While the full cast release for The Bachelor Season 27 was surely exciting for Bachelor Nation, many fans were quick to voice their concerns over what they noticed.
On Wednesday, ABC officially announced the 30 women who will be pining for Zach Shallcross’ heart on the upcoming season of The Bachelor, set to premiere on Monday, January 23.
The network released each contestant’s name, age, hometown, occupation, and a few fun facts about each woman as viewers get ready to meet them at the end of the month.
The official Bachelor ABC Instagram page uploaded three different carousel posts to announce the new slew of women, along with a new trailer video of each of them introducing themselves.
However, many fans believe the upcoming cast lacks both diversity and body inclusivity as a whole.
While the comments have yet to be addressed by the franchise, they have surely gained attention from others in Bachelor Nation over the past few days.
Fans call out The Bachelor for lack of diversity in new cast
In the comments section of the video, one viewer chimed in to note, “3 ??♀️ out of 30 women no surprise tho.”
Another user wrote, “All I see are thin, able-bodied, standardly beautiful women. If you’re wondering how to keep your show relevant, try casting relatable women. DIVERSIFY YOUR CASTING!!!! We’re demanding it at this point!!!!”
“?looks like another remix of the same non-diverse stuff they keep force feeding us…We like this show and because we like it, we want it to reflect the society it exists in,” another dissatisfied viewer commented.
Other comments from Bachelor Nation had them calling out the network, saying, “These women seem lovely but for the love of god it is 2023. Include some body diversity,” and, “Again, 0 body diversity. So disappointing. Get it together, guys.”
While many fans have clearly been vocal about the lack of inclusion in the new cast, it’s nothing new for the franchise to hear, as they have previously made a statement in regard to diversity in the past.
The Bachelor says it will ‘do better’ to include more diversity
The franchise has surely been called out for its lack of representation in the past, even giving a statement back in 2020 saying, “We can and will do better.”
In an official announcement to cast Matt James as the first black Bachelor to ever appear in the franchise, executive producers wrote, “We acknowledge our responsibility for the lack of representation of people of color on our franchise and pledge to make significant changes to address this issue moving forward.”
“We are taking positive steps to expand diversity in our cast, in our staff, and most importantly, in the relationships that we show on television,” they continued. “We are taking positive steps to expand diversity in our cast, in our staff, and most importantly, in the relationships that we show on television.”
However, it seems as if the lack of diversity within The Bachelor franchise may still be still an ongoing issue within Bachelor Nation.
The Bachelor premiers on Monday, January 23 at 8/7c on ABC.