The Bachelor Producers May Be Setting Grant Ellis Up To Fail (It'll Be Hard For Him To Live Up To The Expectations)
After everyone fell in love with Grant Ellis during Jenn Tran's Bachelorette season, it was no surprise when he was cast as the lead of The Bachelor season 29, but the producers might be setting him up to fail because it'll be hard for him to live up to the expectations that they're creating for him. Grant, 31-year-old day trader who's originally from Newark, New Jersey, knew exactly what he wanted when he was a contestant on Jenn's season: to be a husband and a father. Although he and Jenn had a strong connection, she said goodbye to him right before her hometown dates.
Grant was devastated, but he was happy to take on the role of the star of The Bachelor season 29. The producers announced him earlier than usual so that women would have the chance to apply to be on the season to date him specifically. Everything seems to be going well for Grant, but the latest preview for the show is setting a bar for perfection that he might not be able to meet. The Bachelor producers are setting him up for failure.
Grant Ellis Is Being Called A Wish Come True
It's Unfair To Grant To Make Him Strive For Perfection
The Bachelor producers seem determined to make Grant out to be the perfect man. In a new Instagram post, The Bachelor shared a preview for the show with the caption, "Your wish is Grant(ed), baby. See you January 27!" The song "Genie in a Bottle" by Christina Aguilera plays, emphasizing that Grant is the granted wish. In the promo, several of Grant's contestants are shown saying things like, "His eyes. And his skin,""Where did y'all find this man?,""Everything that I'm looking for is, like, everything that he is,""Is this real? Is he real?," and "Cinderella can take a full backseat 'cause this is next-level type of love."
While all of these comments are meant to drum up interest in Grant and his season, they're actually problematic because they're setting up unrealistic expectations for him. It's wrong to focus on Grant's looks instead of his personality, and to question if he's real because he seems so perfect. The answer is yes: he's a very real person, which means that he has flaws and will inevitably make mistakes during his journey because nobody's perfect.
By creating promos like this, the producers are setting Grant up to fail because fans will criticize him for anything that he does that doesn't fit their unrealistic image of him. This is very unfair to him. The Cinderella reference would cast Grant as Prince Charming, a character who's become the archetype for the perfect man. The problem is that Prince Charming can't possibly exist in real life because he's one-dimensional. Grant has to be allowed to show his whole personality because his future partner will need to see both the good and the not-so-good sides of him.
Grant Ellis Might Crumble Under The Pressure
Grant Needs To Be Able To Make Mistakes
During The Bachelor season 28, Joey Graziadei went through a similar situation with striving for perfection, and he expressed how stressful it was for him to have to live up to those high expectations. Although Joey's season ended with a long-lasting engagement, it was sad to watch him go through self-doubt. However, the producers haven't learned from that mistake, and they're once again putting undue pressure on their lead. Therefore, Grant might crumble under the pressure of being the Bachelor.
As the lead of The Bachelor season 29, Grant needs to be able to make mistakes without judgment. It's very challenging to date over 30 women at the same time, so it's inevitable that there will be missteps. However, if the producers weren't already pushing an image of Grant as being a perfect Prince Charming, then people wouldn't be as upset if he did make a mistake.
The producers also did the same thing to Gerry Turner during The Golden Bachelor, when they unfairly created a persona for him that he could never live up to. Grant is only human, but the show has already made him out to be a hero from a fairy tale. It would be a shame if the producers then turned him into a villain like they've done with so many others in the past.
Grant Ellis’ Reputation Could Be Ruined
Grant Might Regret Being The Bachelor
Grant is coming into The Bachelor season 29 with everyone rooting for him. However, this has happened in the past, and then ended in disaster. The Bachelor season 26 star Clayton Echard and The Bachelor season 27 lead Zach Shallcross were both perceived as heroes and then villains after they divulged the intimate details of their Fantasy Suite dates to the world. Although Zach is now happily engaged to Kaity Biggar, Clayton's relationship with Susie Evans crumbled after the show.
Of course, Clayton and Zach are responsible for their own actions, but the producers also had a hand in ruining their reputations. To begin with, they could've simply not aired the scenes in which the women were humiliated by Clayton and Zach. However, since the scenes were so integral to the storylines, if they had to air them, they could've been gentler about it. The producers wanted to create drama, and they didn't care who was hurt in the process.
Now it seems as though the Bachelor season 29 producers are doing the same thing to Grant. One of the previews for his season (shared via the Bachelor Nation YouTube channel) ends with what appears to be a confused Grant unable to make a decision between his final two women. Grant first states, "I want to be happy. I want to have love. It's something that's important to me. But I'm scared of making the wrong decision."
In the next scene, host Jesse Palmer and Grant are at the last rose ceremony, where Jesse asks Grant if he feels like he knows what he wants to do. Grant responds, "The truth is ... I don't know." Jesse then tells Grant that they have both women on stand-by, and he has to know which one to send first. The promo ends with Grant looking distressed. This promo might've been manipulated to get viewers to tune in, but, if Grant really did have trouble deciding between his final two women, this could ruin his reputation as a good guy. Like others before him, he might regret being the Bachelor.
Despite all of this, The Bachelor season 29 does have the potential to be one of the best seasons ever because Grant is a wonderful person. The concern is that the producers are setting him up to fail by making him seem perfect and putting too much pressure on him to live up to that expectation. Hopefully, Grant will be able to overcome whatever the producers put him through, and he'll find his true love and live happily ever after.
