ABC’s “The Bachelor” is back — with four Black Women!

Jan 15th, in Relationships, Swirling Singles, by SwirlQueen

The question is, how long will they last…

Author : SwirlQueen

Author's Website | Articles from SwirlQueen

ABC’s The Bachelor is Back! I know this has forever been a topic of discussion in my circle of black swirling girlfriends and colleagues, but now we’re really talking. Seems there are four black girls —- a first. I think it is just a ratings ploy as they are now down to two. I have not watched this show in years and only hear about it or discuss it in passing. I may tune in, but not holding my breath. My time is so much better spent on other things.

The Bachelor, Sean Lowe hails from Emily Maynard’s season of The Bachelorette. I don’t watch that either. I hear that he requested some black girls in the mix as he has a black ex. But the girls are gorgeous and handsome gent Sean would look great with any of them! What say you?

Sean Lowe

Brooke is 25 years old. She is a Community Organizer from Pittsburgh, PA

Ashley is 25 years old. She is a model form Garner, NC

Leslie is 29 years old. She is a Poker Dealer from Ruskin, FL

Robyn is 24 years old. She is an Oilfield Account Manager from Houston, TX

Guest58 5 pts

hmmm....I doubt if any of these sistahs will make it to the end of the show - I mean sure - he's been with a black woman before but - she didn't work out - I think it's a rating thing....

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MiseeHarris 113 pts

America is definitely ready for an African American female in the leading role! Please check out Dr. Misee Harris at https://www.facebook.com/MiseeHarris4TheBlackBachelorette

Twitter: @miseeharris

https://www.facebook.com/MiseeHarris4TheBlackBachelorette

Butterfly1 601 pts

Whether these black girls get this guy or not. This is a great platform for black women to be shown as viable prospects for marriage for men of all races.

hokieguru 9 pts

YAIS

AminahMatthews 603 pts

Black women are on this show but again I ask, WHY? Because I just read, by some others who do watch this show, that Sean hasn't been on any dates yet with the black women. So why are they there? I didn't watch the first episode, and like I said before, i don't care to watch it at all. So I'll just continue reading your comments here and elsewhere.

Tammy_Ghalden 875 pts

One commenter below assumed that if anyone were to act ghetto on the show, it would be the one with "the hair." I didn't get this impression from her at all. However, I did find a mugshot for Leslie. If this is real, she was arrested for driving under the influence several years ago.

http://florida.arrests.org/Arrests/Leslie_Hughes_2157228/

Tammy_Ghalden OMG!

dfcwrites1 16 pts

I saw this show recently for the first time, too - on Hulu. I find most reality shows [other than Top Chef] too hard to watch. And the datings shows like this, are particularly difficult. I watch tv for entertainment, not to jump start a pity party, or to wonder what happened to things like self-respect & dignity, or for proof that people really are being raised by wolves. But I digress...the key is to watch a show like this online [or TiVO or something]. That way you can speed through the cringey stuff [99% of the show] and skim over to the interesting bits like where Robyn asked Sean about daing black women [more power to her for being candid even if she did take the long way in her question]. Honestly, I am ONLY interested watching when he spends time with the black women on this show, and the fact that given his dating history he may actually have a play date with one of them.

SwirlQueen 1066 pts

Vid of Ryan Ray, Sean Lowe's ex. http://www.wetpaint.com/the-bachelor/video/sean-lowes-ex-dallas-cowboys-cheerleader-ryan-ray She is cute.

SwirlQueen His ex is cute. I wonder why they broke up?

EvieE 229 pts

I'm more surprised this show is still on.

blackpanthershay 8308 pts

Why is the Bachelor still on?

cns 732 pts

Whether any off the Black ladies last, I'm just happy that all 4 of them are (IMO) very good looking, physically fit (Please scroll up and look at those arms again) and have great careers. They may not get the Bachelor but if they carry themselves with class they may attract other high quality rainbeaus, along with give America and the world a different perspective of how Black women really are, which is opposite of your garden variety housewives shows.

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Elle21 53 pts

I actually tuned in for the first time in...ever...to see how many of us were on there.

I ended up seeing the scene where Robyn (who i do think would be cute with him) actually asks him about her chances given the history of minorities on the show. He said he doesn't care about race...

Am I a cynic or is that just a scene ABC has given themself to point to once the black ladies swiftly get the boot? They'll say "See! He said it wasn't because of race! Now thats all cleared up, on with the whitewashing"

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Elle21 I thought there was something odd about his answer. He said he didn't care about looks. What do looks have to do with being open to race? Are there not beautiful women of all races?

