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| Meet Matt James, the next Bachelor. |
In the wake of the George Floyd tragedy, many people of color are calling upon Hollywood and Broadway to get things now. ABC finally heard the concern.
A New York man is the first African American (and biracial) to join the Bachelor Nation.
The Bachelor for 24 seasons never had a person of color on the show.
Matt James is working on changing that status quo. The 28-year old is the first ever Black lead on The Bachelor in the history of the franchise.
Good Morning America announced James on Friday.
ABC said they're "privileged to have Matt" as their first Black bachelor. Bachelorette alum Tyler Cameron's mom, Andrea, had nominated him for the show. Andrea died earlier this year from a brain aneurysm. At the time of the interview, James had just arrived in Los Angeles after attending her funeral.
In a statement on Friday, ABC Entertainment President Karey Burke said that the Bachelorette shutdown allowed them time to get to know James as a possible lead instead of a contestant. "[We] all agreed he would make a perfect Bachelor," she said.
James was already familiar to some Bachelor fans for his ties to Cameron, who was runner-up on Hannah Brown's season. James made headlines last July for his apparent disapproval of Brown asking out Cameron for a drink on her After the Final Rose finale, following her failed engagement to Jed Wyatt. He and Brown have since mended fences; Cameron, Brown and James all quarantined together at Cameron's mom's house in Jupiter, Florida, earlier this year.
As for whether Cameron offered any advice on how to navigate his televised journey to find love, "He just said, 'Be yourself, be true to that. ... All you can do is just be who you are, and if it goes well for you, then it was meant to be,'" James recalled.
"I think that me and TC are cut from the same cloth of just our moms being super impactful in our lives. And if it ever came to someone disrespecting a woman that we were pursuing or a women that was around us, then I hope I would step up and take a stand for her," he added.
James and Cameron were seemingly living it up in New York City, having just moved into an apartment together months earlier. So, is James really ready to leave that behind and settle down?
"I think a lot of times when you are in a city like New York or any just big-time metropolis, you have a lot of distractions. So, for me it's work, it's the work we do with the kids of ABC Food Tours, it's fitness, it's a lot," he explained.
As for the parties and attention that comes from having some notoriety, James said it's "fruitless."
The first Black woman who had a shot on The Bachelorette praised the decision. Rachel Lindsay said that it's about time for ABC to come to their senses.
James was originally intended as a suitor for the upcoming season of The Bachelorette, in which Clare Crawley will lead. But The Bachelorette suspended production due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This wouldn't been possible if it wasn't for activism. The Bachelor Diversity Campaign launched by 10 "Bachelor" viewers connected through a fan Facebook page, implores the ABC franchise to diversify its lineup and "consistently cast BIPOC (black, indigenous, and people of color).
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