The Bachelorette season 21’s horrific ending made it clear that viewers have been watching producers manipulate lead Jenn Tran all season long, showing that they’re the true villains of the series. After weeks of watching Jenn’s journey unfold on The Bachelorette season 21, the finale episode left Bachelor Nation shocked when they came to understand Jenn and her final rose recipient Devin Strader were broken up on stage. During The Bachelorette: After The Final Rose, the exes shared that their relationship hadn’t worked out the way they’d hoped it would. Even without context, things were deeply uncomfortable for everyone involved.
While Jenn and Devin were already uncomfortable with one another, their interaction during the live After The Final Rose special was made even more difficult when they had to explain what happened after their split. The pair had already been having problems in their relationship after just a few weeks, but when it came out that after a split over text, Devin chose to go out to a club with another Bachelorette contestant and follow the original lead, Maria Georgas, on Instagram. While Jenn called Devin out for his disrespect, it never should’ve been an option in the first place.
The Bachelor Franchise Has Always Preyed On Human Emotion
The Series Has Always Been Opportunistic
While Jenn’s season of The Bachelorette was a first in some ways for the franchise, The Bachelor and its subsequent spin-offs have always preyed on human emotion to use it as entertainment and spectacle. Framing seasons as “dramatic” in a “historic” way year after year, the franchise is often trying to top its last big move with its next big moment, even if the moments themselves aren’t comparable. For years, The Bachelor and The Bachelorette used moments of deep emotional distress to bring viewers in close, ensuring they’d come back to watch more.
Despite knowing that there are real people behind the stories shown on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, the show often positions its relationships as spectacles or dramatic moments rather than genuine displays of emotion. By dehumanizing the basic human moments shown on the series, The Bachelor and its spin-offs have made it difficult for viewers to genuinely understand the emotions the stars of the show are feeling. Rather than prioritizing their pain or joy, The Bachelor uses their feelings for ratings and success on screen.
Jenn’s Season Was Meant To Be A Milestone For The Bachelorette
She Was Meant To Be Celebrated
The Bachelorette season 21 was meant to be an exciting milestone for the series, with Jenn as the first Asian-American lead the franchise has ever seen. While being an Asian-American woman is only a minuscule part of Jenn’s identity, it was something that she wanted to celebrate while she was leading The Bachelorette. Unfortunately, Jenn’s heritage was not made a focal point of the series, nor was it celebrated nearly as much as it seemed like it would be. Instead, the show focused on manipulating Jenn’s emotions and pushing its lead toward men who didn’t care about her at all.
The Bachelor Franchise Producers Need To Shift Gears
The Show Needs To Focus On Authenticity
After pushing Jenn to relive a harrowing, difficult moment when they made her rewatch her proposal from Devin on stage with the entire viewing audience watching as she sobbed, the producers of The Bachelorette are facing tremendous backlash. Rightfully, Bachelorette viewers are disturbed having seen them push Jenn so far when she’d already been openly heartbroken about the end of her engagement and the aftermath. Moving forward, The Bachelorette producers need to shift gears surrounding what kind of content they want to create. While they’ve been master manipulators, it’s not a good look if they want to retain viewers’ trust.
