'Bachelor Nation' Producers Talk Past Racism In the Franchise & Correcting Mistakes Moving Forward

justjared.com:

Producers on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette are acknowledging the racism in the past on the popular dating franchise.

If you recall, there was not a POC Bachelor until season 25 with Matt James, which premiered in 2021, while Rachel Lindsay was the first Black Bachelorette a few years prior, in the 13th season premiering in 2017.

The Bachelorette has since had several women of color, including the upcoming season 21 lead, Jenn Tran. In an interview ahead of the premiere of her season, executive producers Claire Freeland and Bennett Graebner opened up about the franchise’s lack of diversity and inclusion in its leads, as well as the its failure to protect its stars. Keep reading to find out more… “It’s hard to say out loud, that people of color didn’t see themselves represented, that they did not see The Bachelor franchise as a safe place,” Bennett told Variety. “We didn’t have a Black lead in this franchise for 15 years, and that’s inexcusable.

It created a vicious cycle, and it’s taken a lot of work to get back to a place where we feel at least we’re working for the positive.” Following Matt‘s casting, his season was plagued with controversy, with frontrunner Rachel Kirkconnell, who is still with Matt to this day, having photos resurface of her at fraternity formal on a plantation.