After writing a critique for THR of ABC’s romance reality franchise, the NBA legend appears on the May 29 episode to judge the suitors by their (on court) game.
When fans of The Bachelorette watch the May 29 episode, I’m sure some will express shock and wonder: “What the heck is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar doing on the show handing out romance advice?”
Five months ago, I wrote an article for The Hollywood Reporter about how the Bachelor and Bachelorette franchises are damaging romance in America. Mostly, I complained that by limiting themselves to only one specific body and intellectual type, they were promoting a form of romance porn that created a superficial fantasy ideal that inevitably would lead to dating disappointment for viewers influenced by the shows. I also observed that African-American contestants, though always a part of the dating scrum, were predictably cut loose after an appropriately polite “we don’t see color” period of time. I didn’t think anyone was to blame or that there was a racist conspiracy. It was just a consistent occurrence that reflected contestants’ comfort zone.
This story is from the May 24, 2017 edition of The Hollywood Reporter.
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This story is from the May 24, 2017 edition of The Hollywood Reporter.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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