A lack of diversity has always been an issue in The Bachelor franchise, but even now that there are more cast members who are BIPOC, there’s still a disappointing lack of support for them on social media. The data on Instagram follower counts for the contestants from Clayton Echard’s current season of The Bachelor falls in line with the ongoing trend of BIPOC cast members gaining fewer followers and therefore having fewer economic opportunities.
After a drama-packed season, Bachelor Clayton Echard is down to his final four women—Susie Evans, Rachel Recchia, Gabby Windey, and Serene Russell. Though there were several women of color included in the cast, elementary teacher Serene is the only one who made it into Clayton’s top four. Hometowns are a very pivotal week each season, and the four womens' relationships with Clayton will be put to the test when they introduce him to their families.
Bachelor Nation fan account BachelorRabbitHole recently shared a post about Clayton’s final four and their Instagram follower count, and it was a huge letdown. The post lists Susie’s followers at 90K, Rachel’s at 70K, Gabby’s at 64K, and Serene’s at a measly 19K (their count has since gone up to 95.7K, 74.1K, 69.5K, and 22.3K, respectively). There’s obviously a huge disparity in Instagram followers between Serene and her castmates, and it’s not an isolated incident. There have been three Bachelorette leads in the franchise—Michelle Young, Tayshia Adams, and Rachel Lindsay. Tayshia has rocketed to superstar status with nearly two million followers, but Rachel and Michelle have just 919K and 783K, respectively. Out of the last seven Bachelorettes, only Rachel, Michelle, unpopular Katie Thurston have less than 1 million.
It’s even more depressing when you look at runners up from Bachelor seasons. Controversial final rose recipient Rachael Kirkconnell has more followers than Michelle, and both Michelle and Rachel have fewer followers than the F1s and F2s from the three seasons before Matt James' season. It’s all part of a long history of a lack of diversity in Bachelor Nation, and even among the Bachelors, Matt has far fewer followers than Peter Weber and problematic Colton Underwood. BIPOC contestants in general regularly trail behind their white counterparts in terms of social media following, which has financial repercussions. Instagram is a major source of revenue and fewer followers means less money.
Fans have long placed the blame for the lack of diversity square on ABC’s shoulders, but this Instagram data indicates that the audience is culpable too. The dramatically smaller follower count for BIPOC leads and contestants is a reminder that diversity isn’t a priority for many of the franchise’s viewers. Unfortunately, this often leads to a feedback loop where the network doesn’t cast or feature as many BIPOC contestants so fans are less interested in BIPOC contestants, and because fans are less interested in BIPOC contestants, the network decides not to cast or feature them as much. There is a clear and noticeable divide between viewers who value BIPOC cast members and their stories and viewers who don’t, and that has unfortunate consequences for the leads and contestants themselves
For most of The Bachelor franchise’s history, the shows were like a Where’s Waldo book when it came to spotting the few contestants of color amid a sea of their Caucasian castmates. The small number of BIPOC cast members were usually quickly eliminated, though in recent years there’s been more of a push for diversity. However, the lack of support for Clayton’s women of color—and past BIPOC cast members—on Instagram is a major problem in the franchise, and Bachelor Nation needs to do better.
Source: BachelorRabbitHole