The executive producers from ABC’s The Bachelor are finally addressing racism claims against the franchise’s first Black Bachelor Matt James. James’ season of The Bachelor premiered on Jan. 4, 2021 for its 25th season and was met with racism from inside of the franchise.

Claire Freeland and Bennett Graebner who served as executive producers on the show, sat down with The Los Angeles Times, and admitted that there were several wrongdoings on his season.

“I’m going to be really frank — we let Matt down. That season went wrong on so many levels,” Graebner said. “We did not protect him as we should have.”

During James’ season, photos of winner Rachael Kirkconnell surfaced of her at a plantation-themed party in college. Kirkconnell later apologized for her actions after receiving backlash from viewers. Former host Chris Harrison came to her defense and called out fans for being the “woke police” which viewers did not take kindly of. Harrison issued two apologies, one with former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay who was also the franchise’s first Black Bachelorette. After that apology also got backlash, a written statement was published by Harrison that apologized for defending racism. Harrison said that he would be taking a “step back” from the franchise but was then replaced by Jesse Palmer.

“The finale of that season was the darkest day I’ve had on this franchise,” Graebner said. “Here was this great Black man, and we should have been celebrating his love story. Instead, what we saw was a man burdened and overwhelmed by issues of racism. It was really sad for me personally.”

While James and Kirkconnell were set to be married after the finale but the racist scandal evidently had the two go their separate ways which they revealed at the live reunion. However, the two were able to mend their relationship months after and are currently in a relationship.

Prior to James, the first Black lead in the franchise was Lindsay in 2017 which were followed by Michelle Young and Charity Lawson. There has not been a Black lead in the Bachelor franchise after James’ season since. Graebner and Freeland spoke about the lack of Black leads in both franchises.

“It’s hard to say out loud, that people of color didn’t see themselves represented, that they did not see The Bachelor franchise as a safe place,” Graebner said. “We didn’t have a Black lead in this franchise for 15 years, and that’s inexcusable. It created a vicious cycle, and it’s taken a lot of work to get back to a place where we feel at least we’re working for the positive.”

Freeland added: “The core value to this show is that everybody deserves to find love, regardless of race, ethnicity, background, faith. The only way we can do that in a truly fulsome way is to have people on the show that reflect the country we live in.”

Looking Forward To The Future Of The Bachelor Franchise

Jenn Tran The Bachelorette

Graebner and Freeland are looking forward to the next steps for improving the franchise by showing more diversity in casting and protecting minority leads.

“We’re not always going to get it right. We’re going to make mistakes as we move forward. But we’re not going to shy away from difficult conversations,” Freeland said.

“We can’t change the minds of people who aren’t interested in this new direction. What we have the power to do is change the program,” he added. “There’s a reason why this show has been around for 20 years. The dream and desire for true love will never go out of style. We hope that people can look at the last couple of years and see that we are intending and taking steps to make the change.”

Graebner jumped in adding that while some fans might not be interested in a diverse cast they are committed to this forward-thinking approach in the franchise. “We know we’re not there. We have a long way to go. But we’re committed to getting there. If you don’t want to see a Black love story, an Asian American love story, an interracial love story, then maybe Bachelor Nation isn’t for you.”

The Bachelorette will premiere next Monday on ABC at 8 p.m. which will feature the franchise’s first Asian-American Bachelorette, Jenn Tran.