Hold her eyelashes, because the most outspoken Bachelorette lead is coming in for more. In a new video interview with AfterBuzz, Rachel Lindsay revealed that, as the franchise’s sole lead of color, she’s no longer going to quietly rebuke the diversity issues that have long plagued the series since its inception. Rather, she’s going to give the franchise a very public ultimatum in the hopes of spurring actual change. “When you’re putting out something that is very white washed and doesn’t have any type of color in it and you’re not trying to be effective and change that,†she explained. “I think that they have to, at this point, give us a black Bachelor for season 25. I don’t know how you don’t. It bothers me that certain things have happened that we just say, ‘Oh, hush hush,’ and ‘Let’s just move on past it.’ We need to acknowledge it, because what you’re doing is perpetuating this type of behavior, you’re continuing to.†If the franchise chooses to ignore Lindsay’s call to action, she now has no problem severing her affiliation (which involves podcasts and public appearances) for good.
“It’s been asked of me will I continue in this franchise if it continues this way. I can’t. I have to see some type of change,†she said. “It’s ridiculous. It’s embarrassing. At this point it’s embarrassing to be affiliated with it.†Lindsay has previously criticized the Bachelor and Bachelorette series on multiple occasions. In 2018, she claimed that the franchise failed to protect her during a contentious live finale, where she was “baited†with emotionally charged questions for three hours. Earlier this year, Lindsay also condemned the casting selection of recent Bachelor seasons, and how the majority of contestants were Instagram influencers who had no desire to find love. “I honestly don’t know how much longer the show can survive in this day and age,†she said, “just to be honest, because social media spoils so many things.â€