The Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise has a less-than-favorable record when it comes to diversity. The dating franchise had been on the air for 15 years before it cast its first Black lead — Rachel Lindsay on Season 13 of The Bachelorette — and to this day, the flagship series has featured only one Black Bachelor in Matt James. For that reason, Charity Lawson understood what it meant to accept the role as the lead of The Bachelorette Season 20, and as her journey to find love kicked off this week, she spoke about the role race played in her season and how she advocated for herself.
Charity Lawson was introduced to Bachelor Nation fans on Zach Shallcross’ season of The Bachelor, getting eliminated after Hometown Dates, and fans were excited to see that she’d get the chance to lead her own season. Lawson told Insider that as a Black woman, there were specific things she had to request, including a hairstylist “who can treat African-American hair,” as well as “makeup artists, all those things that we’re just not really always aware of that are needed differently when it comes to women of color.” She continued:
With the people that work on the show and everything… I had to have moments where I advocated for things. Just speak[ing] up about certain things that they were — I don’t wanna say oblivious to — but maybe just not on their radar, because they don’t necessarily have to think about these things.
It definitely seems to be a learning process for the franchise, which has largely revolved around white contestants since The Bachelor premiered in 2002. Charity Lawson was aware of the realities of what she was walking into, and she told Insider that she spoke with some of her Season 20 suitors so they were aware of the complexity of her situation.
If anyone can relate to just how complex it can get, it’s Rachel Lindsay. She has said that she also had a say on her hair and makeup during her season, but she opened up on Ellen Pompeo’s podcast Tell Me in 2021 about other struggles she faced as the franchise’s first Black lead, including not having any Black female producers and having to go on a date with a Black man who didn’t date Black women.
Rachel Lindsay has since distanced herself from the Bachelor franchise and told People she won’t be tuning in for Charity Lawson’s season, though she is rooting for the Bachelorette and said her door is “always open.”
Charity Lawson comes in as The Bachelorette’s fourth Black lead, also following Tayshia Adams and Michelle Young. She said she’s been “having important conversations regarding race on the show” with contestants, producers, and everyone else involved. Of the franchise’s overall approach to race, she said:
We’re making strides, but we’re making them so, so slowly.
If you want to follow Charity Lawson’s journey, The Bachelorette airs at 9 p.m. ET Mondays on ABC and is available to stream the next day with a Hulu subscription. And if you want to know which guys to keep your eye on, check out our spoilers to see Lawson’s rumored final four.