From BlackVoices

A Kentucky woman is vying to become ABC’s first black “Bachelorette.”

Dr. Misee Harris, a 28-year-old pediatric dentist and Tennessee native, is campaigning to become the first black bachelorette on the reality dating show, according to NBC’s The Grio.

In June of last year, Harris was chosen to be a contestant on “The Bachelor” but decided to set her sights higher.

Find out why on BlackVoices.com.

Source: ABC

About six months ago, we told you about the two black men who were filing a discrimination suit against ABC’s “The Bachelor,” citing that in the show’s 10 year history (Yes, it’s been 10 years!) there has never been one person of color vying for the affections of the opposite sex.

Well, today the U.S. District court put a stop to the lawsuit.

The court found that even if ABC’s hit show lacks diversity, it’s within their First Amendment right to cast whomever they see fit.

Judge Aleta Trauger noted that the show, in an attempt to appeal to their target audience, ABC may or not have discriminated based on race; but said the First Amendment protects their right to control their  own creative content.

“Thus, the court must assume, as alleged in the Amended Complaint, that the defendants did discriminate on the basis of race, that they did so to conform the content of their Shows to cater to the viewpoint of their target audience concerning interracial relationships, that the Shows’ content thereby perpetuates racial stereotypes about interracial relationships, and that the plaintiffs seek to alter/correct the defendants’ casting decision process to address that issue.

Regardless, as discussed herein, the First Amendment protects the defendants’ ability to control the content of their own programs unilaterally … because the defendants – not the plaintiffs – are entitled to control the casting of their own programs in the manner in which they see fit.”

So the two black men, Christopher Johnson and Nathaniel Claybrooks, may still take ABC to court, but the likelihood of them winning their case is highly unlikely after this ruling.

What interests me about this whole scenario is how “Civil Rights” type issues are being reflected in the casting of reality shows? To me, it just seems like there are other, more pressing social justice issues that have nothing to do with reality television. Furthermore, even if Johnson and Claybrooks won the law suit and ABC decided to cast one of them on the next season of “The Bachelor,” would it truly be satisfying knowing that the network only picked you because they were legally obligated to?

I guess to each his own.

What do you think about the ruling? Are you surprised by it or did you see this coming all along?

Source

Source: Buddytv.com

A big fuss has been made over Lamar Hurd appearing on next season of ABC’s “The Bachelor” because it would be the first time in 16 seasons that an African American man would be headlining the show. Though the creators of the series have claimed they never purposely excluded black men or women from appearing on the show or its counterpart, “The Bachelorette,” that hasn’t stopped two black men in Nashville from coming forward with a suit crying discrimination.

MSNBC and the Washington Informer report that Nathaniel Claybrooks and Christopher Johnson, an All-American football player and an aspiring NFL player plan to file a class action suit tomorrow morning claiming that “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” intentionally discriminate against persons of color, citing the fact that no person of color has ever had the main role on either show in the combined 23 episodes that have aired over 10 years.

Since that’s all these news outlets have reported, the lawsuit seems a little random, but TMZ claims to have uncovered more details. According to the site, both men went to a Nashville hotel to audition for the role of  the bachelor. Christopher  claims when he arrived a producer asked him what he was doing there. Nathaniel adds that they were taken to the side of the room and left out of the normal audition process, and neither was obviously called back, which they say is because of their race.

The plaintiffs are scheduled to discuss their lawsuit around 2:30 pm tomorrow in a press conference at the Nashville office of co-counsel Byron Perkins of Perkins-Law LLC, and a number of parties are expected to be sued, including ABC, Warner Horizon Television, Next Entertainment, NZK Productions, and the show’s creator Mike Fleiss.

Considering the show has no doubt excluded thousands of people for miscellaneous reasons over the past 10 years, it could be hard to prove this claim, but the fact that we haven’t seen any other colors on the show besides blonde hair and blue eyes might at least give them a leg to stand on.

