The Bachelor: a recap of the controversial season a month later

by Ashleigh Owens, Assistant Editor-in-Chief

The following story was written by a student on the staff of The Jaguar Times as part of Hilliard Bradley High School’s Journalism Production course.

It’s been five weeks since the last Monday night of one of the most controversial seasons of The Bachelor ever. Even if you’re not a part of Bachelor Nation, you’ve likely at least heard of the unexpected ending to this historic season. Let’s take a look at what’s happened since this season’s episode of “After the Final Rose” and a closer look at the events that transpired.

To start, many fans didn’t agree with Matt’s decision to choose Rachael as this season’s winner. Falasteen Alrjub (11) explained that “I think that when he chose her at the end of the season, I agreed with his decision. Even though I thought that he shouldn’t have chosen her, he didn’t know about her past behavior and only the fans knew. I watched the 'After The Final Rose' ceremony, and I think that he made a great final decision. Rachel needs to grow and learn on her own and if they did end up together after the ATFR ceremony, it wouldn’t have lasted. She needs to work on herself before she decides if she wants to work on her and Matt’s relationship.” This is a great point, and I totally agree! The show had already been filmed, so Matt wasn’t aware of the controversy surrounding Rachael’s past when he made his decision. Kate Shockley (12) echoed these thoughts and added that “No, I don’t agree with what she did and what she did was wrong. But, no one deserves hate or bullying. She’s been willing to learn and has been very apologetic about her racist past.” Especially with social media, this has been an issue I know I’ve seen. Rachael was definitely in the wrong when it comes to some of her past actions, but behavior like this is never okay. Always remember to set an example you want others to follow and be the better person!

This discussion is one that needs to continue, and Mr. Witt (choir director) shared that “I think The Bachelor was on a trajectory to make improvements in the area of diversity. I think a lot of pressure was put on Matt as the first black bachelor. A position like that is a lot for one person to assume all that responsibility. People may have judged him too harshly because he was the first. Hopefully there will be more in the future and some of the things that happened are a post of change”. I also hope The Bachelor learns from their mistakes, as we all should, and creates a better experience for future seasons and contestants.

This season of The Bachelor was definitely one that will never be forgotten, and that’s for the best! With Chris Harrison, new host Emmanuel Acho stepped in for the After the Final Rose Ceremony. During this episode, Emmanuel said something that resonated with many viewers such as myself. He explained that “history is meant to be remembered, but not all history is meant to be celebrated." We all have work to do, I’m no exception, but the first step is to start. Start listening to the experiences and feelings of others. Starting learning how to be an ally to those who need your love and support. Celebrate kindness, but never forget the pain those around you deal with. Until next season, Bachelor Nation!