Industry journalists, academics, and critics have condemned the franchise for its lack of racial diversity, its portrayal of people of color, and its contestants' racist behaviors.

People of other races are often eliminated early in each season, and those who remain are normally of mixed white ethnicity or their heritage is downplayed.

In the era of social media, fans have found contestants posting racist messages and photographs online.

Longtime host and face of The Bachelor, Chris Harrison, left the franchise in 2021 after defending a white contestant for attending an Antebellum South-themed formal event.

[3] Another 2016 study by Salon found that across the 31 seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette that had aired by the time, only four winners could at least partially claim non-white ancestry.

[5] In the same analysis, NPR also found that in the previous seven years, the only women of color who made it into the final few weeks were of mixed Asian-white descent.

[5] An associated professor of sociology at New York University called Hapa women "white enough to present to the family", while still exotic enough to fill a quota.

[6] According to Scott Jeffress, who served as a co-executive producer for the first seven seasons of The Bachelor, they "always had to cast a Black girl or two" as requested from ABC.

"[7] In 2012, two Black men who applied but were denied to appear on the show filed a class-action racial discrimination lawsuit against The Bachelor.

[9] Alex Nogales from the National Hispanic Media Coalition stated that ABC was taking the right steps by casting Galavis, but felt the majority of Latinos in America have darker skin and deserve greater representation.

[9] Michelle Herrera Mulligan, editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan for Latinas, said she understands people taking issue with him being promoted as the first non-white bachelor.

[9] Refinery29 called Galavis "white-passing"[11] The New York Post wrote that he "looks so white he could easily slip into a Mitt Romney family photo".

[10] In January 2016, Entertainment Weekly asked ABC executive Paul Lee about the show's lack of a Black lead.

[12] After contestant JoJo Fletcher was dumped dramatically near the end of The Bachelor 20, producers made her the star for the upcoming Bachelorette season instead of Quinn.

[4] Salon opined that show still has strictures to be "as white-passing as possible" and that stars like Quinn and Fletcher are "expanding, ever so slightly, the bounds of acceptable telegenic whiteness".

[16] After the George Floyd protests surrounding Black Lives Matter came to national attention in 2020, fans launched a petition asking the franchise to diversify.

[19] ABC Entertainment executive Karey Burke stated: "This is just the beginning and we will continue to take action with regard to diversity issues on this franchise.

"[19] Another executive, Rob Mills, echoed Burke's sentiments, stating: "I don't want this to look like we're patting ourselves on the back or taking a victory lap.

During the airing of the season, all of the four finalists (Joe Coleman, Brandon Jones, Rodney Mathews and Nayte Olukoya) are also of a biracial background, having a black father and white mother as well.

[20][21][22] Ethan Kang, a Korean American advertising executive from Colorado, was the only Asian male cast on season 19 of The Bachelorette.

Kang, who dated Rachel Recchia on the show, became the first monoracial Asian male to make it to the top 5, and the first to kiss The Bachelorette onscreen.

[29] Grant Ellis, who has announced as the star of season 29, is black and is the second African American male lead after Matt James.

[30] While The Bachelor 25 was airing in February 2021, fans discovered photos of frontrunner and eventual winner Rachael Kirkconnell attending an "Old South" ball in 2018 with her sorority at Georgia College & State University.

[44][45][46] The ball was hosted by Kappa Alpha Order (ΚΑ), a collegiate fraternity with historical ties to the Ku Klux Klan that claims Robert E. Lee as its "spiritual founder".

[44] Kappa Alpha's national offices banned Old South balls and functions of similar names and themes nationwide in 2016, two years prior to the event Kirkconnell attended.

[46] While claiming to not be defending her,[46] Harrison argued that she should be granted "understanding", "grace", and "compassion",[45] and criticized fans making judgments before she spoke on the matter.

[53] Lindsay became the target of online harassment in the wake of her interview with Harrison, temporarily deactivating her Instagram account as a result.

Harrison reiterated his apology and regret for his words, and said he was seeking guidance from educators, faith leaders, and Michael Eric Dyson.