Katie Thurston has reportedly been named as The Bachelorette lead for the upcoming season.
Credible Bachelor blogger Reality Steve tweeted that Katie was announced as The Bachelorette during the filming of The Bachelor’s After The Final special that will air next week.
“(SPOILER): What I posted last week is now “official.” Katie Thurston was named the “Bachelorette” at this past Friday’s ATFR taping. For real this time,” Reality Steve tweeted.
Reality Steve had gone back and forth on his Bachelorette 2021 predictions.
He initially tweeted that Katie would be named as The Bachelorette during the Women Tell All special.
However, he then retracted his prediction and stated that a woman of color would be named as The Bachelorette instead.
This left viewers thinking that contestants from Matt’s season like Bri Springs, Michelle Young, or Serena Pitt would be given the title.
Reality Steve then reinstated his initial prediction and said that Katie would in fact be The Bachelorette and the announcement would come in a matter of days.
Viewers have mixed reactions to Katie being The Bachelorette
Based on how Katie was perceived on The Bachelor, she would normally hands-down be deemed the best choice for the next Bachelorette lead by fans.
Katie won fans over after she stood up to the women who were bullying Sarah Trott and told Matt James about how the women that entered the house mid-season were being bullied.
However, now that there has been a conversation about how The Bachelor handles diversity, many think that casting a caucasian lead isn’t the step forward that the franchise needs to take with diversity.
Katie herself even liked tweets in favor of a Black Bachelorette lead in 2021.
Still, there are some fans who think she is worthy of the title as she is a good role model who supports inclusivity. Additionally, they believe the franchise can be diverse in the males they cast.
What to expect for After The Final Rose
The Bachelorette announcement isn’t the only tea that will be served during the upcoming finale special.
ATFR has been a hot topic ever since a scandal emerged involving The Bachelor frontrunner Rachael Kirkconnell.
Rachael found herself in hot water after pictures of her at an Antebellum party resurfaced. During an interview between Rachel Lindsay and Chris Harrison, Chris defended Rachael and received a lot of backlash for it.
Both Rachael and Chris have since apologized, and Chris stepped down from hosting ATFR.
Instead author and TV host Emmanuel Acho will host the season finale.
Emmanuel isn’t attached to the franchise so he won’t be afraid to challenge Rachael and the entire franchise in regard to diversity.
Additionally, this will be Matt’s first time back on the show since the controversy, and it’s likely he’ll have plenty to say about it.
The Bachelor airs on Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.