First premiering in 2002, The Bachelor is an American reality television dating show. Throughout twenty-four seasons, the show has cast its first black “Bachelor”, Matt James, in its twenty-fifth season in 2021. However, the franchise’s first black “Bachelorette”, Rachel Lindsay, was cast in 2017 on the thirteenth season of The Bachelorette. The Bachelor has built a fanbase throughout twenty-four white “Bachelor” seasons that demands to see diversity within the franchise and a larger, more overt denunciation of racism by contestants of the series. Through subreddits and other social media outlets, fans or “Bachelor Nation'' have been able to mobilize those with liberal views amongst their fanbase to openly denounce The Bachelor host, Chris Harrison, for excusing racism, and call for him to be removed as host.
The “Bachelor” franchise has accredited their fanbase as “Bachelor Nation''. Bachelor Nation has been dedicated to the series since its origin, due to the limitless world created in the show and the ability for the audiences to connect and identify with contestants as real people relating to “real people” on the show. Originating in 2002, the franchise was born before social media gained a strong presence. However, in 2021, the fanbase manages to pull enough weight for the show to be in several pop culture magazine headlines, trending on Twitter, and score thousands of fan accounts and discussion forums. In Jeffrey Sconce’s Essay, “What If?: Charting Television’s New Textual Boundaries'', Sconce discusses the ability for television to ‘world build’ and engage audiences. Specifically, Sconce claims: “What television lacks in spectacle and narrative constraints, it makes up for in-depth and duration of character relations, diegetic, expansion, and audience investment” (Sconce, 2004). In this way, the “Bachelor” franchise has been so successful with its broadcasts and its fanbase because the stories are endless. The ‘characters’ within these shows are real people with real lives, therefore, even when a season is done, each contestant can be followed. Through social media, and each fans’ engagement with each platform, fans can follow the lives of these contestants, and if they are dedicated fans, they get excited upon the return of old contestants in new seasons. It is because of the franchise’s success and the presence of “Bachelor Nation'' that there have been several podcasts, clothing lines, nonprofits, and best-selling novels from contestants of the show after they depart from their season.
One of the most recent scandals within the franchise was when The Bachelor host, Chris Harrison, publicly condoned season twenty-five The Bachelor Contestant Rachael Kirkconnell’s racist past to former black “Bachelorette” Rachel Lindsay. Although employed as an attorney as well, former “Bachelorette”, Rachel Lindsay has kept a connection with the ABC franchise post her season. Lindsay hosts an ABC-sponsored Bachelor Nation podcast, Bachelor Happy Hour, with season 14 former “Bachelorette” Becca Kufrin. Since Lindsay’s season Lindsay has been vocal regarding issues of diversity within the franchise and has been confrontational with “Bachelor” alums and current contestants regarding their racial and political views. In particular, on this recent season of The Bachelor, with “Bachelor” Matt James, an old photograph of Bachelor contestant Rachael Kirkconnell, at an “Old South” antebellum-themed party in 2018 surfaced on social media as the season was still airing. After the photos surfaced, Rachel Lindsay, former “Bachelorette” and correspondent on Extra, the entertainment news show, interviewed Bachelor franchise host, Chris Harrison (“Extra TV”, 2021). In this interview, Chris Harrison seemed to indirectly be defending Kirkconnell by saying this about her surfaced photos: "Is it [not] a good look in 2018 or is it not a good look in 2021? ... I'm not defending Rachael, I just know that 50 million people did that in 2018” (“Extra TV”, 2021).
The years of dedication to the series have allowed fans within Bachelor Nation to have enough power to call for change within the show and its creators. When discussing the importance of fan forums, Jenkins explained what happened on forums concerning fans of Twin Peaks. “When ABC put the series on hiatus, the net provides a rallying point for national fan efforts to organize public support for the endangered show” (Jenkins, 1994, p. 54). In this way, this discussion thread was used as a platform not only to mobilize the fanbase but mobilize the producers of The Bachelor as well; by putting out a call for action for Chris Harrison’s removal from the show after hosting The Bachelor for twenty-five seasons and all of the “Bachelor” franchise’s other shows. This very discussion thread even went as far as linking a petition for his removal as host, with over forty-thousand signatures, and a week later, Harrison had announced that he would be taking a step back from the “Bachelor” franchise as host (“Stellaheystella”, 2021). Additionally, a few more weeks later, it was announced that former “Bachelorettes”, Kaitlyn Bristowe and Tayshia Adams, would be replacing Harrison as hosts on the next season of The Bachelorette. Although this subreddit forum isn’t the only way Bachelor Nation can speak out, it is one of the many examples of how strong-willed and strong-minded fans have more power than they think when it comes to mobilizing the path of the show they are invested in.
