ABC/Paul Hebert(LOS ANGELES) — Bachelorette alum Rachel Lindsay is sharing her thoughts on what she’d like to see happen to the Bachelor franchise.

Prior to Chris Harrison’s apology following the backlash for his defense of contestant Rachael Kirkconnell’s past racially insensitive behavior, Lindsay told ABC Audio she’d be interested in seeing a Bachelor-type series focused on documenting diverse love.

“If you had people of color telling their stories that were on [prime time television], I do think it would be impactful,” Lindsay told ABC Audio of the idea. “I fight for diversity within the Bachelor franchise. And I do want to see a love story that puts two people of color at the end. But sometimes I wonder, ‘Are we asking for something that we just may never see?'”

While Lindsay said that it was “a knee jerk reaction” by ABC to pick Matt James as the current Bachelor, she does acknowledge that changes are being made. However, the former Bachelorette points out that there’s still important work to be done.

“And I’ve said that in order to really tell our story, to really make people of color feel comfortable, to really get it — you got to have people in the decision room who were of color,” she said. “Otherwise it’s never going to work.”

“Yes, they’ve hired a consulting firm, which is a step, but they can only suggest things,” Lindsay noted. “They aren’t the ones making the decisions at the end of the day. So until you have people who look like us making those decisions in the room, you’re not going to get that. And so maybe the only way to get that is to have a show that is on the same level.”

“But for us, by us,” she added.

By Candice Williams
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