In a candid and long-overdue acknowledgment, The Bachelor
executive producers Claire Freeland and Bennett Graebner have finally addressed the series’ problematic history with race, specifically concerning their handling of Matt James’ season. During an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Graebner admitted, I’m going to be really frank – we let Matt down. That season went wrong on so many levels. We did not protect him as we should have. The finale of that season was the darkest day I’ve had on this franchise. Here was this great Black man, and we should have been celebrating his love story. Instead, what we saw was a man burdened and overwhelmed by issues of racism. It was really sad for me personally.
Producers Admit Failure To Protect
As the first Black Bachelor in nearly two decades of the show’s history, Matt James faced expectations along with unprecedented challenges. The controversy escalated as his finalist, Rachael Kirkconnell faced allegations of past racist behavior. Reflecting on this, Graebner expressed remorse over not protecting Matt James from the overwhelming scrutiny and backlash during his season.
Claire Freeland further elaborated on the issue by discussing the uncomfortable experience many contestants of color, like Rachel Nance, have faced both during and after their participation in the show. Nance’s journey was marred by severe online racism following her appearance in Joey Graziadei’s Hometown episode.
Racism Experienced by Contestants
Rachel Nance shared her experience with profound honesty during a special episode saying, I got a lot of hateful messages … calling me the N-word or jungle Asian, all because I got a rose.
With hundreds of offensive messages bombarding her social media accounts, Nance’s painful ordeal highlighted a significant flaw in how The Bachelor
franchise has handled race-related incidents.
Mistakes Admitted by Host
It wasn’t just the production team—host Jesse Palmer too had fumbled while addressing these racial attacks by generalizing them as mere ‘comments’. Graebner acknowledged this mishandling as another mistake they made.
A Glimmer of Change with Jenn Tran
The producers hope to redirect the franchise towards a more inclusive future by casting Jenn Tran as the first Asian American lead in the upcoming season of The Bachelorette. Graebner pointed out that they can’t change public perception overnight but can certainly steer the show toward positive changes.
Freeland expressed optimism stating,The dream and desire for true love will never go out of style. We hope that people can look at the last couple of years and see that we are intending and taking steps to make change.
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