As the Black Lives Matter movement sweeps the nation, it has highlighted shortcomings in industries across the spectrum — especially in Hollywood.
On Monday morning, the Bachelor made headlines, but it wasn’t for the premiere of the Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons — Ever!. Instead, it was because fed up fans launched an anti-racism campaign calling on ABC and Warner Bros. to diversify the franchise. In 18 years, there have been 40 season leads and only one of them has been black.
“This is unacceptable. As creators of one of the most popular and influential franchises on television, ABC and Warner Bros. have an opportunity and responsibility to feature Black, Indigenous, People of Color (“BIPOC”) relationships, families, and storylines,” a Change.org petition reads, which has garnered over 57,000 signatures and counting. “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.”
Yahoo Entertainment spoke with Bachelor Diversity campaign members Tomiko Adkins and Daniela González on Tuesday about the petition that’s gaining momentum. They came together and launched the petition with other viewers after meeting in a Facebook group. Both women are fans of the Bachelor-verse and joined as Hispanic/Latinx strategy consultants to bring perspectives from the BIPOC community.
“I’ve been a viewer for years now, and just as a member of the BIPOC community watching it, I just kept asking myself: How do I continue watching this show?” Adkins said, explaining why she got involved. “I feel like they’re just perpetuating this racism of not having enough people of color, especially black faces there. It’s been a longstanding joke within the Bachelor community that ‘Bachelor‘s so white,’ but it’s just not funny. Now’s the time where we have to address it and make changes.”
González, who also works as a social media account manager for the campaign, became a fan of the show while watching Hannah Brown’s season of the Bachelorette last year.
This article was originally posted on yahoo.com/entertainment/.
