Abbie Chatfield slams the new Bachelors: ‘Why are they all white?’

Shortly after it was announced that the next season of The Bachelor will follow three men on their search to find love, former star of the franchise Abbie Chatfield has weighed in and shared her thoughts on the major change.

Speaking on her national radio show Hot Nights with Abbie Chatfield, the media personality criticised Channel Ten’s decision to cast 27-year-old Felix Von Hofe, 25-year-old Jed McIntosh, and 35-year-old Thomas Malucelli instead of a person of colour.

“Why are they all white?” she remarked. “I'm hoping at least one of them is bisexual. I don't know, I'm just hoping there’s something going on here.”

Abbie, who came second on Matt Agnew’s season of The Bachelor in 2019, also pointed out that she thought Jed was “too young” to be fronting the upcoming season.

“To be the lead of a show where you have to settle down, honestly, not trying to be funny, but I’m worried,” she said.

“Because if by a miracle he finds somebody he wants to be with, when they break up everyone’s going to be like, ‘Told you so! He’s too young’. It’s too much pressure on him.”

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Abbie went on to question why Channel Ten didn’t just launch a new show instead of revamping The Bachelor in such a drastic way to try and save the ratings.

“I’m so sorry, but the ratings have been going down and down and down and I just don't know if this is going to save it,” she continued.

“I hope it does save it, I love The Bachelor and I love all the crew and I love everyone on there. I just don't get why we've got three Bachelors. If the structure is completely different, if there are no fairy lights and if there are no candles, this isn't The Bachelor.”

However, she added that she’s hopeful three Bachelors will be “really good to watch” and suggested that there could be some drama if they end up fighting over the contestants.

‘The diversity is next level!’

Abbie isn’t the only person who’s voiced their concern for the upcoming season, with a number of viewers taking to social media to share their outrage over the lack of diversity.

“White man. White man. White man. The diversity is next level!” one person wrote.

“So we have three Bachelors this year. Glad to see they’ve ticked the diversity quota with tattoos,” someone else joked, followed by another who added, “At least they’re adding some diversity to this season of The Bachelor and got someone with an Italian accent”.

“Maybe Channel Ten’s definition of diversity is hair colour or age difference or surnames that aren’t the same,” a fourth remarked.

“The jokes are funny, but real talk - what does The Bachelor franchise have against putting POCs as leads?” a different user tweeted. “Would it kill them to have some more diversity that's actually representative of Australia instead of casting not one, not two, but THREE white males in the series?”

The Bachelor Australia is coming soon to Channel Ten.

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