Former 'The Bachelor' Staffer Reacts to Mike Fleiss' Downfall

A former staffer on The Bachelor has spoken out about creator Mike Fleiss' departure from the franchise, amid reports he left after an investigation into racial discrimination.

On Tuesday—one day after the season 27 finale of The Bachelor aired—Fleiss announced his departure from the franchise that launched in 2002. Spin-offs include The Bachelorette, Bachelor Pad, Bachelor in Paradise, and The Bachelor Winter Games.

Fleiss had not been actively involved in the show of late, and had stepped back from the day-to-day running of The Bachelor in the past decade.

A Variety article published on Thursday stated that Warner Bros. Television, which is behind the ABC dating show, received complaints from several employees against Fleiss that include bullying. Current and former staffers were probed in the investigation conducted by a third party, per the report.

Following the report, Fleiss released a statement in which he said that he should have made more of a push for diversity, though he did not directly address the investigation.

He also expressed pride in the franchise becoming more inclusive in recent years. Rachel Lindsay was cast as the first Black lead on The Bachelorette in 2017. Matt James is the sole Black lead on The Bachelor. His season aired in 2021.

"Since its premiere 21 years ago, times have certainly changed, and I'd have to say we didn't keep up with the pace of those changes," Fleiss told The Hollywood Reporter. "I am proud of the work we've done over the past five years to make the show substantially more diverse, but I do believe I could have done more. Hopefully, the franchise will continue to move in the right direction."

Fleiss added in his statement that his run at the helm of the franchise had "more good days than bad, lifted more spirits than hurt feelings." He also said that he is leaving The Bachelor with "more friends than foes."

Ahead of the report being published, former The Bachelor staffer Jon Collins took to Twitter to post a 2009 Reality Blurred article. It was about multiple TV networks and production companies paying more than $4 million to settle unpaid overtime lawsuits.

Producer Collins wrote: "Just saw that Mike Fleiss, the creator of THE BACHELOR/BACHELORETTE franchise is leaving the show. The best that I can say about my time working there was... well, a whole bunch of us sued him for unpaid overtime. They settled."

Collins added that Fleiss' Next Entertainment production company "was the second big place I worked at after PROJECT GREENLIGHT back in the day. I hope the people working at Next Entertainment are being treated better than we were back then. Drug use, sexual harassment, horrible working conditions, etc was the MO [modus operandi, mode of operation] back then."

The TV professional, whose credits include Project Runway, Red Table Talk and House Hunters, finished by tweeting: "Things have improved somewhat. I do think a remote or hybrid working paradigm helps to lessen abusive environments but there are a lot of improvements to be had for reality TV working conditions. And things like, residuals or portable benefits, would be nice."

Newsweek has emailed representatives of ABC, Next Entertainment and Warner Bros. for comment.

In early 2021, Chris Harrison exited his role as host of The Bachelor. He had faced widespread criticism online for remarks he made about contestant Rachael Kirkconnell attending a "plantation-themed" party in 2018.

In an Extra interview with former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay, Harrison argued for "a little understanding, a little compassion" on Kirkconnell's behalf. He questioned whether attending such a party would've been considered problematic in 2018.

While he issued an apology soon afterward, the fallout led to Harrison stepping down from his role as host of the Bachelor franchise after 19 years at the helm.

Addressing the issue on the inaugural episodes of The Most Dramatic Podcast... Ever, Harrison said that he made the difficult decision to depart his role as host. He had hit "breaking point" and felt a need to "step away and get my life back."

Despite his departure, Harrison added that he held "no animosity" toward the team behind the Bachelor franchise and that he would "forever be grateful" for the opportunities the ABC hit afforded him.