ABC Jesse Palmer and Zach Shallcross smile after "The Bachelor" announcement.
It is almost time for the debut of “The Bachelor” with Zach Shallcross. Over the years, the show has tried out a variety of methods when revealing the cast of the upcoming season. This time, the plan was to have host Jesse Palmer share the identities of the ladies during a live TikTok session. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned, and “Bachelor Nation” fans had plenty to say about it.
Here’s what you need to know:
‘The Bachelor’ Tried Something New & Fans Weren’t Necessarily Happy About It
Heading into the live TikTok on January 4, “The Bachelor” fans on other social media sites expressed their annoyance over the show’s plan.
“Why isn’t this just on TV????? I’m [not] on TicTok and I’m not going to start now. Please tell me the regular season will be on regular channels!!” questioned one “Bachelor” fan on the show’s Facebook page.
“Not nice to show some fans and not others!” declared another frustrated Facebook fan.
Even those who were willing to tune in to watch Palmer’s live TikTok session had their frustrations. There were audio issues throughout much of the session, where Palmer’s microphone kept cutting out. As spoiler king Reality Steve detailed on Twitter, “‘The Bachelor’ cast reveal happening on TikTok right now has been going on for 10 minutes, and they still haven’t figured out Jesse’s microphone issues.” He continued, “Cuts in and out and you hear every third word. It’s hilarious, ridiculous, and embarrassing all wrapped into one!”
The Live TikTok Cast Reveal Was Deemed Embarrassing By Some
The criticism from “The Bachelor” fans spread across various social media sites as well as Reddit. One Redditor explained, “The first 15 minutes were bad then a producer told Jesse that no one could hear him so they restarted the stream like 20 minutes later.”
“Their first mistake was broadcasting it on TikTok,” quipped another Redditor.
Some “The Bachelor” fans watching Palmer’s live noticed that former “Bachelorette” star Katie Thurston had tuned in and commented on the issues. A Redditor shared a screenshot of Thurston’s comment, which read, “If this isn’t symbolic, idk what is…”
“Where was production during this debacle?! It’s social media 101 that when you host a live, you have people on your team join via personal or burner accounts to monitor the visual, audio, and comments,” detailed another commenter on Reddit. “And most importantly – you run a test before going live! This is very basic stuff. Who is steering this ship?”
“The whole thing was embarrassing for the franchise but also hilarious. I tuned in once I saw people Tweeting that it was a disaster so maybe this increased their viewer count!” shared someone else.
“I don’t know what’s more embarrassing: the audio not working or me staying in the live the entire time without being able to hear a thing,” joked a separate “Bachelor” fan.
“The Bachelor” spoilers regarding how Shallcross’ season ends have not emerged yet, but fans are eager to learn more. The season premieres on Monday, January 23, and viewers will be curious to see if Shallcross’ journey to finding love goes more smoothly than Palmer’s announcement session went.