Amid nationwide protest following George Floyd’s death in the USA, the 33-year-old star Marquel Martin revealed that The Bachelor show is not publicly supporting the “Black Lives Matter” protest.
The former “Bachelorette” and “Bachelor in Paradise” contestant shared a post on Instagram where he referenced an open letter he penned back in 2014. In that letter, Martin mentioned that he felt “race played a large factor” in the decision to not select him as The Bachelor. Fans can recall that at that season Martin was passed over “The Bachelor” in favor of Chris Soules.
His recent Instagram post expressed that he feeling it is necessary to take action against all injustice. He believes it is necessary to be accountable. He wrote, “It saddens me to see that you guys seem to be silent on the current state of our nation and the outcry of equality from my people (African Americans)!… I am a proud black man and as a black man who was once a cast member on your show, I take offense to your silence as a franchise. Maybe some of you personally aren’t racist and support the #blacklivesmatter movement, but as a franchise, I’ve yet to see it.”
He continued, “As I said six years ago, ‘your fan base is predominantly white,’ ‘it’s a ratings/money thing,’ ‘you guys should have a black Bachelorette first,’ ‘your audience isn’t ready for a black male lead like me yet’ etc…I remember one of you calling me after I wrote this letter saying, ‘why aren’t you writing about Ferguson’ assuming I didn’t care. Thinking back on it, all of that s**t was wrong and it needs to stop.”
The former reality star chose to speak out as a “plea for change and a plea for tolerance, equality, and coexisting everywhere.” Martin concluded his note by writing, “if you, ANY of you, have an issue with me and my words let me know. We can talk about it. #BlackLivesMatter.”