Fans spot bizarre background detail in The Bachelorette premiere: 'Insane'

The show's producers have since responded to the viral moment.

Lachlan Guertin
·Senior Entertainment Reporter
·3-min read
The Bachelorette's Jenn Tran / Jenn and Samaun ‘Sam’ Nejad with rats scurrying in the background.
A bizarre moment from episode one of The Bachelorette US has gone viral on social media. Photos: ABC / X/onlinealison

The twenty-first season of The Bachelorette US premiered this week and while you might not be watching the reality show, a bizarre scene in episode one has become a must-see moment. An 11-second clip has gone viral on social media after an eagle-eyed viewer spotted what appears to be two rats running across the floor in the background of a shot.

The scene features Bachelorette Jenn Tran, who is the first Asian-American lead in the history of The Bachelor franchise, meeting contestant Samaun ‘Sam’ Nejad for the first time. As Sam describes himself as a “love virgin” to Jenn, two small, blurry figures can be seen scurrying across the floor and out of view.

“Sorry, but do two rats run across the background?” one user posted on X alongside a video of the moment, which has already racked up over four million views.

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Viewers were quick to reply and share their thoughts, with one person responding: “It seems like they also want to have a moment.”

“Now that's romantic,” another added, followed by a different user who said, “Rats knew their cue for the full shot”.

“Sneak peek of ABC’s hit new series ‘The Rat-chelor’,” someone else remarked, while others joked that the rats were “Mickey and Minnie”.

Plenty of people also questioned whether producers decided to include the scene in the hopes it would be shared on social media, with one person commenting: “Waaait I’m willing to bet those are on purpose to make this go viral tbh.”

“Insane how they could have so easily chosen a different shot to avoid the audience seeing that,” another shared, while a third wrote, “I feel like they left it in so people would post it online”.

The show’s producers have since addressed the supposed rat cameo, telling Entertainment Weekly: “You'll notice there were two of them. Everyone deserves to find love!”

Meanwhile, some users have claimed that the filming location - Hummingbird Nest Ranch in Southern California's Santa Susana Mountains - is known for having rats.

“Wait okay I recently catered a wedding at this place where they’re filming and there were rats EVERYWHERE,” one viewer asserts, followed by another who responded, “My friend said where they film is overrun with them”.

Jenn and Samaun ‘Sam’ Nejad with rats scurrying in the background.
The show’s filming location is reportedly known for having rats. Photo: ABC

Episode two of The Bachelorette will see Jenn and her remaining 18 suitors flying to Melbourne, Australia where they will reportedly meet with two stars of the Australian franchise.

According to So Dramatic!, sisters and joint Bachelorettes Elly and Becky Miles had been asked to make a guest appearance in the US series. The publication reported in May that the season six stars would serve as judges for a challenge where the contestants will perform a sexy strip tease for Jenn.

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“The Bachelorette US was here for three weeks filming the upcoming series,” one source claimed. “They always travel internationally on the US series.”

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