Do you think these men have any chance of winning this lawsuit?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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From Black Voices

After 16 seasons of being on the air, ABC’s reality dating game show, “The Bachelor”has managed to fulfill a void for various eligible contestants. However to some fans disappointment, the show’s lack of diversity has raised a few questions as to why there has never been a non-white bachelor? Last year show creator, Mike Fleiss told Entertainment Weekly that he and his production team are always looking to cast for ethnic diversity, “it’s just that for whatever reason, they don’t come forward. I wish they would.”

Well look no further, Portland-based sportscaster Lamar Hurd is vying to become the show’s first African American hopeful. Initially the multifaceted commentator and entrepreneur was reluctant to apply for the show’s upcoming season, but thanks to his assistant, Tammy, Hurd has a different point of view.

For the complete story, click here.

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An old coworker coerced me into watching the last season of ABC’s “The Bachelor,” and while I found it hard to watch in the beginning, after the first few episodes it became sort of a guilty pleasure because I had to see what was going to happen in the end. What turned me off most about the show, despite tuning in every week, was the was the fact that contestants would have full-blown breakdowns over not being handed a rose after knowing some random guy for a day or two and the idea that a woman would actually agree to marrying a stranger after a few months. I couldn’t turn away from the cries and the embarrassing confessionals, but to me, the overall concept was silly.

A pastor at St. Sabina Catholic Church in Chicago is taking “silly” one step further. He says the show is degrading to women in the way that we criticize the representations of Black women in the “Basketball Wives,” “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” and “Love and Hip Hop” series. Rev. Michael Pfleger told the Chicago Sun Times:

“This whole concept, I mean, how sick is this that 25 women are throwing their bodies and their hearts at this one man, who is having all these little romantic runs with the different women here and there, and the women are doing whatever they gotta do to try and get him. How degrading is this for women?

“I mean these women were crying their eyes out when they weren’t accepted, and one even fell out on the floor, and I’m just amazed that this show is allowed to go on,” he said. “What is this teaching our young girls about what it takes to gain the acceptance of a man, and doing whatever you gotta do to sell yourself?”

Reverend Pfleger definitely has a point. While we complain about black and latino women throwing drinks and punches, he’s concerned with white women throwing themselves at men. He even said he’s shocked the National Organization for Women and other associations haven’t spoken out about “The Bachelor,” and to my knowledge he’s one of the first people to say anything about the portrayals of white women on reality TV (that’s the only shade 99% of the show’s contestants come in). Granted, I’m surprised he takes more issue with this show than some of the Real Housewives series, but the reverend does have a point about the desperation these women exude and what they’re modeling for young girls.

The south side pastor even went so far as to say the portrayals of women on the show are equal to video vixens in rap music videos.

“To me, this is just as negative,” he said. “And if we’re going to condemn negative rappers, particularly African-American rappers, calling women names and degrading them, which is wrong, then let’s equally do it with shows like ‘The Bachelor.’ The whole principle of this show is wrong.

“The women cry, fight, and plot against each other, acting as if they are a piece of meat being dangled from a hook for the bachelor’s selection,” Rev. Pfleger said. “In one episode, the bachelorettes climbed the San Francisco [Bay] Bridge and even went skiing in bikinis. They fell and purposely bent over just so the bachelor could see their most private parts. The whole thing should just make us all sick.”

I really applaud the pastor for calling out society on its double standard. I can’t even count the number of articles that have been written condemning the representations of black women on reality TV while everyone else gets a pass. “White women do it too” should never be an excuse to continue with stereotypical portrayals on TV, but with so many people—white and black—being quick to call out rappers for how they degrade women, maybe the “The Bachelor,” in its 16th season should be criticized just as harshly too. The only serious critique I’ve seen of the show is related to the lack of diversity in its casting, and it would definitely be interesting to see how the show was received if there were women of color behaving the same way the current contestants do.

I’d never given much thought to the portrayals of women when I watched the show, probably because I didn’t see myself in the contestants so I felt much more separate than I do watching Bravo or VH1. But I think Rev. Pfledger is making a much larger point about society overall: if you’re going to call out one industry for the way it represents women, you have to call them all out.

What do you think about the pastor’s view? Do you watch “The Bachelor?” Do you think it’s as degrading to women as some rap lyrics and videos?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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