As anyone who’s read this blog knows, I have a guilty
pleasure…I watch The Bachelor (and The Bachelorette). Tonight marks the final episode of the
current season which features Ben as the lucky guy who gets to choose between
the final two ladies from a harem of roughly 30 women. As the custom of the show is, the week that
precedes the final episode of The Bachelor is the “Ladies Tell All” episode in
which the “non-rosed” ladies who were eliminated during the season get to air
all of their grievances with each other as well as with the (un)lucky
gentleman. But during this season’s “Tell
All” episode, things got colorful…literally.
As I pointed out in a post last May, each season of the
Bachelor(ette) I watch in part to see how many people of color get cast as one
of the individuals vying to woo the Bachelor(ette). And then, I watch as they are always
eliminated in advance of one of the most important episodes: “The Hometown
Visit.” The Hometown episode is
important for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that those who get
that far likely have the best chance at being next season’s Bachelor or
Bachelorette. This is in part true
because the TV audience has gotten a better chance to know them than some of
the individuals eliminated in the 1st few weeks.
This season of the Bachelor, there were three lovely Black women
amongst the field of ladies contending for the heart of Ben. One of these ladies, Jubilee, was
particularly endearing because 1) she is a Veteran of the military, 2) she has
a very powerful tale of overcoming serious tragedies in her life, 3) she’s got
a lively personality and 4) she’s quite attractive. Out of all the seasons of the show, it
appeared that Jubilee had the best chance at being the 1st Black
person to be name THE Bachelorette, because Ben seemed to really be attracted
to her, she lasted almost until “The Hometown” episode, and she’d gained quite
a popular following in the social media landscape. Though I knew her chances
were slim – I still very seriously doubt that there’ll be a Black bachelor or
bachelorette any time soon – she had as good a shot as any of the other ladies
on the show, and the best shot of all the Black contestants to date.
But that was before the airing of the “Ladies Tell All”
episode. During the show, it was
revealed by Jamie and Amber (the two other Black ladies on the show who are
both light-skinned and happen to be biracial) were personally offended by
Jubilee proclaiming that she was “the full Black girl” on the show. This comment came after Jamie jokingly
commented that she was the token Canadian girl on the show. Jubilee, who isn’t light-skinned or
dark-skinned, but rather in-between (is there a term for that?) seemed
oblivious to how insensitive and hurtful such a statement could be to someone
who is Black, but also “mixed” with another racial background. This led to a rather lengthy back-and-forth
discussion that I’m sure the show’s producers were cringing through.
And at that moment, I knew Jubilee’s chance (and thus the
chance of any Black person) at being next season’s Bachelorette was over.
You see, colorism is a deep issue amongst Black people. It hearkens back to the days when there were
light-skinned “house” slaves who lived in the Master’s house (because he was
their father, quiet as kept), and dark-skinned “field” slaves who worked in the
cotton fields. The house slaves were
often treated better than the field slaves, and some could even pass for
white. This was the cause of much
tension amongst Black people.
Fast forward to today, and “friendly fire” still exists amongst
Black people (as exemplified by Jubilee).
Often darker skinned Black people are teased simply for being dark while
light-skinned Black folks are chided for having straight hair. It’s such a deep topic that it would take me
several posts of great length to just begin to discuss. And America isn’t ready for that discussion, no
matter how deep or shallow. Most
probably don’t even realize it exists.
But there it was, on national TV, for all the world to see
in its full ugliness. Alas, Jubilee,
there will be no Bachelorette season for you.
As much as Jubilee was totally out of line for ever
saying something so ridiculous and hurtful as “I’m the full black girl” to two
other Black women, she’s not the only one to blame for the airing of such dirty
laundry. I also blame the ABC network and
The Bachelor franchise.
If they’d had a greater diversity in whom they named the
Bachelor or Bachelorette from the beginning, race in the context in which it
was brought up last week would’ve never happened. Everyone knows that the big elephant in the
room as it pertains to casting the show is that no Black person has ever been
named the Bachelor or Bachelorette, and none has ever made it to “The Hometown”
episode. Furthermore, all the people of
color who’ve gotten those chances have all been fair or pale skinned, and could
pass as caucasian (remember Juan Pablo?).
Apparently one of Jubilee’s misstatements to the other Black girls was
that she was going to be the 1st full black girl to get the farthest
on the show; a motivation that wouldn’t be there if it were common for Black
people (or darker-skinned folks of any origin) to truly have a chance at making
it to the latter stages of the show (or to, god-forbid, be the star of the
season).
As this season ends, the prospect of seeing a Black person
as the Bachelor or Bachelorette remains the same as it always has been…just a
fantasy! It’s really a shame too,
because Jubilee would’ve made a great Bachelorette!
-Maelstrom
