Clayton Echard's selection as The Bachelor rubs some fans the wrong way

Los Angeles Times

"At issue is the selection of former football player Clayton Echard as the star of the landmark 20th anniversary season of The Bachelor, which premieres Jan. 3," says the Los Angeles Times' Greg Braxton. "Fans claim that the all-Black field of finalists from Young’s season were passed over by producers in favor of the Missouri-based Echard, a medical sales rep who was eliminated by (The Bachelorette Michelle) Young in Episode 6, before seven other suitors. Warner Bros., which produces the series, pointed out that several leads — including James; Young’s predecessor, Katie Thurston; and Juan Pablo Galavis, the first Latino Bachelor — have come from outside the pool of finalists. But multiple fans told The Times they interpreted Echard’s selection as a pointed departure from the prevailing tradition." As Bachelor fan Myah Genung put it: "There were these fantastic Black men at the end for Michelle, but it’s as clear as day that producers don’t want this to be known as ‘the Black show.'" As Braxton notes, the premiere of Young’s season drew 3 million viewers — the show’s least watched premiere ever, according to the Hollywood Reporter. And though there are several potential reasons for the decline, including ABC’s decision to air back-to-back seasons of The Bachelorette, fans have speculated that the franchise’s increased emphasis on diversity, with three Black leads out of the last four, may have alienated a certain subset of viewers." But Justine Kay, co-host of The Bachelor-themed podcast 2 Black Girls, 1 Rose, thinks it's a good idea that The Bachelor doesn't have a Black male lead. “They tried it with Matt James, and it was a disaster,” she says. “They had a real difficult time handling a Black man’s story. If they are going to do what they did to Matt, it’s better not to do it. It was bad for everyone involved.”