Matt James will be the first Black male lead on "The Bachelor " in the show's 18-year history, ABC announced on Friday.- The real estate broker, 28, is set to star on the show's 25th season, which will premiere in 2021.
- The decision was announced after former "Bachelorette"
Rachel Lindsay threatened to quit the franchise due to its lack of diversity and fans circulated a petition demanding a Black bachelor. - ABC
Entertainment executive Rob Mills told Variety that the casting decision "wasn't a response" to Lindsay's criticism, and executive producer Mike Fleiss vowed to "do better." - Fans, however, said that a Black "Bachelor" should've been cast much earlier.
Matt James is set to become the first Black male lead on "The Bachelor" in the show's 18-year history, a decision that many fans consider overdue.
The 28-year-old real estate broker and entrepreneur will be the star of season 25, ABC announced on "Good Morning America" on Friday. His season will premiere in 2021.
"We know we have a responsibility to make sure the love stories we're seeing onscreen are representative of the world we live in, and we will continue to take action with regard to diversity issues on this franchise. We feel so privileged to have Matt as our first Black Bachelor and we cannot wait to embark on this journey with him," a statement from Karey Burke, the president of ABC Entertainment, read.
—Good Morning America (@GMA) June 12, 2020
James, a longtime friend of Bachelor Nation's Tyler Cameron, was originally announced as a contestant on Clare Crawley's season of "
During the segment on "Good Morning America," James said he hopes viewers "see that I'm not different from them and that diverse love stories are beautiful."
When asked if he thought the franchise, which has only cast one other Black lead in 40 seasons, should've introduced a Black bachelor earlier, he said, "I don't think it's ever the wrong time to do the right thing."
"We can't have change until you put that first foot forward," he added.
The announcement came days after Rachel Lindsay threatened to cut ties with the franchise
Lindsay, the season 13 "Bachelorette" and the franchise's sole Black lead thus far, announced that she would disassociate with the franchise if it doesn't improve its on-screen representation during a June 15 appearance on "AfterBuzz."
"In 40 seasons, 'The Bachelor' had one Black lead," the 35-year-old said. "We are on 45 presidents. And in 45 presidents there's been one Black president. You are almost on par to say you're more likely to become the President of the United States than you are a Black lead in this franchise. That's insane. That's ridiculous."
When asked if she'll stand by "The Bachelor" franchise if the status quo remains, Lindsay said she'd quit if changes weren't made.
"It's been asked of me, will I continue in this franchise if it continues in this way," she said, continuing, "I can't. I have to see some type of change. It's ridiculous. It's embarrassing. At this point it's embarrassing to be affiliated with it."
Linday also penned a blog post calling out the systemic racism on the show on June 8, saying, "if changes are not made on the inside and outside of the franchise, I will dissociate myself from it."
She told Entertainment Tonight that producers hadn't responded to her blog but said she did hear from an executive producer, who told her that they "want to make changes."
Fans joined Lindsay in her demand for diversity on the show and began circulating a "Campaign For Anti-Racism in the Bachelor Franchise." The petition lists 13 ways the franchise can be anti-racist, including a Black "Bachelor" lead in season 25, a cast that is comprised of 35% BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), and equal screen time for BIPOC contestants.
"ABC and Warner Bros. have been producing Bachelor content for 18 years. During that time they've cast 40 season leads, yet only one Black lead. This is unacceptable," the petition reads, continuing, "The franchise, and all those who represent it, should reflect and honor the racial diversity of our country — both in front of and behind the camera."
The petition has generated more than 85,000 signatures. Former "Bachelor" stars like Nick Viall, Kaitlyn Bristowe, and Ashley Spivey signed the document and expressed their support for the messaging on social media.
—Nick Viall (@viallnicholas28) June 8, 2020
—Kaitlyn Bristowe (@kaitlynbristowe) June 9, 2020
—Ashley Spivey (@AshleySpivey) June 8, 2020
'Bachelor' producers said that casting James wasn't a response to the criticism
Following the announcement on Friday, ABC executive Rob Mills told Variety that James had been considered for season 25 of "The Bachelor" for "quite some time."
"Matt was somebody who was on our radar and we were thinking about him. We were thinking do we announce him early, or do we put him on Clare's season and then announce him later, if it doesn't work out with Clare? We didn't make a final decision until recently, but this has been talked about for quite some time," he said.
Mills stated that the decision to cast James wasn't a response to Lindsay's criticism of the franchise and doesn't view the decision as a "cure-all."
"It wasn't a response to that. We could have made this announcement earlier or later," he said.
Mills continued, "Certainly no one is blind to what is happening in the world, so hopefully this announcement serves as a bit of optimism during a time that we can really use this. But I don't want this to look like we're patting ourselves on the back or taking a victory lap. We don't want this, in any way, to seem like a cure-all and seem like, 'Hey! Look what we did here!' We know this is a few grains of sand in a very big hourglass. It's taken a while to get where we are and we will continue to go further, and I acknowledge it may not be enough."
Mike Fleiss, an executive producer on the show, also acknowledged that there's progress to be made on the show. Following the announcement that James will be the next lead, he wrote, "More to come... We can and will do better!"
—Mike Fleiss (@fleissmeister) June 12, 2020
Lindsay and many 'Bachelor' fans agree that casting James is only the beginning of fixing the issues
The former "Bachelorette" said that having a Black lead was a move in the right direction, but much more needed to be done to address inequality on the show during an appearance on "Good Morning America."
"I want producers of color," Lindsay said. "I would like for them to cast leads that are interested in dating outside of their race, aren't just getting their experience for the first time on national
Many fans echoed Lindsay's sentiments following the announcement, pointing out that it shouldn't have taken 18 years for the show to cast a Black lead.
—Elise (@vogueeli) June 12, 2020
—x læila-xii ⚔️ (@http_lailax) June 12, 2020
—golden (@camaryliss) June 12, 2020
—jenna (@JennaCool18) June 12, 2020
—Real Facade (@realfacade1) June 12, 2020
—Colette K (@jrzychick) June 12, 2020