Bachelorette season 13 alum Rachel Lindsay claimed she’s “embarrassed” and no longer wants to be d with the franchise. Lindsay doesn’t want to be tied to an organization she believes doesn’t prioritize or hold diversity as a core value.
Since The Bachelor franchise’s debut in 2002, Lindsay is the only black Bachelorette. There have been no black Bachelors. Throughout the franchise’s history, notable contestants of color are few and far between. Three women of color have received the final rose, none of whom are black. Lindsay hosts The Bachelor franchise podcast ‘Bachelor Happy Hour’ with season 14 Bachelorette Becca Kufrin and The Ringer's "Higher Learning" podcast with Van Lathan.
Lindsay said she’ll disassociate herself from the franchise if it doesn’t address diversity issues in an Us Weekly exclusive. Her statement comes after a week of nationwide protests against systemic racism in the U.S. following George Floyd’s death. Lindsay has been a vocal participant in protests. Lindsay likened the lack of diversity in the franchise to the U.S. presidency: “In 40 seasons, you’ve had one black lead. We have had 45 presidents and in 45 presidents, you have one black president. You are almost on par to say you’re more likely to become the president of the United States than you are a black lead in the franchise. That’s insane. That’s ridiculous.”
Lindsay also drew issue with internal actions within the franchise. She claimed when some problems come up they are swept under the rug instead of addressed. Lindsay believes this behavior creates a systemic problem. Without self-reflection, the “white-washed” franchise continues to perpetuate racist attitudes and behaviors, she explained. Lindsay hopes they pick a black man to helm season 25 of The Bachelor.
The franchise ed on the opportunity to feature a black bachelor for season 24. They could’ve chosen Mike Johnson, a fan favorite from Hannah Brown’s season, but instead went with Peter Weber. Weber is half-Cuban and wanted to showcase his Cuban descent on the season but Lindsay pointed out, despite this, Weber is still white. To date, Lindsay’s season was the most diverse in franchise history. The franchise has historically drawn flack for featuring a predominantly white contestant pool. Lindsay has been vocal about her struggles as a black woman in The Bachelor franchise before. On The Bachelor season 24 "Women Tell All" Lindsay explained how she often receives hurtful comments in her DMs including racial slurs. Other women of color at the tell-all echoed Lindsay’s hardships.
In recent months, the franchise’s blind eye to racism against black people, in particular, has been in the spotlight. It took Brown, season 15 Bachelorette, two weeks to apologize for saying the n-word in an Instagram video. One of The Bachelor season 24’s finalists, Victoria Fuller, modeled for a "white lives matter" ad before her time on The Bachelor. She has since apologized for participating in the ad and publicly ed black lives matter protests. If Lindsay’s hope is realized and the franchise chooses a black lead for The Bachelor season 25, it would be a welcomed disruption from their historic predominantly white casting. Hopefully, no matter the lead, there are more than a few token black women to compete for the final rose.
Source: Us Weekly