After writing for THR about ABC’s romance reality franchise, the NBA legend and THR contributor will appear on Monday’s episode to judge Rachel Lindsay’s suitors by their (on court) game.
When fans of The Bachelorette watch the May 29 episode, I’m sure some will express shock and wonder: “What the heck is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar doing on the show handing out romance advice?”
Five months ago, I wrote an article for The Hollywood Reporter titled “How the Bachelor and Bachelorette Franchise Are Damaging Romance in America.” I said this: “As entertaining as these shows are (and they really are compelling fun), there is an insidious darkness beneath the fairy tale pabulum they are serving up.” On the plus side, I called them “entertaining” and “compelling fun.” But I also objected that “The real crime is the lack of intellectual and appearance diversity, which leaves the contestants as interchangeable as Mr. Potato Head parts.” Mostly, I complained that by limiting themselves to only one specific body and intellectual type, they were promoting a form of romance porn that created a superficial fantasy ideal that inevitably would lead to dating disappointment for viewers influenced by the shows. I also observed that African-American contestants, though always a part of the dating scrum, were predictably cut loose after an appropriately polite “we don’t see color” period of time. I didn’t think anyone was to blame or that there was a racist conspiracy. It was just a consistent occurrence that reflected contestants’ comfort zone.
Then along came Rachel Lindsay. Making it to the semifinals of The Bachelor before Nick Viall tearfully decided (weren’t all his decisions tearful?) to cut her loose, Rachel distinguished herself as intelligent, athletic, playful, witty and emotionally mature. She also happened to be black.
Read full article at hollywoodreporter.com