Best Of: Rachel Lindsay On Being The First Black Bachelorette

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4.3 • 4.5K Ratings

🗓️ 6 February 2022

⏱️ 33 minutes

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Summary

Now entering its 20th year, ABC's popular franchise, "The Bachelor", is one of the longest running and most popular programs on the air.

But, despite the show's long history on the air, its track record in terms of representation and diversity is less than stellar. In 2012, the show even faced a class action lawsuit alleging racial discrimination.

It wasn't until 2017 that the show finally cast its first Black lead. Rachel Lindsay became not only the show's first Black bachelorette, but one of its biggest critics as the show continued to be plagued by missteps concerning race.

We talk to Rachel about her experience in reality television and her new book of essays, "Miss Me With That: Hot Takes, Helpful Tidbits, And A Few Hard Truths."

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Transcript

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0:00.0	So let's get this season started. A season that I can definitely say will go down in Bachelor
0:19.8	history as the most shocking and yes, the most dramatic season ever.
0:25.0	Try can you accept this rose? I do. Yes. Tierra, will you accept this rose? Yes.
0:32.0	I want to spend my rest of my life with you.
0:36.0	Joelle Hannah Pledge.
0:43.0	Will you marry me? Yes.
0:46.0	We're good!
0:50.0	Today we have the most dramatic show ever. Of course we're talking about the Bachelor.
0:57.0	Now entering its 20th year, the Bachelor is one of the longest running and most popular reality TV shows on the air.
1:04.0	It's part matchmaker, part competition. The show is engineered a formula that keeps millions coming back each season.
1:12.0	But for the majority of those 20 years, diversity has been pretty starkly missing.
1:17.0	In 2012, the show even faced a class action lawsuit for racial discrimination.
1:22.0	It wasn't until 2017 that the show finally had its first black lead. Rachel Lindsay not only became the show's first black bachelor rat,
1:31.0	but also one of its biggest critics. Rachel will join us after the break to talk about her new book, Miss Me With That.
1:38.0	Hot takes, helpful tidbits, and a few heart truths, and it she shares her experience.
1:43.0	We'll be back in just a moment. I'm Jen White, and you're listening to the 1A Sunday Podcast.
2:00.0	Support for NPR and the following message come from BetterHelp, offering online counseling.
2:05.0	BetterHelp therapist Hesu Jo knows that lockdown has been hard on us as humans.
2:09.0	We as people are hardwired to connect with others, which is why this whole time is so difficult.
2:14.0	The connection that happens between people can be very powerful and how healing it can be to have a healthy relationship with someone.
2:23.0	To get matched with a counselor within 48 hours and save 10%, go to betterhelp.com slash 1A.
2:30.0	Support for NPR and the following message come from BetterHelp, offering online counseling.
	...

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