Clayton Echard has officially been declared the next lead of The Bachelor and Bachelor Nation has had an overall underwhelmed and disappointed reaction to the news.
While Clayton seems like a nice and upstanding guy, he didn’t stand out on Micelle Young’s season of The Bachelorette and viewers have plenty of men they’d prefer to see be the star on The Bachelor.
A large number of viewers were hoping the franchise would spotlight men of different races and ethnicities, as The Bachelor leads have been overwhelmingly white.
Bachelor Nation star, Derek Peth, also seems to agree that Clayton Echard is more of the same for The Bachelor franchise and he recently voiced his thoughts.
Derek Peth calls out ABC’s decision-making
Taking to Twitter, Derek Peth humorously attempted to call out ABC’s decision-making when it comes to The Bachelor leads.
In the tweet, Derek shared a screenshot of an article headline from the website Live Science. The headline read, “Scientists created the whitest paint ever.”
Derek then compared that headline to Clayton and The Bachelor by writing, “ABC making Bachelor decisions.” suggesting that ABC also tries to choose the whitest person to lead the series.
In recent years, The Bachelor franchise has come under fire for its lack of representation of various racial backgrounds and, like Derek, many couldn’t help but notice that Clayton seems to be a textbook example of who The Bachelor almost always seems to highlight.
Some viewers have even drawn comparisons between Clayton Echard and controversial Bachelor lead Colton Underwood for how similar they and their seasons appear.
Here’s who Bachelor Nation has expressed wanting to be the Bachelor over Clayton
Clayton will have an uphill battle ahead of him in terms of winning the hearts of Bachelor Nation since, as of now, most appear indifferent and unimpressed, as well as disappointed that other men of different cultures and backgrounds weren’t chosen.
Some of the men that have been backed by fans to become the next Bachelor are literally any of Michelle Young’s final four, especially Rodney Mathews who’s smile and playful spirit, as well his emotional sendoff, led fans to root for him.
Fans also really enjoyed Olumide from Michelle Young’s season as well as Andrew Spencer and Justin Glaze from Katie Thurston’s season of The Bachelorette.
And of course, fans continue to push for Mike Johnson to become the Bachelor after he won America’s heart back on Hannah Brown’s season of The Bachelorette.
Time will tell if The Bachelor franchise opens itself up to more men of different races, or mostly stays beholden to it’s old patterns.
The Bachelor premieres Monday, January 3rd at 8/7c on ABC.