White contestants dominated this Bachelor season despite the show having its most diverse cast yet

The Hollywood Reporter

Of the 37 total cast members vying for Matt James, 25 identify as BIPOC. Yet much of the drama this season seemed to revolve around white contestants. In fact, the Instagram account @bachelordata has found that white contestants typically receive more screentime this season and other seasons. And that increased screentime may be due to white contestants having more followers on social media. "A lot of people will say this season was a lot of white contestants having drama and that’s why their screen time was so high. But that’s not what the executive producers committed to — they committed to showing diverse romantic stories," says Suzana, who runs the @bachelordata account and who prefers to remain anonymous, pointing to the show's inclusion statement from 2020. "(The data is) really holding them accountable. I love this show and I want it to stay on the air. I stand behind the Bachelor Diversity Campaign that if they’re going to commit, they need to be looking at data themselves. And I hope they really start to look at screen time because that’s a big indicator. Are they truly showing us positive, romantic storylines? Like we saw during Tayshia’s season, there are really powerful stories that can come out when you cast and show a diverse cast."