'Bachelorette' star Rachel Lindsay says she cried over the 'selection of men of color' on her season and learned several didn't date Black women

• Rachel Lindsay spoke about her frustrations with the "Bachelor" franchise on an episode of "Ziwe."
• She said the producers cast Black men who didn't date Black women and found it interesting.
• Lindsay said she cried in frustration over the casting and her tears were used in another scene.

The "Bachelorette" star Rachel Lindsay called out the franchise's diversity issues during Monday's episode of "Ziwe," a Showtime variety show hosted by the comedian Ziwe Fumudoh.

Fumudoh interviewed Lindsay about her experience on the reality-television show and asked if she received any backlash for ending up with a white man.

"All three of the Black bachelors and bachelorettes have ended up with partners who are not of color," Fumudoh said.

Lindsay, the "Bachelor" star Matt James, and the newest "Bachelorette" star, Tayshia Adams, are the only three Black leads in the franchise's 33-season history. Each is dating, married, or engaged to a white person.

Lindsay said the show's lack of diversity contributed to that outcome.

"It's something I was worried about before I went on the show," Lindsay said. "I think I got a little bit more grace because I was the first and people were just excited that a person of color was in this role."

She said her personal experience on the show left her frustrated.

"There was a point where I broke down on camera, and they used my tears for something else, but I was getting upset at the selection of men of color," she said.

Throughout her season, she said, she'd learned "several" of the Black men on her season "didn't date Black women" and that the showrunners "found it interesting."

"I said, 'You think that's interesting? That's my life. I live that,'" Lindsay said.

The "Bachelor" franchise has faced mounting criticism over its diversity issues.

Host Chris Harrison resigned from his role earlier this year after he came to the defense of Rachael Kirkconnell, a contestant. Leaked photos of Kirkconnell attending an "antebellum plantation-themed" formal in 2018 surfaced while she dated James on the show.

Representatives for ABC, which produces the "Bachelor" franchise, did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.