Former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay accused ABC producers of shady casting practices during her season of The Bachelorette, saying “I learned that several of the black men didn’t date black women.”
“As I was going through my season [I learned] that several of the black men didn’t date black women,” Lindsay told the Hollywood Reporter. Lindsay, who was ABC’s first-ever black Bachelorette, is now married to Bryan Abasolo.
When asked what she thought of all three black Bachelors and Bachelorettes ending up with partners who are not black, Lindsay said, “I think I got a little bit more grace because I was the first and people were just excited that a person of color was in this role.”
“But then I think when the next person chose someone that wasn’t black, and then by the time we got to the third one it was like, ‘you know what, they’re just not going to choose anybody that’s black,'” she added.
Lindsay suggested that the fact that all three black Bachelors and Bachelorettes chose non-black partners highlights how “unfairly people of color are held to certain standards that their white counterparts aren’t,” but added that the problem also lies with for ABC casts the show.
“There was a point where I broke down on camera, and they used my tears for something else, but I was getting upset at the selection of men of color,” she said. “I also learned as I was going through my season that several of the black men on my season didn’t date black women.”
The former Bachelorette said when she approached the producers about the contestants’ dating histories, they said they found it “interesting” that some of the black men had never dated black women.
“I said, ‘You think that’s interesting? That’s my life. I live that,'” Lindsay said of her reaction to the producers. “That’s why I’ve been speaking out [about ABC] that you don’t need to just diversify your cast and your leads, you need to diversify the people behind the camera.”
In February, a group of black former Bachelor contestants called for the permanent removal of the show’s longtime host Chris Harrison after he took a hiatus for defending contestant Rachael Kirkconnell, who attended a antebellum-style ball.
A month later, it was reported that Harrison is eyeing a return to The Bachelor after meeting with a “race educator.”
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, on Parler at @alana, and on Instagram.
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