‘The Bachelor’ Named in Discrimination Lawsuit

The lack of color on ABC’s “The Bachelor” leads to a lawsuit from two African American men who were rejected at the audition for the reality dating show. Aspiring NFL player Christopher Johnson and Nathaniel Claybrooks said on Tuesday, April 17 that they and a group of Nashville residents are launching a lawsuit for racial discrimination.

According to TMZ, Johnson and Claybrooks went to an audition for the role of bachelor in a Nashville hotel. When they arrived, a producer asked what Johnson was doing there and they were taken to the side of the room. The plaintiffs claimed they were left out of the normal audition process and were not called back because of their race.

ABC, Warner Horizon Television, Next Entertainment, NZK Productions and creator Mike Fleiss will all be named in a class action lawsuit to be filed in the federal court on Wednesday morning. They also schedule a news conference to talk about the issue afterwards.

The lawsuit has a strong argument because in ten years of the show and 23 seasons, neither “The Bachelor” nor “The Bachelorette” has featured a single person of color. Fleiss once talked about including someone not white with EW, saying “We always want to cast for ethnic diversity, it’s just that for whatever reason, they don’t come forward. I wish they would.”

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‘Bachelor’ Runner-Up Lindzi Cox Explains Her ‘Call Me’ Invitation to Ben After Rejection

Months after filming “The Bachelor” finale, Lindzi Cox apparently no longer expects Ben Flajnik to be back with her. While she hinted that she would open her heart once again for the winemaker if his relationship with Courtney Robertson didn’t work out, the runner-up of the show’s 16th season claimed she didn’t mean what she said back then.

“The one thing I want to set the record straight is when I was walking out and said, ‘If it doesn’t work out, call me!’ that was a total joke,” she claimed. “We were walking and it was that awkward silence where no one was saying anything and I was like, ‘Dude, I got to break this somehow!’ That was a joke!”

Asked how she would respond if Ben called her to beg for a second chance, Lindzi replied, “I don’t know what I would say… I don’t know what I would say to him, but it wouldn’t be much.” However, when later pressed with the same question, she made it clear that she would never date Ben again as saying, “I could absolutely be friends with Ben. I don’t think we’d work dating.”

The 27-year-old lady additionally backtracked her comment that Ben would look like a total fool if he does want to marry Courtney. “I think that – I don’t still mean what I said,” she said before elaborating, “And watching the show, I got to see how their relationship was and I think that ultimately, it’s not my place to say if it’ll last or not or if he’s making a good decision or not, because he has to do what’s best for him and I really wish Ben nothing but the best.”

Showing support for Ben and Courtney, Lindzi added, “I think that I’m in a really good place now and Ben made his decision and I completely respect that, and I wish them nothing but the best.” When asked if Ben made the right decision by picking “bad girl” Courtney, she wisely stated, “I don’t necessarily think Courtney is a bad girl, and I don’t think that he – it’s up to them if their relationship works and I wish them nothing but the best.”

The business development manager went on defending Courtney who was deemed the villain on the show. “She wasn’t that bad in the house. All she did was sleep a lot, and when she was up, she isolated herself. It wasn’t bad for me,” she insisted. Still, she admitted that watching Courtney skinny dipping with Ben was “kind of stung a little bit because he still had a lot of other really great women there.”

Ben dumped Lindzi and proposed to Courtney in the Monday, March 12 episode of “The Bachelor”. Despite the controversial decision, the episode (2.9/8) saw a 36% drop from last year’s finale, marking the lowest-rated closer ever for the ABC reality series.

‘The Bachelor’ Preview: Tearful Courtney Apologizes to Blakely in ‘Women Tell All’

Being called the villain in “The Bachelor” season 16, Courtney Robertson looks remorseful in a preview for “Women Tell All” edition. In the newly released clip for the upcoming episode of the reality series, the model is confronted by Blakeley Shea for calling her a stripper on the show.

“Courtney, I just wish you’d retract the things you said about me,” says Blakely who sits among the rejected girls. “You said I was a stripper on national television and it hurt my feelings.” The ousted contestant is not happy when Courtney’s gaze wanders while she’s talking to her.

“Courtney, I’m trying to be nice to you and you’re not even looking at me,” Blakely snaps. “I wanted you to say, ‘Blakeley, I really take that back … and say, I’m sorry.’ ” Struggling to hold back tears, 28-year-old Courtney says, “I’m sorry. I take it all back.”

Blakely, meanwhile, will have her own turn to get judged by the other ladies about her behavior during the “Bachelor” stint. Another ouster Samantha Levey complains, “Why are so many of us such good friends, yet you couldn’t be friends?”

In her defense, Blakely says, “Because I’m a lot older than you and I’m more mature than you and I don’t bother myself with small-minded people.”

“The Bachelor: Women Tell All” will air on Monday, February 5 at 8 P.M. ET on ABC. A week later, Ben Flajnik will make his final decision between Courtney and Lindzi Cox in the season finale.