The Bachelorette took one much-needed step forward when they announced their first African American Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay, but now ABC is some hot water. Not for anything related to Lindsay, but for some transphobic remarks made by one of the contestants, Bryce Powers. Powers' dating profile for the show stated his biggest fear about going on a date with a woman is that she may secretly be a dude. Needless to say, the internet was not pleased:
That's only the beginning of the savage commentary folks would send over The Bachelorette contestant's way. Uproxx reports ABC quickly scrubbed Bryce Powers dating profile of the remark, but the damage was already done. Transexual and cisgender folks alike jumped on the firefighter from Orlando, and call for Rachel Lindsay to eliminate Powers as soon as possible, or even have ABC remove him from The Bachelorette completely. ABC has issued a statement saying they removed the content from ABC.com, and that Power's statement did not reflect the views of the network, Lindsay, or Warner Horizon.
Rachael Lindsay, who has been on Twitter since the incident hit the web, has yet to personally comment on the situation. It could be that ABC already touched base with the star of The Bachelorette and instructed her not to, which wouldn't be all that surprising. Bryce Powers too has been on social media since the incident broke, and he too is silent on the matter. Whether he's remaining silent due to contractual issues, instruction of ABC, or just not wishing to dig a deeper hole for himself remains to be seen. Whatever the case, that seems like the smart option for Powers rather than speaking out and risking even more controversy and jeopardizing any chance he has on The Bachelorette.
We'll find out how long Bryce Powers lasts when The Bachelorette launches its new season May 22nd at 9 p.m. ET. Make sure you have your fantasy betting sheets in order and plenty of popcorn as this season is already heating up. Once you're done with the premiere, it might behoove you to check out what other new shows you can expect this coming week with our handy guide. Also get ready for a slew of finales as some of your favorite shows say goodbye for awhile this week.
