Positive steps will be taken to expand diversity in the cast, reads the statement put out by The Bachelor executive producers including host Chris Harrison on the Bachelor Nation website today.
Since having Rachel Lindsay as the first and only Black lead on The Bachelorette in 2017’s season 21, there is little diversity that was exhibited by the popular show. After facing flak for this lack of representation, ABC finally announced Matt James as the first Black Bachelor to front the show’s upcoming 25th season. This major announcement was seen as a built-up following a petition called "A Campaign For Anti-Racism in the Bachelor Franchise" on Change.org that has till now gathered over 90,000 signatures. The direct petition to ABC and Warner Bros. called out the show for having cast just one Black lead during their course of producing The Bachelor content for 40 seasons and over 18 years. Along with the demand for a Black lead, it also requested for 35 percent of the show's contestants to be people of color, and for participants to be screened for past racist behavior, among 13 other calls to action. Prior to this, the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast co-host Lindsay said she would distance herself from the franchise if they failed to address this inherent issue. This series of events that stemmed from a week of nationwide protests against systemic racism in the US, following George Floyd’s death did finally, lead to a historical outcome.
After announcing 28-year-old Matt ABC Food Tours co-founder James as the first-ever Black lead for the show on Friday, the executive producers issued a joint statement on Bachelor Nation addressing the lack of representation on The Bachelor. “We are excited to move forward with both Matt James as the new Bachelor and Clare Crawley as our next Bachelorette. We acknowledge our responsibility for the lack of representation of people of color on our franchise and pledge to make significant changes to address this issue moving forward. We are taking positive steps to expand diversity in our cast, in our staff, and most importantly, in the relationships that we show on television. We can and will do better to reflect the world around us and show all of its beautiful love stories," read the text. Host Chris Harrison, 48, who has been the face of the ABC reality show and its spin-off since 2002 also became the first rep to share a congratulatory message to Matt as he also addressed the subject of diversity. “Congrats Matt James!” he captioned his Instagram post on Friday, June 12. “#TheBachelor family is thrilled to start this journey with our new Bachelor! We can and we will do better to portray diverse love stories that reflect the world around us. This is just the beginning," the executive producer Harrison also added.
Matt, who was originally slated to be one of the suitors in Clare Crawley’s upcoming season of The Bachelorette, will now be seen on both the editions as per the statement. Over the years, while the franchise kept promising to seek out participants of color for both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, no fundamental steps were taken in the direction.
With the casting of Matt now sounding to start as a revolution for the show, it does seem like things will be taking a significant turn for the upcoming seasons. Crawley’s previously suspended season is scheduled to begin filming this summer, followed by Matt’s season of The Bachelor to be tentatively launched in 2021.
Source: Bachelor Nation