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The Bachelor to be sued for racial discrimination
I wouldn't want to be on this trainwreck of a show anyways.....
But I find it hard to believe that Black people haven't tried out. I mean have you seen Bad Girls Club and Flavor of Love? I jest!
A group of Nashville residents led by football players Nathaniel Claybrooks and Christopher Johnson said Tuesday they will file a class-action lawsuit against the ABC dating competition series The Bachelor and The Bachelorette for racial discrimination. The potential plaintiffs point out that over 10 years of the show and 23 seasons, the programs have not featured a single person of color as the featured Bachelor or Bachelorette.
Attorneys for the prospective plaintiffs put out a news release saying they will be filing a complaint in federal court on Wednesday morning against ABC, production companies Warner Horizon Television, Next Entertainment, NZK Productions and Bachelor executive producer Mike Fleiss, and they have scheduled a news conference to speak about the topic.
Claybrooks and Johnson, both African Americans, are being represented by three law firms: Barrett Johnston, Mehri & Skalet and Perkins-Law. Claybrooks is listed as a linebacker on the roster of the Nashville Storm, a minor-league team, while Johnson (not the star running back for the NFL?s Tennessee Titans) played wide receiver at Tennessee State and is preparing to try out for NFL teams.
The lack of minority faces on the show has been a curiosity of some analysts even before this lawsuit, and some outlets have even made suggestions. Groups representing African Americans and Hispanics have long complained about the shortage of lead minority actors on scripted shows, but the emergence of reality television was hoped to solve issues of diversity. As Nina Tasser, president of CBS Entertainment told the Los Angeles Times in 2009, "When you're casting for an unscripted show, it's a much bigger universe and a whole different talent base."
Glen Rothstein, an attorney at Blank Rome, says a viable claim can exist if the class of would be contestants can establish that they were denied an opportunity to compete on the basis of race.
"In order to prevail, however, at a minimum, the plaintiffs will more likely than not have to present at least some additional evidence above and beyond the fact that the programs have never featured a single person of color as the Bachelor or Bachelorette," he says. "The plaintiffs will ultimately have to prove that a race based component relating to the selection process exists that was implemented in a discriminatory and unlawful manner."
ABC declined comment.
Last year, Entertainment Weekly asked Fleiss whether The Bachelor would ever feature someone who wasn't white. Here was his reported response:
"I think Ashley is 1/16th Cherokee Indian, but I cannot confirm. But that is my suspicion! We really tried, but sometimes we feel guilty of tokenism. Oh, we have to wedge African-American chicks in there! We always want to cast for ethnic diversity, it?s just that for whatever reason, they don?t come forward. I wish they would."
Re: The Bachelor to be sued for racial discrimination
Um....what?
Right, which means they aren't casting Bachelors/Bachelorettes that would be attracted to people of color.
You can sue for pretty much anything. Whether or not it will be successful is a different story.
Or it means they dismiss the fact that dude might be attracted to a person of color out of hand like many white people seem to do.
Click me, click me!
Yes. YWIA!
I don't think they are intentionally casting people that don't like people of color, but I'm sure if the Bachelor likes the blonde trophy wife type, they aren't going to put a black woman or a successful career woman in the top 25. Most of the women on that show just want to play wife and mom.
I'd buy that, Lois if they were only casting blond trophy wives who want to be wives and moms. But they aren't. They cast a wide variety of white girls from all types of backgrounds and different looks, with the occasional token tossed in for good measure.
Besides, I thought the lawsuit was over the Bachelor/ette choice itself, not the pool of hot messes fighting for a rose.
Click me, click me!
True. It seems like most of them on there just want a husband so desperately and are willing to move, change careers, etc to accomodate some random guy. Although, Christopher Johnson probably just wants the publicity from the lawsuit, being an aspring football player and all.
And black or hispanic girls can't do this?
I'll actually go so far as to say that not featuring black men in regular average roles, reality or otherwise is contributing to harmful stereotypes of black men, the most extreme of cases ends in things like Trayvon Martin's death.
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My confusion on this- did either of the players, or anyone else involved in the suit, actually try out to be a Bachelor/ Bachelorette and not get picked, or are they just suing to sue?
I'm just wondering what their exact grounds are. And what retribution is being asked for?
~Benjamin Franklin
DS dx with celiac disease 5/28/10
Oh they definitely can. It's unfortunate that it is like this, but they are all about ratings, and the story of 2 pretty white people falling in love, a la Ken and Barbie, sells millions.
I think the 2 men that were named applied to be the Bachelor and were not picked.
and Barbie and Ken can't be black and hispanic?
Kim Kardashian is selling like a mofo so don't tell me that people of color can't sell a show. The fact that the casting directors don't even try pisses me right the fuuk off. And yes, I know Kim K is neither black nor hispanic but she isn't exactly white and she loooooooooves black men, holla.
Also, Bey and Jay sell a shitload all on their own so really.
Click me, click me!
~Benjamin Franklin
DS dx with celiac disease 5/28/10
Stop wondering. Just be glad only white people are dumb enough to try and get on that wretched show. Minority people should be thanking white people for having enough willing participants for the show.
<a href="http://www.thenest.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=tickers" title="Home DUgh why make it a separate show about bigger people? I'm sorry but that's some asinine bullshiit. It's like TLC's big brides crap. Really? We can't just let them be on the regular show like everyone else?
Not to mention the stupidity of splitting your audience or giving them double the dose of the same thing.
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Ahem, have you seen flavor of love?
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*throws a donation in HAB's collection plate*
And that Ray J nonsense.
Don't mind me, just posting my reaction to this thread
They definitely can be. I'm just speculating on possible excuses for why it is this way. But, I do think that the ratings and prior shows that didn't do as well are evidence of this.
FTR: I don't actually think that it should be that way.
Good god that was entertaining.
Remember the girl who within like 2 hours of meeting Ray J slammed her arse up and down on the ground while doing the splits?
Yes. But that's comedy gold and the people on that show seem to know that. The Bachelor is just full of whiny and ditzy women who take the process very, very seriously.
<a href="http://www.thenest.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=tickers" title="Home DI'm not following your reasoning here.
Click me, click me!
Just from viewing a few episodes of each, I sense that there is more self-awareness from the contestants on Flavor of Love that their show is a trainwreck, so they might as well go all out with the ridiculousness. On The Bachelor, the contestants there seem to be totally unaware that they are being ridiculous and all they do is cry about being madly in love with a guy they've known for 5 seconds.
But maybe I just watched the wrong episodes of both lol. And I probably still make no sense.
<a href="http://www.thenest.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=tickers" title="Home DMy Blog