'The Bachelor': Juan Pablo Compared His Season to Matt James' in a Twitter Rant About Racism
The Bachelor lead Matt James ended his season without proposing, similar to Juan Pablo Galavis’ finale on The Bachelor. However, the former star of season 18 took to Twitter to compare the “persistent racism” on the show to James’ experience.
‘The Bachelor’: Juan Pablo got the ‘villain’ edit
The Bachelor producers chose Juan Pablo Galavis as the first person from an ethnic minority for season 18. The 39-year-old American-born Venezuelan was the first Latino star of the series. He felt the producers turned him into a villain. Host Chris Harrison told former star Kaitlyn Bristowe that she dodged a bullet during a 2020 interview by not going on Galavis’ season.
When the producers chose Clare Crawley as The Bachelorette lead for season 16, the franchise repeatedly played the hairstylist’s clip telling off Galavis. He also came under fire for his opposition to the franchise featuring a person from the LGBTQ community as the star’s lead. However, he felt that the media took his comments out of context because of his lack of fluency in English.
“I was made a villain because I was honest [and] because I didn’t propose to someone I knew for 40 hours,” he said on The Almost Famous podcast. “If being honest was a bad thing, then I guess I wasn’t good for the franchise.”
‘The Bachelor’: Juan Pablo compared himself to Matt James on Twitter
After The Bachelor finale with Matt James, Juan Pablo Galavis wrote a series of tweets to compare his situation to the first Black lead’s time on the show.
“Thank GOD @BachelorABC didn’t LISTEN to @fleissmeister and @chrisbharrison this TIME,” Galavis tweeted. “Happy to see they DIDN’T trash you @mattjames919 for NOT proposing.”
James’ finale ended in a similar way to Galavis. However, the producers did not give the latest lead the “villain edit.”
“It’s SAD to see the PERSISTENT racism and DISCRIMINATION is finally coming to LIGHT after 25 seasons of @BachelorABC,” Galavis added in another tweet. “I can PERSONALLY attest to this SITUATION as the FIRST Latino on the show.”
‘The Bachelor’ Matt James broke up with Rachael Kirkconnell because of racist posts
During The Bachelor’s “After the Final Rose” special, Matt James spoke to Rachael Kirkconnell. He explained why he could not stay with her.
“The most disappointing thing to me was having to explain to you why what I saw was problematic and why I was so upset,” James told Kirkconnell. “That’s why it was problematic because when I’m in a relationship, it means that I am committed to that person.”
After he chose Kirkconnell, rumors began spreading that she went to an Antebellum-themed ball. Then photos surfaced, proving that the rumors were true.
“When I questioned our relationship, it was in the context of you not fully understanding my Blackness,” he continued. “And what it means to be a Black man in America and what it would mean to my kids when I saw those things floating around the internet.”
‘The Bachelor’ fans defended Juan Pablo
Throughout Juan Pablo Galavis’ season of The Bachelor, viewers discriminated against him; however, no one apologized to him.
“Juan Pablo was discriminated against,” one fan wrote on Reddit. “I agree with him, not just from Chris Harrison but from the viewers, too.”
Other fans agreed that many people made discriminatory comments toward Galavis.
“Agree,” another fan added. “The difference is it happened like eight years ago when comments making fun of his accent and cultural differences/misunderstandings could slide under the rug without a scandal.”
Hopefully, Emmanuel Acho‘s addition as host for the “After the Rose” segment helped create change. Additionally, the new hosts for The Bachelorette Season 17, will help end discrimination in The Bachelor franchise.
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