Tammy_Ghalden

oo, i didn't catch that! interesting...

but his ex is black so he finds beauty in black women at least.

Rosethorn 102 pts

Tokens. They're going one by one. I started watching for the first time since this shitty show broadcasted and almost fell off of my chair. I'm insulted. It is a game after all. And we are being played.

zipporah 1910 pts

I for one have never seen this show. BTW if they are getting intimate like kissing etc. women ARE being played--not just BW either but all women. You want for that part to be private, not having a CAMERA STUCK in your face all the time..dont you think?

Maybe i could see it if he ended up marrying one of them other than that, a woman or man who had that many dates and filmed, is not a good partner for a marriage anyway

heyimPearlilikefries 2104 pts

They will be ganged up on. Trust me. I never really liked these shows in the first place.. It feels so unnatural.

What woman tries to win the affection of a man?

Now if you give me foine ass black woman who has men trying to win the affection of her (even if it won't last, it IS 'reality' TV people)... I'd watch it.

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heyimPearlilikefries

WW power and privilege shall be shall be televised!

Rosethorn Well they are the main ones that watch shows like this. I would rather BW have their own television programs, magazines, and entertainment period. That may seem a bit separatist.. but then... what do you call this? lol

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Rosethorn Yep! That's why I really don't care to wtch this.

Dandelion100 716 pts

heyimPearlilikefries I wouldn't call her a "foine ass black woman", but VH1 did have two seasons of "I Love New York", which was spin off of Flavor of Love. And there is one thing I noticed: on shows like that (which were mainly on VH1 to my knowledge, I don't have cable anymore) in which there was a black person as the lead, there was always a mixed cast. For example in Flavor of Love he had black, hispanic, white and Asian women. In I Love New York the cast had white, black, and hispanic men (no Asian to my knowledge.) And the other shows all had a mixed cast. Now, these shows might have been trash tv, but at least they had a diverse cast and displayed interracial relationships. But, the downside was the ridiculous stereotypes and the ridiculous behavior of the cast members. lol and don't ask me how I know so much about these shows.

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And I would to add: maybe you could do a post on those shows? They might have been trashy but they didn't portray interracial relationships as being taboo or anything, everyone was on the show acting a fool all the same lol. They just treated interracial relationships like a regular thing. My memory may not serve me correctly but I don't remember the shows making a big deal about it. But in my days of watching those shows on VH1 (guilty pleasure) there was never any controversy about New York for example being with the white guy and hispanic guys. I don't care for New York but she was a black woman on television openly dating guys of other races. Again, to bad it was just ridiculous.

introvertedwanderer 1056 pts

Dandelion100 heyimPearlilikefries

You bring up a great point. I have stopped watching most reality tv, with a couple of exceptions, but back in the day, I did watch a season of Flavor of Love, and also I Love New York, and you reminded me that they did indeed have diverse casting. VH1 has a good track record of doing that. The shows are DEFINITELY juvenile, but the casting is diverse.

Dandelion100 You know what? New York did good for herself, as trashy as she was I think she has had three shows. I think she had the ability to be pretty, even foine but how she acts is hilarious and... sad. LOL Every time shows like this with a black person lead has a very diverse cast... I wonder what's up with that? I mean it's good but.. why not that with the bachelor? I guess... eh. I know that show Rock of Love had a black girl in it.. she lasted a long while. But I don't remember who it was. These whole shows are scripted though.

About the ridiculous behavior.... OMG. You are so right, everyone is so stereotypical it's just horrible period. I would add that I would watch a show like this if it had some damn CLASS! LOL

@heyimPearlilikefries I'm amazed at myself for even remembering this but I remember the black girl and her name was Dallas. She was dark skinned too. But I remember her being portrayed as having an attitude. And the Bachelor isn't scripted? Lol. I'm not sure if any show about a bunch of people fighting for one person can ever be classy lol. And my guess is that VH1 was aiming for a broader audience. Plus, it's not a major network, so they can get away with more. There's no way ABC could do that.

bgurrl 23 pts

heyimPearlilikefries Dandelion100 You have to remember these shows are scripted. I'v seen YT vids of her outside the New York persona and she's a completely different person. Far from ghetto.

Seenyc 805 pts

Dandelion100 Girl, I got caught up in those dang shows a time or two myself. I think all of my brain cells have all finally grown back! LOL!

