‘The Bachelor’ Casts Matt James as First Black Lead
The Bachelor made a surprise announcement on Friday morning as they announced on Good Morning America that Matt James was named the franchise’s very first black Bachelor.
If you’ve been living under a rock for the last 10 months, James is best known as Tyler Cameron’s BFF from college and can be seen in many of his and Hannah Brown’s Instagram and TikTok posts.
The announcement also comes in the wake of George Floyd’s death, which has inspired worldwide protests against systemic racism, and a group called Bachelor Diversity Campaign launching a petition that demanded ABC and Warner Brothers, which produces the Bachelor franchise, cast a black lead for season 25.
ABC Entertainment President Karey Burke said in a statement, “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. 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.”
Though there is still no word as to when The Bachelorette will resume production, the show is hoping to keep The Bachelor on schedule for a January 2021 premiere.
Are you excited about Matt James being named The Bachelor for season 25? Let me know in the comments below!