‘The Bachelor’ Star Jubilee Sharpe Blasts The Show For Making Her ‘Look A Certain Way’
There is little doubt that Jubilee Sharpe entered The Bachelor’s 20th season as one of the more unique and controversial contestants on the show. While Ben Higgins gave her the boot back in week 5, Jubilee was back at the center of the drama during the recent “Women Tell All” episode. Following the attacks from her fellow contestants, Jubilee has officially fired back about her time on the hit dating show.
According to Huffington Post, the episode started with the women ganging up on Jubilee and her inability to get along with everyone else on the show. Things then took a turn as the issue of race was brought into the mix.
The question of diversity has always been a problem with the hit dating series. That question remained unanswered this season despite the inclusion of three contestants who view themselves as either biracial or black. In fact, one of the more dramatic issues during the latest episode involved Jubilee’s comments that she was the only “real black girl” this season.
“I always own up to anything that I do and say, and I did say I am the full black girl in the house, but to me, that’s not offensive, and I don’t think anyone else was [bothered],” she stated. “I don’t know if they really felt that strongly about it, or they felt the need to just harp on me.”
Jubilee had particular issues with Jami and Amber, who both consider themselves bi-racial and took offense to Jubilee’s comments during the season. For her part, Jubilee thought that they were attempting to “make me some type of way in front of people, and that’s how I felt — like, ‘We have to make her look a certain way in front of people.'”
According to People, Jubilee hails from Haiti, though she was raised by foster parents after her entire family was killed. To this day, Jubilee is unsure what happened to her family, which she admits is hard to deal with as she tried to move forward with her life.
“My three brothers and my parents died, but I don’t know the details. I was 6, but I don’t remember my parents,” she shared. “My 4-year-old little sister and I went to live with my grandmother but she had leprosy and was dying and too sick to take care of us. So she put me and my little sister in an orphanage.”
“I said I am the one full black girl in the house,” she told the outlet. “I think of that as a fact. The way they tried to portray me really got to me, like I was the racist black girl. Race has never been a thing for me. My whole [adopted] family is white. I wasn’t raised seeing color.”
Jubilee’s comments and participation in the current season of The Bachelor have definitely put a larger spotlight on the issue of race in the show. Although the expectations of the lead man in the series often dictates the casting, it is hoped that the show will become more diverse in years to come.
The finale for Season 20 of The Bachelor is set to air March 14 on ABC, check out a preview below.
[Image via ABC]
