ABC announces Matt James as the first Black bachelor

Matt James is making reality TV history as The Bachelor‘s first Black lead.

James, who fans of the franchise may know as former contestant Tyler Cameron’s best friend and business partner, was originally cast as a contestant on Clare Crawley’s upcoming season of The Bachelorette. (The season was set to film this year but production shut down in March because of the coronavirus.) On Friday, however, ABC announced that James will in fact be starring as the show’s next bachelor.

The announcement, which marks a diversity milestone that fans have been requesting and petitioning about for years, means that James will be the show’s first black bachelor. In 2017, Rachel Lindsay became the first Black bachelorette, but the franchise has received a fair share of criticism over the years for a lack of diversity.

“Matt has been on our radar since February, when producers first approached him to join Bachelor Nation, as part of Clare’s season. When filming couldn’t move forward as planned, we were given the benefit of time to get to know Matt and all agreed he would make a perfect Bachelor,” ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke said in a statement announcing the casting on Friday.

“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 are proudly in service to our audience. This is just the beginning 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,” Burke said.

Though ABC naming a Black bachelor is a huge step that’s worthy of celebration, it’s long overdue. And it’s worth noting that the announcement not only comes amidst worldwide protests against racism, but also at a particularly strained time for the franchise.

In May, former bachelorette Hannah Brown came under fire from fans and fellow former contestants for singing the n-word in an Instagram story. 

Rachel Lindsay addressed Brown’s comments in a lengthy Instagram video, and explained that she is “tired” of feeling a duty to speak up on matters concerning race as the franchise’s sole black lead.

“After almost four years in this franchise, we still don’t have the diversity that this show needs, and that our audience deserves.”

Lindsay later revealed that after several phone conversations and messages exchanged with Brown, she was ultimately disappointed in the way Brown chose to release her apology statement. Lindsay also appeared on The Viall Files, a podcast hosted by former contestant and bachelor Nick Viall, to further discuss her feelings about the situation. 

Brown has since apologized to fans again in an Instagram live video, but on Tuesday, Lindsay penned a personal blog post to clarify reports that she plans to “disassociate” herself from the Bachelor franchise if they don’t start taking diversity seriously.

“I am sad to say that after almost four years in this franchise, we still don’t have the diversity that this show needs, and that our audience deserves,” the 35-year-old wrote. “It is a naive expectation to believe that leads will authentically start an interracial relationship for the first time on national television. The sad reality is that people of color become placeholders as the token person of color to add some flavor to the second half of the season.”

Lindsay went on to detail all the steps she’s taken over the years to call out the show’s lack of representation, and she urged the franchise to “make a statement acknowledging their systemic racism.” 

“Only time will tell how the franchise will respond, but to date they have been silent,” she concluded.

On Friday, when James appeared on Good Morning America to discuss his big news, he spoke on race and acknowledged Lindsay’s frustration with the franchise.

“I think it’s a step in the right direction. When Rachel speaks, we listen,” he said. “She has a very important voice in all this, being the first Black woman, person of color to have a lead…and this is hopefully the first of many Black men to be in the position I’m at now.” 

Lindsay also spoke to GMA to share her thoughts on the Bachelor‘s latest casting decision. “I was hoping when I came on to be a trailblazer for that and to increase diversity in the audience that watches it. But in the last three years, there really haven’t been changes made,” she said. 

“I want producers of color,” she continued. “I’d like for them to cast leads that are interested in dating outside of their race that aren’t just getting their first-time experience — for the first time — on national TV. I need the acknowledgment of that. Not putting a band-aid over the situation and just saying, ‘Here, we’re going to put this here. Are you happy now?'”

Lindsay is far from the only person who’s been advocating for more diversity in the franchise. A change.org petition, called, “A Campaign For Anti-Racism in the Bachelor Franchise,” was recently launched and has amassed more than 85,000 signatures. The petition was started by the Bachelor Diversity Campaign, a group that’s calling for more diverse “relationships, families, and storylines” to be featured on the show.

While James’ leading role is clearly a step in the right direction, fans are making it known that the franchise will have to sustain their efforts to make the cast, crew, and show as a whole more diverse and inclusive to all people.