”
The former lead of The Bachelor definitely erred when he shared the meme. Arie either realized on his own or noticed the backlash, because the meme didn’t stick around on his Instagram for long. Making light of Matt’s mental health so soon after the finale is not a good look for the former Bachelor, especially since if anyone should know better, it’s him. There may not have been anything malicious behind sharing the meme, but it was deeply insensitive. Matt has many supporters in Bachelor Nation who are concerned about his wellbeing, but Arie doesn’t seem to be one of them.
Source: Reddit