My mother loves “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette.” But after watching a few episodes, I realized it just wasn’t for me. I’m all for dating more than one person at a time but 30 something dudes at one time, just seems like the most of all. Plus, with a few exceptions, the couples rarely stay together. If we can keep it 100.
But then they messed around a chose a Black Bachelorette. When I heard the news, I still wasn’t sure I was going to tune in. But then I heard this White dude make a joke about “once you go Black” and the opportunity to watch the intersection of race and love on national television was just too good to miss.
So I watched the first episode. And it did not disappoint. As I’ve said at least three times now, what I most appreciated about this is the fact that as the audience we get to see men of various racial and ethnic backgrounds celebrating the beauty and vying for the attention of this undeniably Black girl. The groundbreaking-ness of this moment was not lost on me.
Now, I have to keep it all the way real with y’all. The men they chose for Rachel’s season are all pretty good looking. There are definitely no ugly dudes in the mix. But still, being that she was the first Black woman, a large part of me wanted her to choose a Black bachelor, have Black babies and live a life of Black Excellence.
But if I can be 100 percent honest, the brothas, while they are the most attractive in my opinion, they’re not really bringing it like I thought they would. In fact, the dudes who are the most impressive and the ones who are leaving a lasting impression with Rachel are two White guys. One, who made the “once you go Black joke, ” Dean and the other Peter– who seems to be the most naturally compatible with Rachel.
Meanwhile, one of the Black dudes proved by the second episode that he had no ack right. If you watched you already know I’m talking about DeMario. If you didn’t watch, you might be wondering what he could have possibly done. Well, homeboy had a girlfriend he ghosted to be on the show.
What’s so terrible about the whole thing is that before all of this information came to light, Rachel was feeling DeMario. He was shining in the basketball game and even she admitted that the two had chemistry.
Then he threw it all away.
When the men retreated to the locker room after the game, a White woman asked to speak to Rachel. And she dropped a bomb.
She said that DeMario had been her boyfriend for the last 7 months, that he still had keys to her apartment and that he never broke up with her. Instead, he simply stopped responding to her communication. She hadn’t heard from him in three days and all of a sudden, she turns on her television and sees this dude trying to present Rachel with an engagment ring.
Rachel goes to get DeMario out of the locker room to hear his side of the story and this dude thinks he’s getting a rose. He’s talking trash like, “The basketball gods have smiled on me again.”
Then when he rounds the corner and spots ole girl he stutters between saying hi to her and pretending she’s a total stranger.
“Oooo who is this?!”
Things went from 0 to 100 when homegirl saw that DeMario was going to try and clown her. She started swearing on her father’s grave that he never ended things with her. Then she drove the point home by saying
“The last time he was in my house, he was f*cking me.”
DeMario mumbled and fumbled his way through an explanation that at first was a denial, then a slight acknowledgement that the two did have something but that he told her to her face that it was over.
Rachel flat out told him he didn’t make sense.
Then the ex/present girlfriend offered receipts. Rachel, giving DeMario another change to do the right thing, asks “If I look at her phone is it going to coincide with that she said or what you said?”
This fool says, “It depends on the dates.”
The text messages clearly read like a man still in a relationship. In fact, he told her he was going to do better.
Child, Rachel was hot.
“I’m not here to be played. I’m not here to be made a joke of so Ima need you to get the f*ck out.”
As a woman with intense pride myself, I felt that in my soul.
Then she said, it made her sick that she sent people home, people who might have really been here for her for a dude who was on some games.
After the first episode, here I was thinking that there could be no one worse than WahBoom (sp), then this dude gets on there and acts a damn fool.
I try to live my life without the consideration of the White gaze but this one does not look good for the culture. And I know that DeMario doesn’t represent all Black men I just hate that his Black ass was on tv trying to be a player pimp, acting like he wouldn’t get caught.
There are still plenty of viable, good looking brothas there for Rachel to choose from. And if they step it up like these White boys have–and that Colombian dude, they just might could have a chance. But right now, they’re not in the lead. And as someone who roots for the Black folks regardless, it’s disappointing. And also shows that if she walks away from the show, on the arm of a White dude, I can’t even be mad.
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