What is wrong with The Bachelor and The Bachelorette stars appearing on the show to become influencers?

BuzzFeed News

"As the Bachelor/ette’s conservative premise has continued to feel increasingly unsupportable in today’s environment, its pipeline to the influencer space is arguably its only selling point for participants," says Tanya Chen. "If the franchise didn’t present exciting ventures for contestants beyond 'finding love' on the show, fewer people would be interested in applying. Statistically, the chances of 'winning' the show and finding everlasting love are so, so, so, so slim, while the chances of establishing new streams of revenue for yourself are incredibly high. So why are we still pretending like most rational people applying to the show aren’t doing so with this in mind? And why are we then shaming them for doing so? Of course I’d love to subscribe to the purity narrative that contestants are compelled only by love, but that is not the reality we live in. In every newsletter, I have the exhaustive pleasure of reminding us that we live in a capitalistic reality! Which means we are all compelled by the potential for capital gains as a means of survival, even if we would much rather challenge that system as much as we can. It’s one reason why influencing as a job is inherently controversial — it forces us to acknowledge our own reflection in the mirror. So I understand why men on Katie’s season, or the public at large, might feel a moral imperative to call out someone who so boldly proclaims they are not there For The Right Reasons. It feels dirty to be so honest about our primal desires for fame and money. So, c’mon, let’s just let this trope go. There are so many more valid reasons to dislike the many contestants on the show already."