If Gus Kenworthy Is Really Authentic He Won’t Do the Show with the Gay Bachelor
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I honestly thought #MeToo had killed The Bachelor.
And if it didn’t then why?
Almost a year to the day after penning a memoir where he asserted his heterosexuality, Bachelor star Colton Underwood has come out as a gay man on Good Morning America to a Black lesbian journalist Robin Roberts.
On the surface it sounds like the pinnacle of LGBT acceptance except for one very important thing: the fact that any of this is newsworthy has to do with the terrible and badly aging show The Bachelor. A show that by most measures should have been canceled years ago. Shortly after the interview it was announced that a new show was in development. A Tweet from Pop Crave reads: “Former ‘Bachelor’ Colton Underwood is reportedly filming an unscripted reality series with Netflix after coming out as gay, @Variety reports. The project will focus on Underwood living his life as an openly gay man. Gus Kenworthy will appear on the series as his “gay guide.”
The Variety report however does not confirm that Kenworthy will actually appear on the show, it simply says that as source close to production says that he is. “While the full scope of the series is under wraps, an insider tells Variety that Olympian Gus Kenworthy will appear in the series, acting as a guide, of sorts, for Underwood.”
Former ‘Bachelor’ Colton Underwood is reportedly filming an unscripted reality series with Netflix after coming out as gay, @Variety reports.
The project will focus on Underwood living his life as an openly gay man. Gus Kenworthy will appear on the series as his “gay guide.” pic.twitter.com/yIBVj8fhbZ
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) April 14, 2021
Fans of the show touted this as an arrival of sorts while detractors dragged the show, what was wholly undiscussed is how irrelevant and un-authentic both Underwood and The Bachelor are to LGBT folks at all and what we are being asked of viewers. The show has been an eye sore in American pop culture since its debut in 2002. It is the bottom feeder of reality shows and that’s saying something. Secondly Underwood’s big reveal sounds aFis insincere and un-authentic as it appears.
It feels like we’re being gay Punk’d.
I honestly don’t care whether or not Underwood was playing a long game to capitalize on this moment or not. The show has never been by or for us. This is why it doesn’t matter.
Fans suggested that the pairing is toxic, I think it’s just irrelevant.
But it doesn’t bother me that much. I accepted the reality of reality TV a long time ago and Underwood did sell a shit ton of books. Mostly to straight women.
Yeah, I agree but that ship sailed when The Bachelor was accepted as entertainment. I don’t disagree except that I understand the market forces at work so that’s it. And I just feel like there’s other bottles to be fought. But I don’t think we should oppress each other.
Or criticize Kenworthy who hasn’t even said he’s doing the show.
“Let’s see how many times Gus or Colton is denied housing, fired from a job, mugged, or shunned or berated for the sex they have.”
With a reality show you’re stuck with reality as the baseline and then less. There’s nothing real about reality. A well crafted multi-camera dram series can get at more truths and push the boundaries of expectations and not on the idle musings of a “real” gay guy whose life is completely estranged from mine.
After watching It’s A Sin earlier this year I realized there’s a dearth of scripted gay television. And I doubt Kenworthy is really involved. In this situation he has nothing to gain and everything to lose. He’s built a public persona of being this sincere guy who cares about everything from metal health to HIV, but ultimately Wanda Sykes said it best in her 2019 comedy special Wanda Sykes: Not Normal.
While discussing topics surrounding the current political and cultural climate in the U.S. Among the topics brought during her stand-up, the Emmy Award-nominated actress took some time to criticize the ABC reality television franchise. As she transitioned out of criticizing President Donald Trump and talking about the cultural climate surrounding the Time’s Up Movement, Sykes joked to the audience that women could not go and march for women’s equality and then rush home to “watch The Bachelor.”
“I know some of y’all will be like “well, Wanda it’s just entertainment, it’s a TV show.’ Yeah, I know. But it promotes bad behavior and it makes women look stupid… it’s gotta go,” Sykes said.
“You got all these women gathering, trying to all vie for this one sh—ty dude,” she continued. “And he’s actively dating all of them right in front of your face. And you know he’s sleeping with all of them. And the women are all just standing around like ‘Ugh, when is he gonna f—k me?'”
She added: “I have more respect for strippers than I do for women who go on The Bachelor. What the hell.”
The comedian also criticized the rose ceremony aspect of the show, slamming how it romanticizes and makes a fairytale out of a man picking women to continue dating.
Popculture said: Sykes jokes on the dating franchise come a week since daytime talk show host Kelly Ripa also expressed her disdain for The Bachelor, sparking criticism from the show’s Host Chris Harrison and creator Mike Fleiss. “You guys, you know how I feel about that show. It disgusts me,” Ripa said on Live! With Kelly and Ryan last week. “I can’t stand the idea of 25 exceptional women fighting over one ordinary fella, in my opinion. You know how I feel, ladies. We are too special to be arguing over a guy.”
After the audience applauded her statement, she added, “Having said that… All of you women watch that gross, gross show.”
Fleiss and Harrison lashed out at Ripa with Fleiss tweeting: “Easy, Kelly Ripa … The Bachelor franchise pays your salary!”
Watch the clip below.
