American reality dating show “The Bachelorette” debuted over 20 years ago; the series, a spinoff of “The Bachelor,” follows a single woman and a panel of men vying for her affection until the season finale, in which the final man standing proposes to her. Typically, the lead of “The Bachelorette” is a well-liked contestant from a previous season of its counterpart show. Despite running for over two decades, the franchise had never cast an Asian lead –– until this spring. Jenn Tran, the Vietnamese American star of the 21st season of the show, seemingly made history. At the time of the announcement, Tran had expressed enthusiasm over her casting, saying she felt “so grateful and so honored to be the first Asian Bachelorette in this franchise” and that she was excited “to see Asian representation on TV.”
Ideally, this moment would have been special and historic –– unfortunately, right from the beginning, Tran’s moment was already clouded by several controversies, such as the rumor that the role of bachelorette had been offered to previous “Bachelor” contestants Maria Georgas and Daisy Kent before it was ever offered to her. On a podcast with Alex Cooper, Tran had cleared up that every year, “multiple people are being interviewed, doing meetings, doing fittings and filming intro packages, and it’s never really you until it’s you.” She also spoke about some of the racism she felt, saying that “there [were] a lot of people who were wanting somebody else [to be the Bachelorette] or wishing that I was American.” Indeed, even after Tran’s casting, many fans speculated that Tran was a last-choice bachelorette and expressed desire for Georgas or Kent.
Obviously, the franchise cannot control public reaction, but it can definitely sway overall perception. Production hardly gave Tran a favorable edit on the previous season of “The Bachelor” or even tried to promote the idea that Tran was the first-choice lead for the new season. She had minimal screen time compared to her counterparts, Georgas and Kent, and was most known for her unique phrase, “shot o’clock,” instead of anything of actual substance. When ABC announced Tran as the bachelorette, producers followed it up with explanations for why Georgas and Kent weren’t the lead. To make matters worse, since the panel of men for the season was cast before the bachelorette was even announced, some of the men on the show may have gone onto the show expecting white leads in Kent or Georgas.
When asked to share his first impression of Tran, leading contestant Sam McKinney recalled, to her face, that he “got out of the limo” and thought, “Okay, this girl is not my type.” Ouch. He continued, saying, “I thought the bachelorette was going to be Daisy [Kent] or Maria [Georgas].” Though he received backlash for his comments, he doubled down during the “Men Tell All” episode, arguing that “if anybody’s going to sit up here and say they didn’t think it was going to be Daisy or Maria, you guys are liars.” Shortly after being eliminated, McKinney was seen hanging out with Kent. Fellow contestants Jeremy Simon, Austin Ott and Tomas Azzano, were spotted following Georgas on social media or hanging out with her after leaving the show.
Despite his harsh words, he raises an important point: The franchise did nothing to treat Tran as a true season lead. Instead of waiting until after the lead was announced to cast a panel of men who were compatible with Tran, they chose to cast several contestants who fully expected two white leads. The franchise sought to benefit from the diversity bonus points they would get for casting an Asian American lead without being willing to put in any of the work it would take to ensure that said lead was set up for success. In fact, several of the contestants lacked the same religious or cultural background as Tran.
“It is unfortunate that there weren’t a lot of Asian men this season,” Tran said regarding casting. “Asian men haven’t always seen themselves in this position.” Diversifying this show involves more than simply casting a Vietnamese American lead; it also includes screening the male cast for compatibility with Tran, instead of leaving her with a set of men who didn’t see her as ‘their type.’
These controversies culminated in a final blow in the season finale. Coming into the finale, it seemed relatively clear that Devon Strader, a freight company owner, would be the winner. In fact, Tran was planning on breaking from “Bachelor” tradition by proposing to him instead of waiting to accept his proposal. Shortly after this revelation, however, host Jesse Palmer, who was taping the finale in front of a live audience, instantly cut in.
“You won’t be seeing that proposal,” he said onstage. “Because of what transpired since that day in Hawaii, we decided it wouldn’t be appropriate for anyone to see it until we heard from Jenn.” Tran, overwhelmed and in tears, was brought out to recount that she and Strader broke up. She explained that shortly after the engagement, he had become distant and cold, until he eventually called things off over the phone. The following day, he followed Georgas on Instagram.
This wasn’t the worst part, however. Palmer, rather than ushering her off stage, giving her a minute to compose herself or even offering any amount of real support, instead asked, “What do you think? Should we all watch [the proposal] together?”
Tran could only wryly respond, “Do I have a choice?”
Forcing Tran to rewatch this heartbreaking moment was cruel and humiliating and garnered much backlash. Fans were outraged at the way Tran was treated, not just in the finale, but over the course of the whole season. Before the season had even started airing, the show’s producers were not prioritizing their lead. They did not care to dispel the racist rhetoric surrounding Tran’s casting, they did not care to cast men compatible with Tran and they forced her to interact with the idea that she was not first or second –– but third to two white women, every woman of color’s worst fear.
Yes, the 21st season of “The Bachelorette” made history. But it feels hollow. What is the point of casting a woman of color if you are only going to continuously tear her down, subject her to a cast that never truly cared about her or cruelly exploit her tears and heartbreak for entertainment?
Production can hide behind glittery smiles and damage control. But it’s too late. On Tuesday night, viewers were confronted with a harsh reality: “The Bachelor” franchise has never genuinely cared about women of color.
