Former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay is speaking directly to the “Bachelor” franchise about “acknowledging their systemic racism” in a heartfelt essay posted to her blog Monday.
The message, which was published to her website RachelLindsayOfficial.com under the blog section “Honestly Rach,” elaborates on statements Lindsay made last week during a virtual interview for “AfterBuzz” in which she vowed to quit the “Bachelor” franchise if real efforts to solve its diversity problems are not made soon.
“Black people know historically and presently that the show is not formatted for their success,” Lindsay wrote Monday, explaining that she had applied to be on her first season of “The Bachelor” on a whim and later accepted the role of “Bachelorette” — making her the first and only person of color to hold a lead role on the long-running franchise — in order to be a “trailblazer” who might steer the future of the show in a more diverse direction.