No More Black Leads on the 'Bachelor' Franchise?

Rachel Lindsay made history when she became the first African-American lead on The Bachelorette. She might not have successfully broken the barrier, though. She notes that her season saw diminished ratings from previous seasons and that she got plenty of racially motivated hate on social media. Her conclusion: Bachelor Nation isn't thrilled with the idea of African-American leads.

Via Us Weekly.

Speaking her mind! Former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay may have broken barriers when she became the first African American lead on the show in 2017, but she’s not sure Bachelor Nation will be seeing another female of color anytime soon.

“I don’t think Bachelor Nation is ready for the diversity of a lead … an African American lead,” the Dallas-based lawyer, who was celebrating her 33rd birthday with her fiancé at the SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, told Us Weekly about where she believes the hit ABC show stands in terms of racial diversity. “I think there’ll be an [African American] man before there’ll be another woman.”

Throwback to reckless wedding behavior with my best friend and a special shoutout to @thebryanabasolo doing big things in LA today. Thank you baby for always keeping a smile on my face 😁💛 #weddingbehavior #lovelivelaugh #rnb #tbt • • • Dress: @thestylistla

A post shared by Rachel Lindsay (@therachlindsay) on Apr 19, 2018 at 12:14pm PDT

Her fiance, Bryan Abasolo, whom she met and got engaged to in season 13, agrees. “I think there definitely needs to be more diversity on the show,” Abasolo, 38, told Us.“Whether America is ready for it, that’s yet to be seen.”

Lindsay chimed in, “It’s not America it’s Bachelor Nation.”

Dream big and fly high...the sky is the beginning of the limit • • • #thursdaythoughts #mountupwithwingslikeeagles

A post shared by Rachel Lindsay (@therachlindsay) on Apr 12, 2018 at 1:48pm PDT

“I don’t think that there would have been two black Bachelorettes in a row,” she continued noting that Sienne Fleming from Arie Luyendyk Jr.’s season would’ve been great as Bachelorette. “I just don’t think the nation … I mean look at the ratings from the season.” Lindsay added that her ratings were “significantly lower than Jojo’s,” the season prior.

Though Lindsay says she didn’t personally face racial backlash on social media, her fiance noted that he “definitely saw it.” “There was a lot of backlash in terms of race for her, and I think she handled herself with such grace and elegance and pride,” Abasolo gushed of his fiancee. “I think she represented the African American community beautifully.”

Get the rest of the story at Us Weekly.

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