ABC announced on Friday that Matt James will be the star of the next season of “The Bachelor,” which will mark the first time in series history that a black man has been chosen for the role. The announcement comes after many former stars within the Bachelor community have called for more diversity on the show, most notably former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay.
So, who is Matt James? James is a 28-year-old from New York City, who works as a real estate broker and entrepreneur. He has not previously been on any Bachelor show, but he was originally set to be a cast member for Clare Crawley’s season of The Bachelorette, which was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic. He’s also an athlete, and played Division I college football at Wake Forest.
In an interview on Good Morning America, James said that he hopes America will get to see that “diverse love stories are beautiful” during his season, which is coming in 2021.
Matt James on becoming the @BachelorABC’s first-ever black leading man: “I think it's a step in the right direction.” https://t.co/NNfmVuXLKI #TheBachelor #BachelorNation pic.twitter.com/dvP5Qr3gfH
— Good Morning America (@GMA) June 12, 2020
“It’s an honor. I’m just going to lean into myself, how my mom raised me, and hopefully when people invite me to their homes on Monday night, they’re going to see that I’m not much different from them, and they see that diverse love stories are beautiful.”
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