Why Rachel Lindsay 'Hated the Timing' of Matt James' Casting as First Black Bachelor

Matt James knows he's breaking new ground as thefirst Black Bachelor. The 28-year-old popped in during Monday's episode of to share a little about how life has changed since he was announced as the Bachelor franchise's first Black male lead earlier this month. As James told Chris Harrison, the support he's gotten from his Black friends has been particularly important.

After 24 seasons Matt James will become the first Black “Bachelor” in franchise history.

Our podcast cohost is not into Matt James being chosen as “The Bachelor”! Perez is into it! U? This and much more on our latest show! Listen to The Perez Hilton Podcast with Chris Booker on Spotify or Apple Podcasts or directly at http://PerezPodcast.com

Corinne Olympios, the ex-Bachelor contestant, is thrilled to see Matt James as the new Bachelor on the popular reality television series, but she thinks that it was a long time coming. This past week, the 28-year-old reality star was named as the first black lead on the show after weeks of fan-created petitions demanding ABC to cast a black lead.

Rachel Lindsay simply isn’t going to let ABC get away with doing the bare minimum when it comes to fostering diversity on The Bachelor.

Rachel Lindsay spoke about Matt James being named the first Black Bachelor on Wednesday’s “Watch What Happens Live”.

Kaitlyn Bristowe believes that «this is different.» The former Bachelorette was a trailblazer on her 2015 season of the ABC dating show and believes Matt James' upcoming season of will also affect change. «I think the whole world is going to shift, and I think will be part of that shift,» Bristowe told ET's Lauren Zima on Monday. The 34-year-old and her boyfriend, Jason Tartick, said they were both hoping James would be  months before the announcement was made.

The Bachelor's , it seems someone forgot to tell Clare Crawley that would no longer be a contestant on her season of .The 28-year-old real estate broker was originally cast as a contestant on Crawley's upcoming season, but after widespread criticism over the franchise's , as well as the coronavirus pandemic of Crawley's season, ABC decided to skip ahead and announce James as the dating show's leading man for Season 25.However, Crawley reportedly "wasn’t given any heads up" and found out the big

The Bachelor: The announced on Friday, June 12 that it has finally—FINALLY—cast its first-ever Black lead. Matt James will the next Bachelor.Calling James' casting historic is truly an understatement: The Bachelor and The Bachelorette have had 40 seasons combined—24 for The Bachelor alone—and out of that 40, there's been only one Black lead, Rachel Lindsay.

Good Morning America. James gave a brief interview where he said he thinks his casting is a “step in the right direction” for Bachelor Nation.

The Bachelorette star Rachel Lindsay has a bone to pick with conservative pundit Candace Owens. Rachel, 35, a longtime critic of the MAGA firebrand, opened up about why she feels that Candace is “against everything black,” in an EXCLUSIVE podcast interview with HollywoodLife. The interview comes after Rachel retweeted someone who called Candace, 31, a “black white supremacist” for posting a video called I Do Not Support George Floyd.

As the first — and still only — Black lead on either The Bachelor or The Bachelorette,  Rachel Lindsay, has had a lot to say about the franchise’s inclusion issues, even calling the shows “white-washed.” HollywoodLife.com spoke to the 35-year-old beauty about the topic on our June 10 podcast. In an EXCLUSIVE interview, Rachel reveals the suggestions she gave the show’s producers as to how to make the franchises more diverse.

Rachel Lindsay is just one reality star who has been very vocal about racial injustices in the United States after the Black Lives Matter protests kicked off around the world this year. It all started with the death of George Floyd, who died while in police custody.

Becca Kufrin and Rachel Lindsay didn’t hold back while discussing Garrett Yrigoyen’s social media activity amid the Black Lives Matter movement — and now the season 14 Bachelorette’s fiancée is weighing in on their emotional episode of the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast.“Love you Becca, it’s unrealistic to sit down and have individual conversations with millions,” Yrigoyen commented on Kufrin’s Instagram post about the Tuesday, June 9, episode.

Rachel Lindsay has some thoughts. In an interview with ET's Lauren Zima on Tuesday, the former Bachelorette broke down a few of the men who fans think could potentially get the gig.

Fans of The Bachelor want less talk and more action!

Like many of us, Rachel Lindsay was upset that Mike Johnson was passed over for Peter Weber to lead season 24 of The Bachelor.

Mike Johnson wasn't cast as the Bachelor for season 24. Johnson, a portfolio manager and Air Force veteran, was charming, good-looking and seemed to be the total package on Hannah Brown's season of — with viewers hoping he could be cast as the franchise's first-ever black male lead. However, Peter Weber was cast in the lead role instead, leaving many — including Rachel Lindsay — frustrated.