Just in time for Valentine’s Day, ABC revealed that the network will be featuring the first black “Bachelorette” in the series’ extensive run. While show creator, Mike Fleiss has been teasing the “historic” announcement on Twitter for weeks, the big reveal came Monday night on Jimmy Kimmel Live when Chris Harrison joined the host for the official announcement of Rachel Lindsay as the next “Bachelorette.”
The announcement comes as a bit of a spoiler for the current season of The Bachelor for which Lindsay is still a contestant. The selection of the 31-year-old Dallas attorney, who quickly became a fan favorite earning the coveted first impression rose, marks the first time in the franchise's history that a non-white contestant will lead the show.
According to Mashable, after years of backlash aimed at the show's lack of diversity, including a 2012 racial discrimination lawsuit, Channing Dungey, ABC’s first African-American to lead the entertainment division of a major broadcast network, addressed the issue last August. “I would very much very much like to see some changes there, and I think one of the biggest changes that we need to do is we need to increase the pool of diverse candidates in the beginning,” Dungey announced during the network's Television Critics Association presentation last year.
The producers of The Bachelor have made good on this promise and we look forward to cheering Lindsay on as she carries season 13 of The Bachelorette.
