The Bachelor EPs Freeze Up When Pressed on History of Racial Issues

In an uncomfortable moment during ABC‘s panel at the Television Critics Association winter press tour on Saturday, NPR journalist Eric Deggans asked Bachelor executive producers Jason Ehrlich, Claire Freeland and Bennett Graebner about the controversies surrounding race that have faced the shows in recent years: “Why does it seem that The Bachelor and The Bachelorette have such a hard time dealing with racial issues?”

When it comes to The Bachelor‘s shaky history with race, the franchise’s producers still don’t have a great answer.

Deggans pressed further, though, and directly asked: “Why has The Bachelor struggled to deal with race, particularly when Black people are the star of the show?”