The Bachelor franchise has been embroiled in accusations of racism in recent weeks. Calls for season 25 frontrunner Rachael Kirkconnell to address her history of racially insensitive Instagram activity led to an explosive interview between Chris Harrison and former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay that has many viewers and Bachelor Nation alumni calling for ABC to fire Harrison. If you’re a regular viewer of The Bachelor, you know that discussion of the show’s racism is not new. Yesterday, current Bachelor Matt James made a statement condemning the show’s failure to address this issue for years.
When controversies like this arise, viewers turn to the members of Bachelor Nation to see how they’re responding, and many of them have used their social media platforms to support Rachel Lindsay and condemn Chris Harrison and ABC in the past few weeks. But plenty of Bachelor franchise alumni have been doing anti-racism work all along. I want to highlight a few for you to follow and learn from.
Rachel Lindsay
Image: @therachlindsay on Instagram
Rachel has really been doing the heavy lifting of Bachelor anti-racism work since she was cast as the show’s first Black lead on season 13 of The Bachelorette. The show sometimes leans on Rachel (often unfairly) for commentary on racial issues, and she has recently expressed her exhaustion with being the one who constantly has to speak about the show’s on one of her podcasts, Bachelor Happy Hour.
After the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Brionna Taylor, George Floyd, and other Black people killed by police or white supremacists, Rachel used her platform to share education and resources for us to put our time and money toward, and she continues to highlight anti-racist resources today. Rachel also co-hosts the podcast Higher Learning alongside Van Lathan, where they discuss topics in Black culture, politics, and sports. I highly recommend listening to Rachel talk about her interview with Chris Harrison on Higher Learning, especially if you don’t understand why what Chris said and did was wrong.
Rachel has consistently been more than generous with her time and emotional, physical, and mental energy in leading the fight for an anti-racist Bachelor franchise in the future, and I have hope that her efforts will cause a tipping point in the franchise that results in systemic change.
Follow Rachel on Instagram: @therachlindsay
Follow Rachel and Becca Kufrin’s podcast: @bachelorhappyhour
Follow The Ringer for updates on Rachel and Van Lathan’s podcast, Higher Learning: @ringer
Sharleen Joynt
Image: @sharleenjoynt on Instagram
Sharleen Joynt, a contestant on Juan Pablo’s season of The Bachelor, has been involved in the franchise ever since through podcast appearances and episode recaps on her blog, All the Pretty Pandas. Sharleen has addressed the show’s racism many times on her blog, and she helped open people’s eyes to the cultural erasure that took place during Juan Pablo’s season, which barely addressed his Venezuelan culture and failed to engage in any real discussions of it. She has also used her platform to call attention to the recent increase in violence and racist attacks against the AAPI community and provides resources for her followers to support and stay informed.
In light of the most recent controversy, Sharleen announced on her blog that she would not be recapping the rest of this season, and who can blame her? Emily and I love Sharleen’s recaps for how thorough, thoughtful, and smart they are, and we are disappointed that we won’t get to read them for the remainder of this season, but we absolutely understand why she is taking a step back, and we wish her the best.
Follow Sharleen on Instagram: @sharleenjoynt
Mike Johnson
Image: @mike_johnson on Instagram
Ah, the one that got away. Mike Johnson is who we all know should have been the Bachelor when Peter Weber was chosen instead. And although the show finally did choose a Black lead for its 25th season (I still can’t believe it took 25 seasons), many fans were disappointed that someone who had never been on the show before was chosen over fan favorite Mike Johnson. Mike was vocal and visible during the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020, and he continues to speak out against racism both inside and outside of the show.
Mike also co-hosts the Bachelor Nation-sponsored podcast Talking it Out with Mike and Bryan—a show about life, love, relationships, and family— alongside Rachel Lindsay’s husband and former Bachelorette contestant Bryan Abasolo. The duo have addressed Rachel’s interview with Chris Harrison on their show and, of course, have been supportive of Rachel.
Follow Mike on Instagram: @mike_johnson
Follow Talking It Out on Instagram: @talkingitoutbn
Ashley Spivey
Image: @ashleyspivey on Instagram
Ashley Spivey competed on Brad Womack’s second season of The Bachelor, and ever since, she’s been a vocal critic of the franchise, often appearing on podcasts and speaking out against the show’s shortcomings, including its culture of racism. Ashley is who you can look to for an example of white allyship that is not performative, but real and intentional. Ashley uses her platform to support BIPOC contestants, amplify their voices, and call for accountability from the show, its creators, and its contestants. On her Instagram story highlights, you can find resources about white accountability and allyship, along with many other social justice topics.
It is important to note that Ashley is the only white person on this list, which highlights an issue within the franchise: the responsibility for change is often placed on BIPOC individuals, but for us to see real change going forward, we need more white allies like Ashley to publicly denounce racism and push for progress.
Follow Ashley on Instagram: @ashleyspivey
This is, of course, not an exhaustive list by any means. There are a lot of Bachelor Nation people publishing anti-racist content and engaging with anti-racist education, and this is merely a sampling to get you started. Do you have favorite Bachelor franchise alumni whose work you admire? Drop their Instagram handles or podcast links in the comments!
EDIT, March 3, 2021: This post originally included Taylor Nolan, but as of today, she has been removed as a suggested Bachelor Nation alum to follow for anti-racist resources. Although her past tweets do not erase the work she’s done in recent years, I cannot responsibly keep her in this post when her very inclusion in it could be triggering or re-traumatizing to the many marginalized communities she has harmed with her words. If you are interested in additional anti-racist BN members to follow, please check out @bachelorinquarantine on Instagram and browse through their extensive compilation of contestant responses to this season’s controversies.