Fan Petition Calls For First Black ‘Bachelor’ After 40 Seasons In 18 Years — Is Trending
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The Bachelor is one of the most successful reality show franchises of all time. It has led to several spinoff shows and successful lasting relationships but there is one huge issue that millions of people have noticed. There has been a lack of diversity within the casts of each season of the show, so much so that Rachel Lindsay was the first and only black lead that the show has seen in all 40 seasons.
Fans Want The Producers To Cast A Person Of Color For Season 25 Of ‘The Bachelor’
Claire Crowley’s season of The Bachelorette has been put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic but that has not stopped people from thinking ahead and hoping to see more diversity in the season that follows. This comes after outrage when Mike Johnson was not cast as the next ‘Bachelor’ after appearing on Hannah Brown’s season. Johnson, a fan favorite was hopeful to be the first-ever black male to take on the lead role but lost out on the role to Peter Weber. Weber’s season ultimately ended in heartbreak for several people but that is not the point. The point of this petition is that there should be more people of color on the show that are cast in the lead role and Johnson was a perfect example of what could have been.
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One Twitter user wrote “We could’ve had MIKE as the bachelor, but instead we got PETER, and the season was terrible. Mike would be an amazing bachelor & so many of the past cast would have been great too, but ABC cast Rachel once and said “that’s enough diversity for us.” Not to mention that each of the groups of people vying for the affection of the lead are almost always all white with a few people of color. The petition calls for 35% of contestants each season to be black, indigenous people of color. The amount of screen time that people of color get should also be increased along with a zero-tolerance policy for racism on air. You can sign the petition and read the full list of actions here.
Lindsay Threatened To Quit The Franchise Unless They Add More People Of Color
Lindsay may have found her happily ever after on the show, but she is not happy with the fact that she was the only black lead in the show’s history. In an interview with AfterBuzz, she said “It’s been asked of me: ‘Will I continue in this franchise if it continues in this way?'” Her response to that was “I can’t. I have to see some type of change. It’s ridiculous. It’s embarrassing. At this point, it’s embarrassing to be affiliated with it.” But hopefully, this petition can make some real change.
She also gave her thoughts on the fact that she thinks, much like the rest of Bachelor Nation that Johnson should be the next ‘Bachelor.’ Losing Lindsay would be a huge blow for The Bachelor franchise because she has been such a light in speaking out against bullying or racism or other issues in the world. She recently made an appearance as a judge on the spinoff show Bachelor Presents: Listen To Your Heart
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Will The Bachelor producers really start making some changes to the show to include more diversity? We hope so, especially after the Black Lives Matter movement has called for an end to racism and more opportunities for the black community.
