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The Bachelor is embroiled in another racism controversy because it's "a racist television program"

  • "Off the top of my head, here’s a bunch of racist stuff that’s happened in the Bachelor Cinematic Universe," says Ali Barthwell. "The casting of racist contestants; the casting of racist contestants on seasons with leads of color; going 24 seasons before having a Black man as the Bachelor; going 12 seasons before having a Black woman as the Bachelorette; casting entire seasons of both shows without contestants of color; casting token contestants of color; pitting contestants of color against racist contestants and encouraging drama between them; sending a racist on a two-on-one date with a Black man in the f*cking woods; letting white contestants use racist language to describe contestants of color they didn’t like; painting the racist actions of racist contestants as 'personality conflicts'; the host of the show saying things like 'woke police' on television where people could see him; not protecting or standing behind contestants or leads of color when they were being targeted for racist harassment online; painting the life experiences of contestants of color as exotic, calamitous, or ungraspable; relying on stereotypes about people of color as part of their storytelling. Did I forget anything?" Barthwell points out The Bachelor has responded to the latest controversy by doing what it always does: making "performative gestures of solidarity, increasing the number of people of color on the show without supporting them, and prioritizing the feelings and safety of their white contestants...I’m sure Rachael (Kirkconnell) didn’t intend to do something racist (over and over), and I’m sure Chris Harrison didn’t intend to mansplain and whitesplain racism to Rachel Lindsay. I’m sure the producers didn’t intend to create a racist television program. Who does? I’m sure even the people who made all of those racist terrorist stereotypes on 24 were trying to have fun and get those residual checks. But when you do something racist, your intention doesn’t matter, your impact does. And the impact of all these actions is that The Bachelor is a racist television program. You could make the argument, Well, what television show isn’t? They don’t have nearly enough characters of color on Girls, Sex and the City, or Friends despite being set in New York City, Earth. But when you make a racist television program, you have to be accountable for the impact of putting something racist out into the world. So far, Chris Harrison and Rachael have put out a few anemic iPhone Notes-app statements that barely acknowledge the problem, let alone lay out a path for accountability. Chris Harrison has committed to 'stepping back,' but what does that mean? For how long? What is he doing to confront his racism? What is Rachael doing to educate her family and friends so that if she ends up with Matt, he won’t be walking into a racist environment?"

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    TOPICS: Chris Harrison, ABC, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Ben Higgins, Matt James, Rachael Kirkconnell, Rachel Lindsay, Reality TV