Former Black “Bachelor” Contestants Open Up About Experiencing Racism From Fellow Contestants And Fans Of Show

Former Black contestants from “The Bachelor” say the show has a problem with race. 

Stephanie McNeal of Buzzfeed spoke with four former contestants who all said they were not supported when they conveyed to the show that they received hurtful comments from fellow contestants, as well as racist criticism from fans. 

The article starts off with Marshana Ritchie‘s experiences, who appeared on the 12th season of the show. She is the first Black woman to have ever made it to the final six. The bachelor at the time was Matt Grant. While sitting with the other women, one of the white contestants asked Ritchie a racist question during a discussion about the possibility of meeting Grant’s parents. “They get to me,” Ritchie told BuzzFeed News. “And one girl, in all sincerity, was like, ‘So do you know your father?'”

It took the show nine years to case a Black lead in Rachel Lindsay. Four years later, at the Black Lives Matter movement’s height, the show cast a Black man, Matt James. 

Jubilee Sharpe appeared on the show’s 20th season. She said the series speaks to who America is. “It speaks to who America is in probably one of the realest ways ever,” she said. “But people don’t realize it.” There were moments when Sharpe thought about why she was ever on the show. “I’m very intuitive. I’m like, This man is not into me. Why am I still here?” Sharpe said.

She added that the bachelor at the time, Ben Higgins more so was in awe of her, often referring to her as “intriguing.” Sharpe said she wasn’t given “the right kind of attention,” she said. “I felt like a zoo animal,” she said. “I felt like an exotic zoo animal … I wasn’t like all the other animals in the zoo, so people who would ooh and aah at me, but it wasn’t…it’s fascination like I’m the unknown.”

The series has received flack throughout the years for its lack of diversity and mishandling of racial issues. ABC Entertainment and Warner Horizon have yet to respond to the allegations made in the BuzzFeed article. However, it referred to a statement about the longtime executive producer Chris Harrison’s departure, BuzzFeed reports. 

“As we continue the dialogue around achieving greater equity and inclusion within The Bachelor franchise, we are dedicated to improving the BIPOC representation of our crew, including among the executive producer ranks,” it read. “These are important steps in effecting fundamental change so that our franchise is a celebration of love that is reflective of our world.”

To read the entire article, visit BuzzFeed.com.