Mike Johnson agrees with many fans of The Bachelor who believe he would have been a great choice for the role, and he wasted little time throwing shade at the man who was awarded the position, Peter Weber. Though it's all in good fun, it's clear Johnson believes he was ready to be the Bachelor, had it been offered to him.
The knock against Johnson, as if it's truly an indictment, was that he didn't shine as a character during his abbreviated journey in Paradise. He struggled to find love, despite going on dates with Caelynn Miller-Keyes and Angela Amezcua and trading roses with Sydney Lotuaco. When he was eliminated at the rose ceremony before relationships started entering the "serious talk" phase, he was the lone man to go home. It seemed inexplicable to Bachelor Nation that Johnson had been overlooked, while other men, whose intentions were far less noble than that of the 31-year-old Air Force veteran, stayed in Mexico. Possibly sensing that he wasn't the number one guy to land The Bachelor, Johnson started pursing Demi Lovato, who had originally made her interest in Johnson known during Hannah Brown's season of The Bachelorette. The fact that the Lovato-Johnson flirtation has appeared to turn into something more has softened the blow of Johnson not being named The Bachelor. It doesn't mean, however, that he's not at least a little salty he didn't get it.
When Extra asked Johnson about Weber's defining moment on the franchise thus far, his windmill fantasy suite date in which he had sex with Brown four times, Johnson replied, “I’m in better shape and my stamina is longer and that’s where it lies." If there was any speculation that Johnson wasn't interested in being The Bachelor, Johnson cleared the air. He said, “I would 100 percent have accepted being the Bachelor if they had chosen me."
Johnson stated outright that he knows he would have been a good Bachelor, and it's not lost on him that he would have been the first black Bachelor as well. Though he was pining for the position, Johnson has nothing but positive things to say about Weber. Still, Johnson remarked, "For what they are trying to capture, Pete gives them.”
That comment, though Johnson won't admit it, is as much about race as it is about character. He knows that a part of why he wasn't named The Bachelor is because he is black, and it's unfortunate. When choosing The Bachelor, the show looks for a certain type of person who checks specific boxes. Although Weber surely has defining characteristics that make him an interesting person, there's really nothing that the audience knows about him that separates him from most of the previous Bachelors the show has cast. Johnson has handled the snub with the perfect blend of politesse and shade, hyping up Weber while expressing his disappointment that The Bachelor had a prime opportunity to take the show in a different direction and failed.
Source: Extra