While Bachelor Nation eagerly awaits Bachelor party For Jenn Tran’s upcoming season, premiering July 8, ABC revealed the cast of 25 hopefuls vying for her roses.
The network released the photos and biographies of the suitors on June 3. Among the men, whose professions range from pet portrait entrepreneur to sommelier, there is one participant who is making waves among the fandom.
Some fans have singled out 28-year-old Brett Harris, a health and safety manager from Manheim, Pennsylvania, for defying the franchise’s rigid casting trend.
On ABC’s Instagram post previewing the season’s men, commenters shared their excitement about Harris making his franchise debut, with some already calling for him to be the next Bachelor.
“About time we got a bigger man on these shows, let’s go Brett,” one person wrote.
“Brett will be our seasonal favorite,” said another.
“Now I want to see some body inclusivity on the women’s Bachelor seasons,” one person wrote.
While the Bachelor education franchise is a mainstay in reality television, it has often been criticized for its lack of body inclusivity among its leads and participants.
Roses for Every Body, an online campaign demanding the inclusion of the body in the Bachelor universe, has long been critical of the franchise’s inability to include people with different body types in its shows. In 2022, the group launched its “Fat Bachelor Inclusion Campaign,” along with a petition that has more than 11,000 signatures, calling on the series’ creator and production companies to “stand against anti-fat bias on their show.”
The group, which prefers to speak collectively as Roses for Every Body, told Yahoo Entertainment that they are “cautiously excited” about Harris’ casting this season.
“The Bachelor education franchise has had a total of 49 seasons with approximately 1,300 participants, and Brett will be the third person to be even remotely considered not skinny. Both, before him, were sent home on the first night,” Roses for Every Body said.
Bo Stanley, a surfer and model, competed on the season of Bachelor Chris Soules in 2015, while Bryan Witzmann, a former professional football player, appeared on the season of Bachelorette Michelle Young in 2021. Roses for Every Body previously told Yahoo that they were “both sent home on the first night, with less than a minute of screen time each.”
“Brett’s casting matters because positive romantic media representation of fat people can lead to breaking anti-fat bias and helping dismantle systemic oppression,” the group said. “It matters because the public wants to see themselves represented.”
I don’t watch The Bachelor/Bachelorette, but I’ve only seen the pictures of the guys in the new season… Brett, if it doesn’t work out, call me.
—Madison Kelley (@madisonkelleyp) March 29, 2024
Jordan Cagle, 26, a body acceptance and style influencer in Ashland, Kentucky, told Yahoo that Harris’ casting is “important” for both reality television and body inclusivity in general.
“Casting a fat-presenting individual in what is perhaps the most famous romantic reality show gives hope to a group of people who have been taught from an early age that no one wants to be with ‘someone like them,’” she said. “I can only hope that ABC is finally listening.”
Yahoo Entertainment reached out to ABC and Warner Bros., which produces the series, for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Cagle, watching the movie Bachelor education franchise shows along with other reality TV series, said the genre has played a role not only in how fat people are perceived by others, but also in how they view themselves.
“I know that fat people deserve praise, success, stardom, love, and everything else that comes with being a full-fledged person. But if you don’t see that regularly, you start to forget about it,” she explained. “You try to rationalize these negative thoughts and start to agree with the uninformed public. I never know if I’m a hypocrite for watching the show, or if I’m just a fat woman tired of being told I can’t participate.”
Although Cagle says 1 in 25 straight men is “a little disappointing,” she still welcomes the moment as a victory.
“I want people who look like me to fall in love, and I want people to know that plus-size people have options!” she said.
“There has been a push for inclusivity of body size for years now, and trueness to shape, The Bachelor [and The Bachelorette] are behind the times,” Roses for Every Body said, adding that the franchise tends to “tokenize” certain participants once every few years.
The members of the group aren’t holding their breath as Brett isn’t “forced to talk about food” and makes it to the premiere on night one.
“While we’re excited and hopeful this is the start of a shift in casting, we’re tired of praising the franchise for one non-skinny contestant every few years,” the group explained. “As the Bachelor education franchise wants to make lasting changes within the show instead of doing the bare minimum, they need to take our demands seriously.
