Former 'Bachelor' producer Jazzy Collins calls out the franchise for toxic, racist behaviour

ICYMI (but honestly, you probably haven’t) the latest season of The Bachelor has been a whirlwind… but not in a crazy-in-love sort of way – more like a ‘media frenzy’ sort of way. The show has occupied the attention of fans for over a decade, offering up an intimate glimpse into the lives of bachelors and bachelorettes as they search for love in expedited, televised fashion. The show sweeps contestants and viewers off their feet with lavish dates, grand romantic gestures and, finally, a (often very dramatic) proposal. But this season, the franchise has found itself on the receiving end of an onslaught of controversy and backlash; specifically, involving racist and toxic behaviour.

The Bachelor has notoriously offered a lack of diversity on-screen, instead seeming to favour thin, white women and tall, white men. Perhaps recognizing the mounting public and media pressure, The Bachelor announced Matt James as the next Bachelor (the first Black Bachelor in the show’s history). Season 25, it was said, would be a historic moment for the franchise.

Now, former casting producer, Jazzy Collins, shares that the show is both toxic and racist – on-screen and off-screen. According to an interview with The New York Post, Collins feels that this whole season is a “PR stunt.”

Collins, who was hired to work in the casting department for Rachel Lindsay’s 2017 season, was initially thrilled to work for the franchise. She noted that, as a Black woman herself, she was honoured to work with the first Black Bachelorette.

Acording to The Post, “As one of the only Black employees in casting, which had a staff of around 11 people, Collins, who worked with the franchise for five seasons, felt 'pushed' by her supervisors to only deal with the potential contestants of color, though at the time she didn’t think this was a problem."

“I was under the assumption that they’re going to be pitching more diverse people on the show, [and I thought] this is great,” Collins said. “But when it came time to cast the next season of The Bachelor, things went back to the status quo: Thin, white women remained the ideal candidates.”

When it came to casting Black contestants, Collins observed problematic tendencies. “I would pitch a beautiful woman who had natural hair, she had locks, or she had braids … and they would say, ‘She’s not right for this show. But if it’s a Black woman who came in with her hair straightened, or she’s wearing a weave, they would gravitate towards that.” 

Collins even published an open letter back in June, which called out her former workplace.

Collins also shared that the “issues with the franchise” went beyond what viewers see on-screen, or across social media. According to the publication, despite having more experience than her white colleagues, Collins was reportedly “paid less than them, left out of meetings and labeled 'aggressive' when she pointed out problems.”

“[A Black] Emmy-nominated producer applied for the show,” Collins revealed. “And they said, we would have to start you as an associate or on the bottom level.” The former producer also divulged that at a Christmas party in 2018, white staffers touched a Black employee’s hair, until Collins stepped in to stop them.

Will diversity truly become a priority for The Bachelor franchise? According to Collins, only time will tell. “During the new season of a white Bachelorette, are you going to have a Black host? Are you going to have a diverse cast? Are you still going to have these tough conversations?” she questioned.

Early on in James’ season, it was revealed that Rachael Kirkconnell (who we now know is one of Matt’s final two contestants), had a history of problematic behaviour that had been shared to social media. Specifically, pictures were circulated of her attending an Antebellum-themed party in 2018, and users also noticed that she had ‘liked’ social media posts depicting racist imagery/ideologies. She has since apologized for her actions.

As social media erupted over the discovery, Chris Harrison defended her actions in an interview with Rachel Lindsay. During the interview, Harrison seemingly failed to understand or appropriately sympathize with Lindsay’s point of view, repeatedly focusing instead on the issue of ‘cancel culture’ and ‘woke police’.

As viewers around the world expressed their anger and disappointment in Harrison’s inappropriate response to the problems which have come to light this season, Harrison temporarily stepped down from his hosting duties on the show. Since then, Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe have been announced as the hosts for the upcoming season of The Bachelorette, while Emmanuel Acho (former NFL player and host of Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man) will fill in for Harrison on tonight’s "After the Final Rose" episode.

Will these conversations lead to meaningful change? We can only hope.

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