Kareem Abdul-Jabbar thinks ‘The Bachelor’ is bad for society
NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has a few issues with ABC’s reality dating competition, The Bachelor.
In a new guest column for The Hollywood Reporter, Abdul-Jabbar accused the show of favoring certain contestants based on race or body type, and promoting unrealistic romantic standards.
“You’re not even in the running for love unless you fit a very narrow ideal of Ken and Barbie doll physical beauty,” he wrote.
“These shows promote the scorched-earth effects of raising females to be continually judged physically above all other attributes and then measured against impossible physical standards that has marginalized a majority of girls and women — and made billions for the beauty products, clothing, and cosmetic surgery industries.”
Abdul-Jabbar also called for more racial diversity on the show, writing, “If you're black on The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, you're usually kept around as a courtesy for a few weeks before being ejected.”
The new season of The Bachelor premiered on Monday night, and airs at 8 p.m. ET weekly.