The subreddit page I would like to discuss is titled “r/thebachelor” (“r/thebachelor”, 2012). The page is described as the following: “r/thebachelor” is a subreddit dedicated to thoughtful discussion about The Bachelor franchise, the lives of contestants, and how Bachelor Nation interacts with and influences the world around us” (“r/thebachelor”, 2012). The discussion thread I have chosen to analyze is a thread based on Harrison’s interview with Lindsay and the discussion thread is titled: “If this show is going to get better for POC, Chris Harrison has to go” (“Stellaheystella”, 2021). The user, “Stellaheystella”, that started this account had made this statement amongst others to start this discussion: “At this point, the franchise needs to be held accountable and if Chris is going to sweep this under the rug like he did with Lee, Garrett, and so many other problematic people in this franchise he’s got to go” (“Stellaheystella”, 2021). This fan’s particular dedication to the pattern of the show of ignoring racism is evident through her references of past contestants on the show who have exhibited similar remarks without any consequences. Another user, “forthewinter17”, stated this in response, in agreement with “Stellaheystella”’s call for action: “he really said 'is it bad in 2018 or in 2021,' more than once, as if the confederate flag suddenly became a bad thing this year??? hello???? we gotta throw the whole host away” (“Stellaheystella”, 2021). Another user, “goldsoundz123”, commented: “Genuine question, is it time for more progressive BN fans (like a lot of the fans on this sub) to just stop watching the franchise and engaging with the content online altogether, rather than imploring the franchise to change? To ABC, nothing matters more than money and viewership + engagement = money” (“Stellaheystella”, 2021).
All of these statements, while strong, and backed with support, are from one side of the argument, rather than the other. The reason being that this discussion post, concerning other discussion posts under the “r/thebachelor” subreddit, has been made into censored discussion boards from immediate offensive comments. In a stickied comment from two months ago, user, “porcelain_queen”, reiterated: “We will be banning folks that invalidate POC, post microaggressions against POC or post flat out racist comments” (“Stellaheystella”, 2021). In this way, the forum engaged in a discussion amongst those in agreement within Bachelor Nation, rather than those with opposing views. Instead of engaging in debates within Bachelor Nation, the discussion forum chose to immediately delete those comments that they deemed to be offensive, and only react and keep comments posted that reinforced similar overall ideals.
Personally, as a member of Bachelor Nation myself for the past seven years, I find this fan community to be extremely dedicated to viewing the show and invested in each contestant’s stories. Therefore, the passion and rage towards the lack of diversity in the franchise, along with the disregard for blatant racism, are factors that enrage parts of Bachelor Nation and reinforce the white conservative ideals of the other parts of Bachelor Nation. The fact that fans were able to remove Chris Harrison as host, despite Harrison being the face of the franchise for the past nineteen years, is a testament to the power of social media and fan forums to the success and sustainment of a beloved American television franchise.
References
Extra TV. (2021). Chris Harrison & Rachel Lindsay Talk ‘Bachelor’ Contestant Rachael Kirkconnell. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hmY1gSAuRk
Jenkins, H. (1994). “Do You Enjoy Making the Rest of Us Feel Stupid?”: alt.tv.twinpeaks, the Trickster Author, and Viewer Mastery. In Lavery, D. (Ed.), Full of secrets: Critical approaches to Twin Peaks. (pp. 51-69). Detroit, Mich: Wayne State Univ. Press.
Sconce, J. (2004). What If?: Charting Television’s New Textual Boundaries. In Olsson, J., & Spigel, L. (Eds.). Television after TV: Essays on a Medium in Transition. (pp. 93-112). Durham: Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.1215/9780822386278
Stellaheystella. (2021, February 10). If this show is going to get better for POC, Chris Harrison has to go [Reddit Post]. R/Thebachelor. www.reddit.com/r/thebachelor/comments/lgk2ly/if_this_show_is_going_to_get_better_for_poc_chris/
Warner Bros. Entertainment. (2002). The Bachelor [TV programme]. ABC.