Bachelorette Suitor Bryce Powers Slammed for Transphobic Comment

05/19/2017 mj santilli American Idol 2

The Bachelorette won’t premiere until Monday, but there’s already a controversy brewing. The LGBT community is angry over a transphobic statement made by one of Rachel Lindsay’s suitors.

At the ABC.com official Bachelorette site, each of the 31 contestants are featured in bios. Firefighter Bryce Powers stirred up social media when he answered the fairly innocuous question “What’s your biggest date fear?” by answering, “The chick is actually a dude.” Who are the interns that edited these questions, and have they lost their jobs yet?

The official statement from ABC is fairly boilerplate: “This comment does not reflect the views of ABC, Warner Horizon or bachelorette Rachel Lindsay,” an ABC spokesperson said in a statement to TheWrap. “We have removed it from ABC.com.”

In the meantime, for a thorough roundup of social media responses, check out the post at the LGBT news site Queerty.

This is hilarious. Because yeah, dude’s head shape is totes distracting.

The irony, of course, is that the latest season of the Bachelorette is being heralded as the most diverse and inclusive ever. Rachel Lindsey has the distinction of being the first person of color to star in the franchise. And the cast is made up of a healthy mixture of black, white, Latin, and Asian dudes.

Here’s what Powers posted on twitter today. Oy.

About mj santilli 35175 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!
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