‘Bachelor’ Producers Admit The Show Has A Race Problem, Highlighting Their Treatment of Matt James: “We Let Matt Down”

The Bachelor has long been criticized for both its lack of inclusion when it comes to people of color appearing in the franchise, and for the way contestants of color have been treated or represented during their time on the show.

Back in February, Bachelor producers were asked by NPR why the show has had a “hard time dealing with racial issues in-depth,” and they responded by not responding at all, with silence. Now, they’re ready to have an open discussion about the handling of former Black franchise leads Matt James and Rachel Lindsay , the online treatment of contestants of color, and the show’s token casting of minorities.

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In a lengthy interview with the Los Angeles Times published Wednesday (June 26), producer Bennett Graebner stated, “It’s hard to say out loud, that people of color didn’t see themselves represented, that they did not see The Bachelor franchise as a safe place. We didn’t have a Black lead in this franchise for 15 years, and that’s inexcusable. It created a vicious cycle, and it’s taken a lot of work to get back to a place where we feel at least we’re working for the positive.”

The producers also addressed James’s turbulent 2020 Bachelor season — the first and only season to feature a Black man as the Bachelor — during which James himself said he experienced a “conversion from person to prop,” which he called “frustrating and disappointing.”

The show faced intense backlash when photos of contestant Rachael Kirkconnell attending an Antebellum Era party surfaced and then-host Chris Harrison defended her, leading to Harrison’s departure from the show, but James bore the brunt of the stress from that situation.

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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.”

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While discussing the audience’s racist treatment of another contestant, Rachel Nance, producer Claire Freeland also admitted that not addressing Nance’s complaints directly on the show was “another missed opportunity.”

“We have reflected on it, and a big blind spot was not naming what it was: racism,” Freeland stated.

The show hopes to take a step in the right direction with the newest season of The Bachelorette , which includes the franchise’s first Asian lead, Jenn Tran . While the show has fans whose opinions and hateful rhetoric can’t be controlled, Freeland said, “We can’t change the minds of people who aren’t interested in this new direction. What we have the power to do is change the program.”

The Bachelorette Season 21 premieres July 8 at 8/7c on ABC.

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