The premiere of The Bachelor has become less about the girls the Bachelor actually has a connection with and more about the ridiculous stunts the show pulls, including the token “drunk girl.”
The start of Season 20 was no different.
Ben Higgins had his first go at handing out the roses and he was as charming as ever.
All of the girls? Not so much.
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But I can’t help but wonder if this is less about the girl in question and more about the producers behind the show.
Season 1 of Lifetime’s new show UnREAL aired last summer and — in case you missed it — it’s all about an extreme version of a Bachelor-like show.
Of course, it’s called UnREAL, so I don’t want to get carried away by saying that everything Lifetime’s fictitious drama depicted was factual, but I think one thing the show did get right was the alcohol consumption, especially on the first night. And especially in that scene where producers coax contestants until they get the scene they want.
If this isn’t the case, then why, oh why, does The Bachelor nearly always have a ridiculously drunk contestant on the first night?
Don’t think The Bachelor is sexist, though, because this drunk first night stigma absolutely isn’t just among the ladies. The Bachelorette had its fair share of inebriated suitors as well. Remember Kaitlyn Bristowe’s first night?
You would think, after 19 completed seasons of The Bachelor, people applying for the show would know not to overdo the alcohol on the first night.
Yet, Season 20 proved there’s always going to be one, and I call foul.
Enough is enough.
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Clearly these people are being encouraged to consume large quantities of adult beverages. There are probably multiple ladies and gents who have one too many on the first night, but we just see one cleverly edited fool get the brunt of the criticism.
As was the case tonight with Lace.
Poor girl just wanted a kiss. What she didn’t realize is Ben really isn’t that type of guy. He set some pretty serious ground rules for himself about the PDA before the season even started. Not that we blame him considering Season 19’s Chris Soules got a lot of flak for his love of the kisses.
It’s a show about dating. Of course there’s going to be some smooches. But Lace mixed with alcohol meant all her patience went out the window. And her patience was replaced by some serious insecurity. And that insecurity made her seem like a really, really unpleasant person.
Except to Ben. She was too friendly to Ben. She even went so far as to request a second kiss from him after their awkward first attempt! Which he rejected but in the most gentlemanly way possible because, well, ABC did its job well and got a real catch to hand out roses.
More:The Bachelor‘s Ben Higgins reportedly has some PDA guidelines
Still, now Lace is labeled as the villain of the season because she managed to get a rose after all of her weird behavior.
I’m not saying that Lace isn’t responsible for her actions. Rather, ABC’s formulaic approach to the series has gone from amusing to disappointing. I get that they need to make some good TV, but can they do it without completely running a contestant through the mud?
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