Corinne Olympios Says There Should Have Been A Black Lead Cast For ‘The Bachelor’ A Long Time Ago

Corinne Olympios, who made her reality television debut on Nick Viall’s season of The Bachelor in 2017, is speaking out about Matt James being cast as the first black Bachelor. While she is excited to watch James take on the leading role, she is suspicious about production’s reasoning for naming their first black lead now, according to Page Six.

James being cast as The Bachelor was unexpected for some because he has no real tie to the reality television franchise except for the fact that he is former contestant, Tyler Cameron’s best friend. While many people were excited that a black lead had finally been cast after many seasons since the show began in 2002, many people, like Olympios, felt that the timing for the announcement was strange. Former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay called out production, saying it appeared that this announcement was a “knee jerk reaction” because the show had recently come under fire for not being diverse enough.

“I kind of agree with Rachel Lindsay on it, I felt kind of like you’re just doing it because of what’s going on in the country right now. I feel like this should have been something that happened a very long time ago with choosing a black Bachelor,” Olympios said during a recent interview.

She went on to say that even though she is very excited for James and plans to watch his season, she felt this decision was only made by production because they felt pressure to appease critics.

“I’m so excited and I’m really happy that it is happening in general, but I do feel like it was kind of like forced … I just want it to be more cultured moving forward anyways, so I’m excited that it’s happening. I’m so excited for him. I think it’s gonna be an amazing season and I can’t wait to watch,” she said.

Lindsay, who’s statements Olympios is referring to, is black herself and took on the role of the first African American Bachelorette. Even though Lindsay found her husband, Bryan Abasolo, through the show, she’s been one of the franchise’s harshest critics in recent weeks.

As The Inquisitr previously reported, Lindsay spoke out following the announcement regarding James being cast as The Bachelor. She emphasized that she was happy that change is finally taking place in order to promote more diversity, but she thinks that the show still has a long way to go. She has even stated that if she doesn’t see more positive change she will choose not to be associated with the reality television show moving forward.