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Things turned more thorny when rosy when The Bachelor producers appeared on the Unscripted Storytellers panel at Saturday’s Television Critics Association press conference.
The afternoon began as a victory lap for The Golden Bachelor, the spinoff featuring 72-year-old Gerry Turner, which was ABC’s number-one season premiere and the most-watched unscripted series ever on Hulu. A sister series, The Golden Bachelorette was announced earlier in the morning. Producers Bennett Graebner, Claire Freeland, and Jason Ehrlich spoke with all the canned enthusiasm of one of the show’s contestants about being in the business of “happily ever afters.” But when journalists grilled producers Bennett Graebner, Claire Freeland, and Jason Ehrlich about diversity, demographics, and race controversies, their messaging was different: silence.
NPR’s Eric Deggans asked the producers about why The Bachelor has had so many controversies and issues when it comes to race. Matt James was the first Black Bachelor in 2021, and his season was overshadowed when photos of one contestant at an antebellum plantation-themed party surfaced and then-host Chris Harrison defended her—ultimating leading to Harrison’s departure from the show. Rachel Lindsay, the show’s first Black Bachelorette, has spoken about the show’s failings when it comes to race. Deggans asked if the show has learned anything from these past scandals.