‘The Bachelor’ Names Matt James First African-American Lead In Response To Calls For More Diversity
It’s official! The Bachelor has cast Matt James as the Season 25 lead. Matt is 28 and ready to find the woman of his dreams. The announcement comes following Bachelor Nation’s calling for more diversity in the franchise. Creator Mike Fleiss and other producers are excited to have Matt as their first African-American leading man. Rachel Lindsay was the first black female to be named a leading Bachelorette.
Matt is ready for love
For those not familiar with Matt James, he is Tyler Cameron’s best friend. He has been part of the Quarantine Crew which featured Tyler and former Bachelorette Hannah Brown. Matt was also named as a contender for Clare Crawley’s season, which is still on hold. He clashed with her some as she called him out for making Cameo appearances. He clarified it was all for charity. Since things didn’t look like they would pan out between him and Clare, naming him The Bachelor seems like a good fit.
People shared more details about Matt being named as the lead. The announcement came on Good Morning American with ABC saying they are “privileged to have Matt” as the first black Bachelor.
The statement continued, “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.”
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Tyler Cameron had joked about his friend being named the lead
Tyler actually predicted Matt being The Bachelor. He had joked around saying he can’t wait to watch him next year. Well, he was right! Many fans think Matt will be a great lead. In fact, when all the drama erupted with Clare, many said he was the reason they would watch.
Matt is not only the first black lead, he is also the first in over twelve years who has not been on The Bachelorette.
Matt is honored to be the next lead. He said, “When Rachel [Lindsay] speaks, we listen. She has a very important voice in all this, being the first black woman, person of color to be a lead, and … this is hopefully the first of many black men to be in the position I’m at now.” He continued, “It’s an honor. I’m just going to lean into myself and how my mom raised me, and hopefully when people invite me into their homes on Monday night… they see that diverse love stories are beautiful.”
Stay tuned for more details on Matt and when filming for The Bachelor could take place.
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