The Daily Beast
What ‘The Bachelor’ owes to Matt James and Rachel Lindsay
Craig Sjodin / ABCAs Matt James sat down with Emmanuel I think during the final special of “After the Final Rose” by The Bachelor, the price of this season was immediately clear. James’ eyes alternated between vague and watery as he described his breakup with Rachael Kirkconnell – who won this season, but only after viewers revealed his worrying previous behavior, including attending an Old South themed party. (Kirkconnell apologized. both on the air and on social media.) James sighed deeply and took several long breaks – especially when his conversation with Kirkconnell and I think turned to reconciliation. More than anything, it looked like the first Black Bachelor was still processing a lot of trauma. In many ways, “After the Final Rose” is The Bachelor at its best. The after-show often finds contestants in trouble and recent ex-boyfriends at their weakest point – and gently questions them for every ounce of emotion that their presenter (usually Chris Harrison) can draw. Monday’s episode was no different, but it was still painful to watch. I think, replacing Harrison after the former Bachelor host got into a bad case defending Kirkconnell, he did an admirable job of an undesirable job. His first questions highlighted why being the first black bachelor is such a responsibility, and the expectation of black men and women to represent their entire race in all trivial social interactions. Later, I think he was adept at the friendly type of barbecue on the show – putting pressure on James, Kirkconnell and runner-up Michelle Young over all their most uncomfortable emotions. Ultimately, and perhaps most importantly, I think it proved that, yes, other people can do Harrison’s job very well, should his departure from the program become permanent. Still, it was hard not to notice how invested the special seemed in protecting Kirkconnell – and how uninterested he seemed in protecting the Bachelor himself. ABC nominated Matt James as a Bachelor of Arts this season last summer, while protests by Black Lives Matter across the country called for justice after George Floyd’s death. James told I think that when he became the first Black Bachelor on that national scene, he felt as if he had to “carry the weight of everything that was happening in the country at that time with respect to social justice – everything that was within the franchise around diversity and inclusion. “” That’s the pressure I felt, and that’s what I started to feel that my presence represented, “he said. The selection of James as a Bachelor meant a step forward for a franchise that historically (and repeatedly) fumbled in the race. But, as his season unfolded, viewers quickly noticed how little time we spent learning about James and many of his competitors; an enormous amount of time was, instead, for internal struggles largely instigated by white competitors. The show explored James’ strained relationship with his father for the drama, without considering the effect that such a stereotyped portrait of a black man with an absent father could have, without any context about his specific story. And instead of addressing Kirkconnell’s disturbing social media story in real time, The Bachelor’s network and producers have chosen to do what they always do, when they can: avoid comments in the hope of attracting more interest (and better ratings) on Final. ‘The Bachelor’ should be ashamed of what was done for Matt James. After the end saw James riding at sunset (uncommitted) with Kirkconnell, the post-show focused on digging into the emotional consequences of his racism scandal. James confirmed that he and Rachael were no longer together, while I think he asked what he would say to those who thought his decision indicated that he never loved Rachael. Think and James protested Rachael’s “cancellation”, and think emphasized that while their previous actions were racially ignorant and insensitive, this does not necessarily make them racist. At one point, I think she asked James if he would consider reconciling with Kirkconnell – a question he started to answer repeatedly, saying that she needed to do the job herself. Throughout the conversation, Matt looked more and more exhausted – and in the end, he refused to hug Kirkconnell goodbye. Any fan who is honest with himself knows that The Bachelor has always been built to some degree of exploration; speaking reductively, it evolved into a psychological experiment that functions as an incubator for influencers. But this franchise has repeatedly proved that it doesn’t understand where the limits are when it comes to race. As former single Rachel Lindsay said when she reacted to James’ season on the Ringer’s “Bachelor Party” podcast, “If the Bachelor franchise has shown us anything, it’s that they don’t know how to protect people by heart. They only know how to exploit them. Lindsay rose to prominence within Bachelor Nation after appearing on Nick Viall’s 2017 bachelor’s season and, months later, becoming the first black single. Lindsay’s season, like James ‘, intended to take the franchise forward – but, like James’, it did more to prove how much the franchise still grew. Lindsay also had a competitor whose unfortunate social media story appeared before the season debuted. But Lee Garrett’s racist social media posts took a back seat to the airborne controversy that quickly developed between him and black fighter Kenny Layne. Garrett spent the season stimulating several color competitors and, in particular, liked to choose in Layne. Instead of shedding light on what was going on for Lindsay, the producers did what they normally do about competitors’ internal struggles – that is, nothing. By forcing Lindsay to navigate the conflict without all the information about Garrett’s behavior, however, the program was putting its black protagonist in a compromising position. In addition to injustice, it was dangerous. The outrage over James’ season overcame the anger that followed Lindsay’s. Chris Harrison apologized and chose to step aside temporarily after defending Rachael Kirkconnell on Lindsay’s Extra TV show – talking about Lindsay at times in the process. Lindsay herself said she is leaving the franchise as soon as her contract ends, and racist fans have temporarily intimidated her off Instagram. (Singles producers released a statement calling their behavior “unacceptable”.) And fans and alumni are also calling for changes in a way never seen since the misconduct scandal that infected Bachelor in Paradise in 2017 – when production was halted. for two weeks and restarted afterwards competitors Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson became involved in a drunken call that raised questions of consent and responsibility from producers to intervene. It’s frustratingly easy to imagine that the conversations this season sparked could be temporary – that all the hoopla around how this franchise treated James and the color contestants can dissipate, allowing Harrison to return after Katie Thurston’s bachelorette season. without many incidents in a return to business as usual. But it is also possible, and more encouraging, to imagine the future that awaits The Bachelor and its fans, if that really turns out to be a source of lasting change. Speaking with the Daily Beast about the show’s path ahead, several Black alumni emphasized several steps that the franchise could become a safer and more inclusive place for black contestants and all color contestants. They also suggested an improved exhibition process and the hiring of more members of the color team at all levels of production, which would make productions as a whole better equipped to tell complex stories and avoid pitfalls like the ones we have already witnessed. These changes are necessary and should become a priority for the franchise. Along with these vital efforts at diversity, perhaps, there should also be a broader discussion of what this franchise is and how it operates – how it builds its narrative out of people’s lives and frames them for public consumption, and how it determines what’s “on” and “off limits. How your audience follows white competitors at higher rates than color competitors on social media. How sexist and racist bullying has become rampant in Bachelor Nation’s online circles. words: maybe it’s time for all of us to reconsider where the ethical limits of the program, and our own as viewers, should fall., James’s pain felt like something so profound and personal that we had no right to witness. to James how he felt about the questions being asked, or the special itself. But as the Spinster cried, he looked into space and, at one point, sat in silence for almost a full minute, the degree to which the show had failed to protect him throughout the process became palpable. Even in the face of its most disturbing controversy, The Bachelor seems determined to move on without slowing down. As announced on Monday night, Katie Thurston’s bachelorette season will debut this summer, with former Bachelorettes Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe replacing Chris Harrison as hosts. Michelle Young, runner-up this season, will have her own season in the fall. It is unclear whether Chris Harrison will return for this, but all eyes will certainly be on Young, as his season tries to tell the story of a biracial woman with a black father and a white mother. Matt James’ season was not the first in this franchise to go wrong and it will not be the last. But if The Bachelor can’t find a way to get their color clues right when Michelle Young’s season airs, her days may be rightly numbered.Read more in The Daily Beast.Read our top news in your inbox every day. Subscribe now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper into the stories that matter to you. To know more.