The Bachelor producers had been confronted with a troublesome query in regards to the franchise’s historical past of points surrounding race throughout an ABC panel on the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour.
“Why does it seem like The Bachelor has such a hard time dealing with racial issues? And have you learned anything from these past scandals that have led to the departure of Chris Harrison?” a reporter requested govt producers Bennett Graebner, Jason Erlich and Claire Freeland.
Freeland, who joined the franchise from The Bachelor Canada final 12 months, took on the duty of answering.
“I mean, I can speak to where we are now. Our goal is to represent the fabric of the country, not just with respect to diversity and ethnicity, but also ability, body types… I think so far we are putting our money where our mouth is,” Freeland stated. “So hopefully, audiences are feeling that, because it’s something that we’re always working on. And we’ll continue to do so as we go forward.”
However, the reporter who requested the query pushed again a bit, arguing that Freeland hadn’t fairly given a solution as to why the present struggles with conversations and portrayals of race, significantly with non-white leads.
The pushback was met with silence from the producers, to which the reporter responded: “I guess we have our answer.”
Harrison departed the franchise in 2021 after Matt James led the flagship sequence as the primary Black Bachelor. When pictures surfaced of James’ frontrunner Rachael Kirkconnell at an antebellum-themed occasion, Harrison put his foot in his mouth throughout an interview with Rachel Lindsay, The Bachelorette’s first Black lead from Season 13, by suggesting that audiences ought to have “a little grace, a little understanding, a little compassion” for Kirkconnell.
Lindsay was not completely satisfied, and neither was Bachelor Nation, and as dozens of former contestants flocked to social media to take her aspect, requires Harrison’s elimination intensified. Kirkconnell posted an apology, as did Harrison. But it wasn’t sufficient. In February, simply over a month after the season premiere, Harrison stepped again from the franchise and, by June, he was completely ousted as host.
This shouldn’t be the one controversy the franchise has confronted lately. As Deadline reported final 12 months, the manager producers — who’re a part of a brand new regime after the departure of creator Mike Fleiss — have tried to make use of the previous few seasons as a cautious reset to search out their footing once more.
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