The Bachelorette star Mike Johnson was the frontrunner to become the next lead for the franchise, but producers ended up picking Matt James.
For a while, Bachelor fans really wanted to see Mike as the lead, knowing that there was a great chance that it would be a person of color.
He had also been a fan favorite on The Bachelorette, so it just made sense to give him a chance. But after Clare Crawley’s tweets about some of the guys not being there for the right reasons, ABC decided to remove Matt from her season.
Instead, they offered him the chance to be The Bachelor – a rare opportunity for a person with no experience in the franchise.
Mike Johnson reveals ABC had asked him to interview to try out for The Bachelor
As fans may recall, Mike was actually on Hannah Brown’s season of The Bachelorette, which means he was in the running to be The Bachelor for the 2020 season.
Mike opened up about his experience on the Behind The Velvet Rope with David Yontef podcast.
“I was so oblivious and ignorant to how the show process works. But when they said, ‘Hey, you know, we want to audition you to be The Bachelor,’ I was like, hell yeah, I’m ready for that. Like I get, you know, 30 women, I get the opportunity to find love. Absolutely. I would love the opportunity,” Mike revealed, adding that he interviewed just like Peter did.
Mike pointed out that he learned that they had picked Peter. He felt that Peter was just a person that the producers really wanted. Mike also explained that he was not upset when Peter was chosen.
But he did have some feelings when Matt James was chosen because he could have filled that role – being the first person of color to lead The Bachelor.
“When Matt became The Bachelor, I was a little annoyed because I just felt like two years in a row. I was by far the fan favorite. And I just felt like there was a, there was some behind-the-scenes things working out the way that Matt became The Bachelor,” Mike explained, adding, “I got over it within like 15 minutes.”
He admitted that, in the moment, he was upset and annoyed with everything.
The Bachelorette is set to start filming soon and with new guys coming into the franchise, it is possible that Mike may get a chance at the 2021 season if executive producers choose to go that route. As fans may recall, he was also on Bachelor In Paradise after Hannah’s season.
Mike Johnson is vocal within Bachelor Nation
Throughout the podcast interview, Mike revealed that he is outspoken and a free thinker, so if he didn’t agree with something on the show, he would most likely speak out.
And producers may already know this because of the way he’s speaking out about existing issues within Bachelor Nation.
Mike was vocal about removing Chris Harrison from the franchise completely after his interview with Rachel Lindsay. He pointed out that it wouldn’t work to cancel Chris, but explained that it could be a solution to remove him from his hosting role completely and allow him to pursue other ventures.
Mike also dishes his thoughts about Clare and Dale in the fall, revealing that Dale would be fooling himself if he thought he could come on television and use Clare for fame.
The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.