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Matt James is just a couple of weeks in to his season of The Bachelor, and he recently revealed that he’s “frustrated” by some fans.
In his sit down with Rachel Lindsay and Becca Kufrin for the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast, James opened up about said frustration. There has been a lot of support for James, as he is the franchise’s first-ever Black Bachelor. However, many fans of the show have been convinced that he was only interested in dating white women, and that he’d likely choose a white woman in the end.
“First off, people should, regardless of what they look like, want you to be happy with whoever you’re with. And if you knew anything about me, if you were close to me, you would know that the last women that I dated were all Black women,” he told former Bachelorette, Lindsay.
To find out who Matt James chooses this season, click here.
Here’s what you need to know:
Matt James Sat Down With Chris Harrison to Talk About the ‘Pressure’ He Puts on Himself as the First Black ‘Bachelor’
In a sit-down with Chris Harrison on air, James opened up about the pressure that he put on himself as the first Black Bachelor. He also opened up about how he feels that people were “cheering” for him to end up with a “specific person of a specific race.”
“It’s like, people want me to end up with a certain type of person. And I get that… My mom is white, my dad is Black… You’ve got people cheering for you to find love and then you have people cheering for you to end up with a specific person of a specific race,” James told Harrison. “That’s something that kept me up at night. It’s like, I don’t want to piss off Black people, I don’t want to piss off white people, but I’m both of those, you know what I mean? It’s like, how do I please everybody?”
James talked more about this with Lindsay and Kufrin.
“When you’re dating somebody, if you’re excluding a race, then I don’t even know where to begin on that. What I’m looking for in a woman isn’t race specific. What I’m looking for may upset somebody. What I’m looking for isn’t a race. I don’t only exclusively date Black women. I don’t only exclusively date white women. I’ve dated all across the board, and I’ve found redeeming qualities in everybody, which is a blessing, and that’s why it’s so difficult for me throughout this season,” he said.
Matt James Previously Told ‘Good Morning America’ That it Is ‘an Honor’ to Be Cast as the First Black ‘Bachelor’
While James may be frustrated with some Bachelor fans, being the Bachelor has been nothing short of an “honor” for him.
James was asked how he felt becoming the first Black Bachelor during an interview with Good Morning America.
“It’s an honor. I’m just going to lean into myself and how my mom raised me and hopefully when people invite me into their homes on Monday night they’re going to see that I’m not much different from them and they see that diverse love stories are beautiful,” he said.
“I don’t think it’s ever the wrong time to do the right thing. Hopefully this is the first of many Black men to be in the position that I’m in now,” he added.
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