Bachelor Matt James publicly criticizes the issue of the franchise race

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS ABOUT THE END OF THE MATT JAMES “BACHELOR’S” SEASON.

In a powerful statement posted on his Instagram account on Monday night, licensee Matt James stated unequivocally that “The license franchise failed” when it comes to managing the race. After host Chris Harrison defended a contestant who had a disturbing history of racist behavior on “Extra,” James said the current franchise momentum pushed me to reevaluate and process what my experience at The Bachelor ”.

James and competitor Rachael Kirkconnell arrived at the end of the season, with the 24-year-old graphic designer receiving the final rose in the final still in the air, as reported by Reality Steve on January 21st. HuffPost has since learned that James and Kirkconnell are no longer together and that their breakup was eventually precipitated by recent revelations that she attended a formal pre-war themed fraternity in 2018 and that she liked the photos that contained images. of the Confederate flag in the past.

James’ statement marks the most vocal he has publicly expressed about the franchise’s relationship to race since it was thrown as the first black bachelor in June after nationwide protests against police brutality and racism. (“It is an honor,” James said “Good Morning America” then. “I will simply bow to myself and how my mother raised me and, hopefully, when people invite me to their homes on Monday night, they will see that I am not much different from them and I see that diverse love stories are beautiful. ”)

It is also an extremely unusual step for a franchise to publicly criticize the show before their season airs.

But behind host Chris Harrison temporarily “giving up” the franchise after leaving on a 15 minutes of talk about “awakened police” at the first Black Bachelorette, Rachel Lindsay, on “Extra”, the stakes became higher. As James wrote in his statement, he felt compelled to “address the worrying information that has come to light since we finished filming.”

“As the season progressed, it became clear that Matt’s presence on the show was exemplary in the face of so many POCs on a daily basis. He and black women have had to take on additional responsibility to help “Bachelor” address diversity issues and have often been exploited, “a source close to James told HuffPost. “Bachelor’s directors have failed to realize that throwing a diverse set of competitors is not the same as creating a level playing field. If they want to change, that means change behind and in front of the camera. ”

James angered some fans because he was no longer vocal about the franchise’s racism, especially in light of his obvious connection to Kirkconnell on the show. But he was also put in a painful position, as his journey as the first black bachelor was overshadowed by controversy over the racist actions of the woman he chose as the winner and the show’s longtime host.

James can bear neither the burden of the franchise’s sufferings nor the weight of saving it. “Bachelor” had a close relationship with the race – and especially Blackness – long before the season of James, and the more diverse casting does not address racism embedded in the structures of the show and the entertainment industry as a whole.

James is not even the first black leader to be linked to a white competitor with a history of racist opinions and behavior on social media. In 2017, Lindsay’s suitors included Lee Garrett, whose tweets compare NAACP to KKK and call Black Lives Matter a “terrorist group” (among many other racist, Islamophobic, homophobic and misogynistic positions). came to the surface as the season unfolded. Lindsay said publicly that she felt that way framed as the “angry black woman” in her season. This month he said that, after his contractual obligations towards “Bachelor” will be fulfilled, it will be concluded with the franchise.

Other competitors of color reported similar experiences tokenization, exploitation and racist reaction that some say the show failed to prepare or support. Both Kupah James, a contestant on Kaitlyn Bristowe’s “The Bachelorette” season, and Taylor Nolan, a contestant on Nick Viall’s “The Bachelor” season, who is now a major advocate for racial equity in the franchise, said HuffPost during the summer, they felt that they were classified as “aggressive” villains and thus were prepared to receive a massive reaction. LaNease Adams, a black woman cast in the first season of “The Bachelor,” he reminded me that he found his photo on a white supremacist website and that after that he faced mental health problems. And Jason Mesnick, the first and only Jewish bachelor, told HuffPost last year that the show downplayed his Jewishness, including discouraging him from breaking a glass at the 2010 televised wedding with his now-wife Molly

In 2012, two black men led a process of racial discrimination against the group action against the franchise, which was eventually rejected on the grounds of the first amendment. However, after the trial, starting with Sean Lowe’s season of “The Bachelor”, the cast became more diverse. But color contestants still rarely make the final coveted show, and even when they do, they are often not given the same amount of time and positive attention as their white colleagues.

Pieper James, one of the black women in James’ season, posted on Twitter on February 11 that “Black women in this franchise must always be extremely aware of our “grace” because no one extends it to us. ” She added later that it was “waiting to hear the systematic changes that the franchise will bring to combat the tokenization of COPD individuals. ”

Until the last two weeks, no one on the executive team of “The Bachelor” has faced even the slightest consequences for this racist history. (Even though Harrison is supposed to be leaving to go on an anti-racist journey, he did continued to make money on Cameo and continued to appear in episodes already filmed this season.)

James, it seems, is just hoping that his season can precipitate the kind of institutional change that color contestants and spectators have been demanding for years. As he wrote on Instagram: “My biggest prayer is that this is a turning point that results in a real and institutional change for the better.”