Crossing the line
Online hate goes too far ... even for The Bachelor
Last week, ABC’S The Bachelor: The Women Tell All episode took a break from a recap of the season’s drama with a plea aimed at viewers: Please stop sending horrific social media messages to our contestants.
“There is so much passion out there in Bachelor Nation, and it’s not always positive. There’s some negative criticism. I completely understand that,” host Chris Harrison said. “But unfortunately, there is a line that has been crossed, and so it is time to address that.”
The seven-minute segment was anchored by Rachel Lindsay, the former Bachelorette who now co-hosts the show’s official podcast. Lindsay, who made history as the franchise’s first black star, wound up in tears as she read racist and profanity-laced messages sent to cast members this season, which she described as “graphic,” “explicit” and “shocking.”
“By not talking about it, I think people feel empowered that they can continue to say certain things to us,” Rachel said. “If we’re ever going to fix this problem, we have to acknowledge the problem.”
It’s a common problem with reality TV these days: People sign up for shows thinking they will be able to handle the online hatred and brutal comments, but it’s generally much, much worse than they expect.
“I was so afraid to even pick up my phone, because people were saying such nasty things to me,” said Tammy, a house flipper who was the season’s villain and frequently fought with other contestants. She got death threats and said people sent her emails at work pretending they were interested in buying a house — but a paragraph down, would tell her she should kill herself.
Meanwhile, on social media during the episode, multiple viewers called out The Bachelor producers’ hypocrisy for featuring a bullying public service announcement minutes after the Women Tell All reunion featured the cast members yelling at one another and making comments from “All you do is dance like a buffoon in front of the camera” to “You’re a dermatologist” (said in a condescending tone when one woman offered a medical opinion).
The online abuse can be especially dire for women of colour, and the Bachelor franchise has had a serious lack of diversity over the years. Sydney, who is biracial and grew up in Alabama, became emotional as she talked about the difficulty of seeing hateful comments.
“The things that I’ve had to go through in my life because of the colour of my skin and because of where I’m from, I’ve had to be really strong ... but when these things are said about you and those wounds from your past are never fully closed, and when people attack you that way, and the way it makes my mother feel —” she trailed off, in tears.
The season finale of The Bachelor airs Monday on ABC and Citytv.