Patricia Kayden 1710 pts

There are usually always some Black girls in the mix, but they don't seem to get very far. At least that was the case on the few Bachelor seasons that I watched. I haven't watched it in ages though.

I had a blast watching "Joe Millionaire". Now that was fun.

zabeth 817 pts

I’ve said it before. I don’t want to see a black Bachelor- I pretty much already know how that story will end. I also wouldn’t want to see a black Bachelorette- I think we should know by now that the producers of reality TV shows like this don’t have an interest in portraying anyone (especially minorities) positively. I don’t think being thrown crumbs is anything to be excited about. Like Gina over at WAOD always says, we need to take ownership and responsibility for creating our own entertainment and platforms.

Moreover, it almost never works when women chase men- in real life or on TV. Men feed off of competition- after all the only relationships that have lasted have been from the show The Bachelorette.

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zabeth So you didn't like "I Love New York" then? LOL.

Wasn't there supposed to be a show featuring a White guy who only dated Black women? I thought I read about that on this website.

Patricia Kayden zabeth Fell through. VH1 wanted to have ghetto acting women and the guy who was the "bachelor" didn't want that.

ChristinaMallory 5 pts

bgurrl Patricia Kayden zabeth you remember the title??

Lily

Not going to last. One was eliminated the first week, and another one was eliminated on Monday. So I'm guessing the other two will go next week. And that's just from reading the recaps. I don't watch this show. If you watch the season preview and trailer, NO black women are shown in the sneak preview. Which means that they were long eliminated before there was very much footage of them.

Just keeping it real. There are better shows out there. And if not, then we need to create them.

Suburban Soulgirl 254 pts

I'm not into the Bachelor...But like that they have a rather handsome rainbeaux on there this season.

Can we give the benefit of the doubt that maybe the Bachelor requested Black women considering his ex was Black? I lived in Dallas for 2 years now and this city is far more open to IRR that most other Metropolitan American cities. I watched the opening episode and he seems more than happy when the Black women arrived, and considering his ex is Black that kind of explains it. I’m not holding my breath though. As far as the Black guys that got rejected for the Bachelor show, all I can say is that's life. Deal with it.

cocoababe 1585 pts

cns

"Can we give the benefit of the doubt that maybe the Bachelor requested Black women considering his ex was Black?"

This is true. He did request that there be bw on the show. I wonder if producers have a say in who he can give a rose to. I've heard that after the show ends, some bachelors or bachelorettes will go track down the contestants that they actually had chemistry w/, so you never know :)

cns the thing is the producers chose the women that the bachelor will chose based on what they think audiences will want to see.

Lexi88 2206 pts

I'm not a fan of the show, never watched and probably never will.

They could have an all black female cast and I would still skip over it.

Shows like this makes women/men appear desperate and brings out their worst.

Lexi88

I 100% agree. It's pathetic.

Lexi88 I actually think that's the point of the shows. Of course they won't say that, but that's what it is.

ScorpioEnigma09 80 pts

ABC only did this because they were sued. Yes the suit was dismissed but it got people talking and someone probably threatened the money trail somehow. Next season it will be back to being all lily white.

ScorpioEnigma09

exactly! it's like they're telling us to stop the whining. You want black people on the show...here you go, we'll even have four. But chances are they wont get very far.

ScorpioEnigma09 Wonder who would sue them and for what. They're allowed to have an all White dating show. I just stopped watching it when I noticed that everyone was White.

GetMeOutofBlackistan 297 pts

Patricia Kayden ScorpioEnigma09Patricia: They were going to be sued by some black prospects who showed up to a casting call and were summarily turned away at the door. They were basically asked "what are you doing here?" and then asked to leave!

GetMeOutofBlackistan Patricia Kayden Exactly. In March or April of last year 2 black men filed a class action against 'The Bachelor' after going to an casting call or whatever for the Bachelorette. It was dismissed soon after but it got people talking. I noticed some negative comments like, black people have BET so why the complaints. Some of the comments reeked of ignorance and prejudice. But a lot of people of all races thought there should be diversity on the show.

ScorpioEnigma09 GetMeOutofBlackistan Patricia Kayden

You know what gets me is the white people who complain about BET will then go and say something like black people have BET etc. Okay, so before they were complaining because we have a channel for black people (do they seriously have to ask why this is?) And have they not noticed that there are like 20 or so channels targeted at non-whites vs. the 200 or more targeted at white people?