The Bachelor's Chronic Race Problem

If you have been following along with The Bachelor franchise, or honestly, even if you haven’t, you know that the series has a race problem. More broadly, it has a diversity problem. While The Bachelor producers have faced surmounting pressure under the recent George Floyd protests, they finally, after twenty-five seasons, casted the first black bachelor, Matt James. They also casted their most diverse group of contestants and hired a diversity team. While those are good steps, that alone will not eliminate racism from the franchise.

This recent season is where racial matters have come to a head: one of the contestants, Rachael Kirkconnell, has been questioned over past social media activity that included posting and liking racist imagery and QAnon conspiracy theories. Then, photos of her at an “Old South” plantation-themed college party in 2018 appeared on Reddit the first week of February. Since then, fans have repeatedly asked for accountability both from Rachael but also from the producers for allowing someone of that character on their show.

While Matt James tried to stay low and not directly address the issue (“Rumors are dark and nasty and can ruin people’s lives. So I would give people the benefit of the doubt, and hopefully she will have her time to speak on that”), Chris Harrison, the show’s host since its premier in 2002, was finally confronted with it on Rachel Lindsay’s show.

Rachel Lindsay made history as the first Black Bachelorette in 2017 and has continued to remain a loud advocate for addressing the diversity issues on the show. She invited Chris Harrison to clear up the controversy, only to have him dig himself his own grave.

Addressing the “Old South” photos, Harrison said, “Well, Rachel, is it a good look in 2018, or is it not a good look in 2021? Because there’s a big difference…Where is this lens we’re holding up and was this lens available, and were we all looking through it in 2018?” He also said that we need to “have a little grace, a little understanding, a little compassion” towards Rachael.

I was horrified when I first heard the comment. I had always known that Chris Harrison wasn’t the champion of social justice everyone wished he could be – his ignorance has rubbed me the wrong way and at many times he seemed ingenuine in his “commitments” to diversity. However, I had always held out hope on him, and by doing so, in The Bachelor franchise as a whole.

Countless times, I saw statements of The Bachelor pledging to incorporate more diversity onto their show, yet I would always be let down when the new season approached. The closest I got to being proud of the progress The Bachelor has made was when Tayshia Adams, the second Black Bachelorette, had a conversation with contestant Ivan Hall about matters of race and police brutality in America. This moment was only possible due to the diversity in experience both the contestants and the bachelorette had. That conversation was relayed to thousands of people across America, most of whom are white and may be in conservative-leaning areas where they are not exposed to personal experiences with race.

Harrison posted an apology for “wrongly speaking in a manner that perpetuates racism.” Again, I was let down by him, because while he responded to the comment he made about having “grace,” he said nothing of the fact that he excused racist behavior from *checks notes* three years ago.

Rachael Kirkconnell did not even respond to any of her behavior until after Chris Harrison’s apology and went on to contradict her own actions by saying “it’s important to speak up in the moment and not after you’re called out.” Now, it’s possible that her contract with ABC prevented her from speaking on the matter, but Rachel Lindsay has said otherwise: “There is nothing in your contract that stops you from getting on your social media and doing exactly what she just did. She can’t go to the media, do an exclusive sit-down interview on her own, but they don’t have control over your social.”

What ultimately matters is how Black viewers receive the apology, and judging from the Instagram comments, it was appropriate. As one comment put it, “AS SOMEONE THIS APOLOGY WAS MEANT FOR, I think this was a very well said statement. I appreciate the fact you took accountability and didn’t try to use ignorance nor age as an excuse. Thank you I felt that this was sincere.”

There were also joint statements from the cast of this season as well as the cast from Tayshia’s season condemning racist behavior on the show. On Saturday, Chris Harrison announced that he was stepping down as host for a “period of time” so as to not have this “historic season…be marred or overshadowed by my mistakes or diminished by my actions.” In this announcement, Chris Harrison finally owned up to “excusing historical racism,” admitting he defended it. While he could have been clearer about showing that he was aware of what he did wrong, I’ll give him credit for being quick with his apologies (this whole sequence happened within a matter of days), unlike Rachael.

This is just one example of a racist, insensitive incident that has happened on the show, but any viewer can name countless others. That alone is a reason why I don’t think this event will have much of an impact on the show. Excuse my pessimism, but for a show that has a swath of white viewers who maybe don’t understand the inherent issues of race, their public opinion will not change significantly and therefore neither will the show’s.

Obviously, there are a few outspoken people such as Rachel Lindsay and fan groups such as the Bachelor Diversity Campaign who have pushed for changes and have somewhat succeeded. Still, there is much work to be done to change the systemic structure of the show that cannot be accomplished without public pressure from a large section of the viewership. Lindsay put it best: “The show does not understand people of color. Period…The only way to do that is to have people of color in the decision-making room.”

If, however, ABC picks a new, permanent host who exemplifies the future of The Bachelor that many people hope for, it could turn the train around. Having a host actively committed to anti-racism as the face of the show could dramatically shift its trajectory and would make me feel less guilty about watching a show that is incredibly tone-deaf to race in the United States. If I’m being honest, I don’t see ABC doing this, but a girl can dream, right?

For now, we’ll have to wait and see if Chris Harrison will ever step off of The Bachelor stage. And we’ll also have to see how far Rachael gets through the season (some predict that she ends up winning, hence the frantic messaging on ABC’s part). Despite my pessimism, I do hope The Bachelor can listen to its fans and make us proud to be part of “Bachelor Nation.”

Cover image via