ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey acknowledges a gaffe in how “The Bachelorette” contestants were picked for Rachel Lindsay, the franchise’s first African-American lead.
The long-running dating show’s 13th season included drama centered around contestant Lee Garrett, a Nashville-based songwriter who caught flak for his racially charged tweets and reference to black cast members Eric Bigger and Kenny King as “aggressive.”
Dungey told reporters at the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour on Sunday that she doesn’t believe that the show used racism as entertainment, saying she doesn’t “have any regrets” about how those scenes were presented. But she does think that the choice of Garrett as a contestant reflects a flaw in how the cast is chosen.
“I think there were certain elements to Lee — we go through a very complicated vetting process to determine the contestants,” she said. “Not everything is apparent right from the beginning, and that’s just one of the things we have to look at as we continue to move forward in the future, to maybe continue to strengthen our process of vetting.”
“But there was no sense on our end that we were trying to sensationalize that in any way,” she continued.
“The Bachelorette” airs its Season 13 finale on Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
'The Bachelorette' Premiere: 6 Most Painful Moments From Season 13 Opener (Photos)
Rachel Lindsay began her second chance at reality TV-endorsed love during Monday's Season 13 premiere of "The Bachelorette." But if the Dallas-based attorney thought she wouldn't have to experience any awkward encounters (or hear the word "Whaboom" shouted about a billion times), she was way off. Here are six cringeworthy moments from the episode.
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Blake's Manhood Blake E. provided viewers with a mental image that presumably none of them wanted, as he explained during his introductory video: "Many women have told me about the amazingness of my penis."
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Milton Keeps Growling A little growling goes a long way. Rachel may have gotten a kick out of Milton's sexy utterance as he snapped a selfie during his introduction, but she clearly was no longer amused when he kept purring throughout the night.
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Adam and Adam Jr. It's probably not the best idea to bring a hand-drawn, puppet version of yourself -- as Adam quickly learned after introducing Rachel to "Adam Jr." The human Adam told the Bachelorette that his supposed doppelgänger was "super excited."
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Josiah Grabs the Rose No one can say Josiah was lacking in confidence. After being the first man to pull Rachel aside for a chat, he brazenly snagged the first-impression rose and attached it to his lapel, only to later learn that Bryan was its actual recipient.
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Mohit Gets Tipsy It wouldn't be a season premiere without someone having a few too many. This time around, the contestant who hit the booze a bit too hard was Mohit, who stumbled on his way to Rachel and then stole Josiah's drink from him.
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Blake Calls Out Lucas Any number of Lucas' bizarre antics (pictured above) could make this list, from him falling off the couch while screaming "Whaboom," to using a bullhorn to narrate Peter's one-on-one. This prompted Blake to confront Lucas, who defended his behavior with a rather Zen-like retort: "I feel that everyone has a little bit of Whaboom in them."
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Rachel Lindsay tries her best to be a good sport as her guys get weird
Rachel Lindsay began her second chance at reality TV-endorsed love during Monday's Season 13 premiere of "The Bachelorette." But if the Dallas-based attorney thought she wouldn't have to experience any awkward encounters (or hear the word "Whaboom" shouted about a billion times), she was way off. Here are six cringeworthy moments from the episode.