Bachelor Nation is Divided as Matt James Joins ‘Dancing With the Stars’
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Bachelor Nation is always excited to see if any franchise favorites are going to compete on Dancing with the Stars. We just never expected it to be Matt James. A source told US Weekly that James will be lacing up his dancing shoes for Season 30.
‘The Bachelor’ Matt James to Compete on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Season 30
James made history as the first black male lead on The Bachelor. His season was overshadowed by the racism controversy surrounding Rachael Kirkconnell. James ended up choosing to give his final rose to Kirkconnell and broke tradition by not proposing at the end of the season. The pair already broke up by the After the Final Rose special due to her controversial social media posts.
James and Kirkconnell rekindled their romance in April and have since been sharing their New York City adventures together on Instagram. Chris Harrison was fired as the longtime host of the franchise after he defended Kirconnell’s comments on television. Tyra Banks was reportedly eyeing Harrison for Season 30 to add a little controversy to the show, just as Carole Baskin did last season.
There have never been two Bachelor alums on a season of Dancing with the Stars. Based on the history of the show, James will be the only person from The Bachelor to compete this year, so Harrison’s deal likely fell through.
James may have been chosen by ABC because his journey on The Bachelor was not really all about him. It was more about all of the girls on his season that bullied each other and got called out on social media for it. If Kirkconnell appears on the show this season to support James, she will generate a lot of buzz online.
Can James Finally Show More of His Personality to the World?
There is one major problem with casting James on Dancing with the Stars. His season of The Bachelor was beyond boring. Bachelor Nation Twitter has never been so dry on Monday nights like they were during James’ season. His personality did not come through at all on his season. The most interesting thing he did was kiss girls with his eyes open.
Everything was way too serious and he never let loose. He felt the pressure of being the leading man numerous times in each episode. One Twitter user said that she “won’t be watching” Dancing with the Stars this season because James “is a big turn-off.” Another Twitter user was not thrilled with the news either because James was “such a wet noodle on his season.”
James actually is a pretty good dancer so he might earn votes from those who don’t view the show as a popularity contest. He has developed an outgoing personality on TikTok. Fans constantly point out that he is much more fun on TikTok than he was on The Bachelor.
Dancing with the Stars will give James the opportunity to show viewers who he really is. Plus, it wouldn’t hurt to see his insanely attractive bestie Tyler Cameron cheering him on this season.
