Bachelor Clayton’s Season 26 Promos Slammed For Calling Him An ‘Underdog’

Bachelor: Clayton’s Season 26 Promos Slammed For Calling Him An ‘Underdog’

Promos for the next Bachelor Clayton Echard were released earlier this week, and some viewers aren’t happy. They criticized labeling him “underdog.”

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Bachelor Clayton’s Season 26 Promos Slammed For Calling Him An ‘Underdog’

The Bachelor viewers are not here for the promos giving Clayton Echard an “underdog” narrative. While news of Clayton’s casting came out months ago, it wasn’t officially confirmed until earlier this week. It’s safe to say his tenure as Bachelor is getting off to a rough start.

Since the casting was revealed before Clayton ever appeared on screen, viewers of Michelle Young’s The Bachelorette season waited to see why producers chose him. Weeks later, and even after his elimination, they’re still waiting. Viewers weren’t they only ones frustrated. Bachelor Nation alums like Ashley Iancotti criticized Clayton’s casting as well. The former athlete didn’t exactly stand out, and there was a notable difference between him and the contestants who actually did. For many already unenthusiastic fans, the season 26 promo’s tagline, “Everyone loves an underdog,” was the final straw.

The Bachelor Diversity Campaign spoke to Yahoo! Entertainment about frustrations with Clayton’s recent promos, and his casting overall. This campaign was created in response to the series’ lack of diversity. Its members were among the Bachelor fans who convinced ABC to finally go with a Black lead, Matt James. The group spoke out against Clayton’s promos, calling them “completely tone deaf.” They went on to explain why referring to the Missouri native as an “underdog” was the wrong call. “ABC clearly doesn’t understand what an underdog is,” members stated, continuing, “In no way in America is a straight, cis, white male athlete an underdog. They aren’t even an underdog within this franchise.” But the problems went beyond that. Viewers were quick to point out that, unlike Clayton, one contestant actually was repeatedly referenced as an underdog. That would be Rodney Matthews, a Black former athlete who was eliminated in the next episode.

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Appropriating Rodney’s underdog narrative only highlighted that, as the campaign pointed out, “producers ignored more visible, impactful and diverse contenders from this season and last in order to show us the same tired formula.” In addition to Rodney, there were many other BIPOC contestants who were feasible options. After Katie Thurston’s season, Andrew Spencer was a popular rumored choice for the next lead. In Michelle’s season, viewers fell in love with multiple BIPOC cast members, like Rodney and IT analyst Olumide “Olu” Onajide. After being eliminated the same episode as Clayton, fans expressed their disappointment Olu wasn’t picked as Bachelor instead. Viewers swooned as he discussed the mistreatment of Black women with Michelle, a far cry from her interactions with Clayton.

But the Bachelor Diversity Campaign made it clear this wasn’t just about Clayton, adding that he seemed perfectly nice in his limited screen time. But that limited screen time made the issue even worse, as members continued, “viewers don’t know him. He was not a primary contender on the show and we weren’t given a chance to learn his story.” The fact that there were a number of BIPOC primary contenders, only for Clayton to get the gig, is undeniable. “It’s a tired choice for a tired audience that is craving and demanding more,” members stated, emphasizing that audiences have seen similar choices over 20 times now.

There’s a stark contrast between celebration over Michelle’s historically all-BIPOC final four and the outcry over Clayton’s promos. And if fans want another BIPOC as Bachelor, they’ll have to wait a while. After initial plans for two The Bachelor seasons back-to-back, producers revealed Clayton will be followed by another season of The Bachelorette.

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Link Source : https://screenrant.com/bachelor-bachelorette-clayton-echard-season-26-promos-underdog/

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