The Bachelor has its first Black lead! Matt James has been selected as the show’s first-ever Black Bachelor, ABC announced on Friday (June 12). PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Matt James James is a 28-year-old real estate broker, entrepreneur and community organization founder, and is best known to Bachelor Nation as a friend to Tyler Cameron, and competed on Hannah Brown’s season of The Bachelorette.
He was also set to compete on The Bachelorette with Clare Crawley, but that was halted amid the pandemic, so ABC thought of a bigger role for Matt.
The news comes as former Bachelorette star Rachel Lindsay put the franchise on blast for not having a Black Bachelor lead in the show’s nearly two decade run since 2002.