Chris Harrison Reveals The Major Double Standard On The Bachelor
All is not quite equal in Bachelor Nation. True, the basic premise of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette is the same: Gorgeous single person picks a potential mate from a batch of other gorgeous single people by going on dates in luxurious locations. And the success rate for both shows is about equal; most of the time, the person who gets the First Impression Rose doesn't make the final cut, and only a few couples on both shows have actually gone on to marry (per People). Occasionally, a competitor from a previous season gets a second chance at love by starring on their own season. Seems about fair, right?
Not entirely. Chris Harrison, who has seen every love connection and heartbreak on the shows as the long-time host, revealed Thursday on the Better Together With Maria Menounos podcast (here on YouTube) that there's a definite double standard between the two shows. He spoke specifically about an episode of this season's Bachelorette, in which Clare Crawley challenged her group of suitors to play strip dodgeball in hopes of winning some personal time with her.
Harrison says "maybe" double standards are okay
The episode garnered plenty of flak from viewers who argued that a challenge involving nudity would never have been allowed on The Bachelor. Harrison agrees: "Would we have played strip dodgeball with the women? No. Is that a double standard? Yes," he told Menounos. He quickly added that he wasn't promoting gender inequality in the workplace or other situations, "but are there double standards in this world and should there be? I think that's a great question."
As Fox News reported, Crawley defended the game by pointing out that former Bachelor Juan Pablo had a date involving contestants who were asked to pose topless for an animal adoption campaign. Harrison also brought up the fact that no one was forced to participate: "[I]t's incumbent upon the guys to have their own sense of who they are and say no. ... Kenny, Blake, all those guys could not get naked fast enough."
Sounds like risqué business will continue to be the order of the day for the guys if they want to land a Bachelorette.