‘The Bachelor’ Just Cast its First Black Male Lead
Why it’s too little, too late for the reality show with the biggest diversity problem on TV
‘The Bachelor’ has had a diversity problem since its creation.
The show debuted in 2002, and since then, the franchise has almost exclusively cast and rewarded contestants for being skinny, white, and cis-gendered. Bonus points for a fake tan, fake hair, and fake nails.
The contestants on this show represent what a very small portion of the population actually looks like, yet ‘The Bachelor’ has perpetuated the same, small-minded standard of beauty for men and women for nearly 20 years. In spite of this, the franchise has remained popular and successful, with a massive following that refers to themselves as Bachelor Nation.
You may not agree that reality television has any merit at all, but if you’re going to consume it, there are plenty of options that are much more diverse and better reflect what the U.S. population looks like than ‘The Bachelor’ does.
In its 24 seasons of ‘The Bachelor’ and its 15 seasons of its spinoff, ‘The Bachelorette’, there have been exactly three leads who do not fit those stereotypes: Rachel Lindsay, who was the first Black lead in season 13 of ‘The Bachelorette’ in 2017; Juan Pablo Galavis, who is Venezuelan, in season 18 of ‘The Bachelor’ in 2014; and Peter Weber, who is half-Cuban, in season 24 of ‘The Bachelor’.
Not very much diversity, right?
Anecdotally, from being a casual watcher of ‘The Bachelor’ for years, I can tell you:
- BIPOC contestants typically do not go as far in the dating competition than white contestants do.
- BIPOC contestants are not given as much air time and are given storylines that are not as in-depth or favorable.
- BIPOC contestants tend to have fewer followers on social media, and have been bullied online for their actions on the show disproportionately more than their white counterparts.
A quick reminder that ‘The Bachelor’ franchise has had the last 18 years to cast a Black male lead
As recently as 2019, the show selected Peter Weber for their Bachelor over Mike Johnson (who is black). Both men were contestants on a recent season, which is how the franchise typically chooses its next lead. Mike easily fit the bill — he remained on the show late into his season before getting eliminated, he had a good storyline about being dumped by his bachelorette, and he talked about how important his family was to him.
This seemed like a damn obvious decision for many people in Bachelor Nation, and fans were pushing for Mike to be chosen. However, ABC and the producers of ‘The Bachelor’ failed to broaden the show’s point of view, and when given the chance to do better, they cast another white man instead (though they pointed out every chance they could that Weber is half-Cuban).
Why does the timing of this announcement seem so… on the nose?
Because it is. The production team went very far out of its way to ensure their announcement of their first Black Bachelor happened this week.
#1: The announcement of the next Bachelor wasn’t due up for months. The next scheduled season is actually ‘The Bachelorette’ (the two shows typically alternate seasons), filming of which has been suspended because of Covid-19. But the next season of ‘The Bachelor’ normally wouldn't have the lead selected or have filming begin for several months.
#2: Bachelor Nation has been pushing for more diversity for years, but ‘The Bachelor’ hasn’t delivered. Both fans and former contestants have been speaking out against the obvious whiteness of the show’s casting. In particular, Rachel Lindsay, who was the Bachelorette in 2017, has used her platform to speak out and hold the franchise accountable for their employment, casting, and editing decisions.
ABC and ‘The Bachelor’ fast-forwarded this casting decision and extensive marketing to be relevant right now in June 2020.
To me, this seems so disingenuous. If ‘The Bachelor’ franchise was sincere about making their show more diverse, it would have happened any time between 2002 and now.
Why does any of this matter at all?
I all but wrote off ‘The Bachelor’ a while ago, but like it or not, this show has millions of devoted followers.
Given the size of their platform and all their room for improvement, hopefully the franchise succeeds in the following ways:
- Acknowledging the ways they have previously failed in presenting diversity on the show
- Hiring more BIPOC producers and staff
- Producing and editing the show to give Black contestants meaningful storylines
The issues with this week’s announcement have little to do with the actual bachelor they selected this week, and everything to do with the decisions the franchise has made over the last two decades.
For what it’s worth, the bachelor they chose seems great. Wishing him and his contestants the best in their journey to find love.