The Bachelor franchise is going through quite a few changes when it comes to addressing diversity issues on the show. The Bachelor has been on the air for over 18 years, and through those years it has had very little representation on the show. In addition to its spin-off show The Bachelorette, every season has been white, except for a few exceptions. The infamous Juan-Pablo Galavis, who has arguably gone down as one of the most controversial Bachelors in the show’s history, is Venezuelan, making him the first Latino male lead after 17 seasons of the show. Season 13 lead, Rachel Lindsay, became the first Black lead on either series within the franchise’s collective 40 season run. The show also cast Tayshia Adams as Clare Crawley’s replacement in the upcoming seasons, making her the second Black female lead.

Other than those exceptions, the show has maintained a mostly white-facing cast and crew. These egregious moments of missed opportunity for representation on The Bachelor may have gone unnoticed by creators of the show, but fans have since spoken out on the issue. 2020 brought a rise in social justice movements after the murder of George Floyd, and with that came a call for diversity and equality across various platforms. “The Bachelor Diversity Campaign” was created by fans to demand people of color be represented in front of and behind the cameras. Matt James was cast as the first Black Bachelor in June, which many thought was the producers’ “knee-jerk” response, as Rachel Lindsay said, to the call for change. The show claimed the casting decision had nothing to do with the campaign and that it already had Matt James in mind for the lead since he was supposed to be a contestant on Clare Crawley’s season.

Related: Bachelor: Matt James' Season Has Officially Started Filming

The Bachelor has recently made attempts to combat racism in the form of new community guidelines, which aim to protect its cast from racism on social media. Now, Chris Harrison has weighed in on the show’s diversity issue in an interview with E! News, claiming the show has had the topic in mind for a while. “I think it's important to state that it didn't just start with Clare's season," Harrison said. "This is a movement and something we've been working on for quite some time. Step one was realizing there was an issue. And then step two is, OK, let's do something about that.”

The Bachelor Colton Underwood and Chris Harrison

He went on to say what audiences can expect in the upcoming seasons, “You're not gonna see some changes because it's behind the camera, with our hiring practices, with people we brought in, people we promoted within our show.” Harrison then addressed the core of the issue when it comes to underrepresentation and how it affects viewers at home, “But the idea is people want to be represented. They want to see themselves represented. And The Bachelor and The Bachelorette is a love story and you want to see your love story told.” He continued with how producers of the show will also implement changes, “To include everybody so when you're watching the show you feel like, ‘Yeah, this is me, I'm being represented here.'"

The Bachelor has a long way to go when it comes to representation on the show, with many fans questioning if the changes will continue after these upcoming seasons. While the show is making some changes to answer the call for diversity, audiences will have to wait and see if the outcome of those changes is actually effective in representing people of color, starting with the Clare Crawley/Tayshia Adams season, which will be airing October 13th. 

Next: The Bachelorette: Meet the Men Competing for Clare Crawley’s Heart

Source: E! News