‘We Have to do Better’

The Bachelor’s executive producers Claire Freeland and Bennett Graebner have acknowledged the long-running reality show’s “inexcusable” lack of racial diversity, admitting they “have to do better.”

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, published on Wednesday, June 26, Freeland and Graebner addressed the accusations of racism the Bachelor franchise has faced over the years.

“It’s hard to say out loud, that people of color didn’t see themselves represented, that they did not see The Bachelor franchise as a safe place,” Graebner told the outlet. “We didn’t have a Black lead in this franchise for 15 years, and that’s inexcusable. It created a vicious cycle, and it’s taken a lot of work to get back to a place where we feel at least we’re working for the positive.”

Matt James became The Bachelor‘s first Black lead in 2021; however, his season was overshadowed by controversy after photos leaked of contestant (and eventual winner) Rachael Kirkconnell attending an Antebellum South plantation-themed party in 2018.

The situation only worsened after The Bachelor‘s then-host Chris Harrison tried to defend Kirkconnell in an interview with former Bachelorette star Rachel Lindsay (the first Black woman to lead the spinoff) on Extra, ultimately leading to Harrison stepping away from the show.

“I’m going to be really frank — we let Matt down,” Graebner admitted. “That season went wrong on so many levels. We did not protect him as we should have. The finale of that season was the darkest day I’ve had on this franchise. Here was this great Black man, and we should have been celebrating his love story. Instead, what we saw was a man burdened and overwhelmed by issues of racism. It was really sad for me personally.”

James and Kirkconnell are still together.

ABC/Craig Sjodin

Graebner and Freeland noted how having another Black lead in the future was a priority. They also touched on the upcoming season of The Bachelorette, which will introduce its first Asian lead in Jenn Tran.

“That’s on us,” Graebner said regarding the show’s lack of Asian representation in the past. “We didn’t do what we needed to do. Our hope is that they will see Jenn and realize this is a safe space. We’re not saying it will solve and fix everything. But it is a step.”

Freeland added, “We had extensive discussions with Jenn prior to filming. She is proud of her Vietnamese culture and she wanted to know if she could speak about that. We told her we wanted her to be her most authentic self.”

Rachel Nance on The Bachelor; Disney/John Fleenor

The producers also addressed the handling of The Women Tell All episode of the last season of The Bachelor, where a tearful Rachel Nance described the racist abuse she’d received from some viewers after the Hometown episode where Bachelor Joey Graziadei visited her family.

While host Jesse Palmer comforted Nance, telling her, “I’m so, so sorry that you and your family had to go through that,” he then turned to Nance’s fellow contestants in the audience and asked, “Ladies, show of hands if you’ve had a hateful comment or statement on social media.”

“We have reflected on it, and a big blind spot was not naming what it was: racism,” Freeland told the LA Times when asked about the Women Tell All segment. “That was another missed opportunity for us. Our intention was to bring light toward what Rachel was going through. But we have to do better.”

“We’re not always going to get it right,” Graebner added. “We’re going to make mistakes as we move forward. But we’re not going to shy away from difficult conversations.”