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‘Bachelorette’ fans want to protect Ivan at all costs after his open Black Lives Matter talk with Tayshia

Do. Not. Hurt this man!
by Christine Estima
November 25, 2020 9:35 a.m. EST
November 25, 2020 11:06 a.m. EST
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After last night’s episode of The Bachelorette, it’s obvious that the franchise and its parent network ABC are taking issues of race and diversity more seriously after years of criticism. In a rare moment for the show, there was a long and open discussion about the ways in which systemic racism in America affect racialized people. It was emotional, and yes fam, it was powerful.Bachelorette Tayshia, who is only the second Black Bachelorette after Rachel Lindsay (the first Black Bachelor, Matt James, is coming in January), had a one-on-one date with contestant Ivan Hall, who is also biracial. After he spoke with startling honesty about the incarceration of his brother and the brutality he faced at the hands of correctional officers, Tayshia opened up about how the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement has truly affected her and opened her eyes.
“Being in Orange County and surrounded by a lot of people that don't look like me — being the only person that looks like me — I'm realizing that I've been trying so hard my whole life to blend in because I knew I was different," she said, wiping away tears."I didn't really want to cry about it or open up about it, but hearing people yell 'Black Lives Matter,' it hit me more than I realize just because those are people in my backyard that I've been trying to prove for so long that I'm the same as them.”Before The Bachelorette began filming Tayshia attended a BLM protest and when she posted about it on her Instagram, she very passionately captioned it with how the movement has opened to her eyes, how included she feels in the movement, and some of the ways that she has experienced racism in her life.
“Yeah, I 100 per cent can relate, you know,” Ivan continued. “I went to a school there weren't many Black people there, and like this caused me to remember those things, like randomly walking down next to my campus, and being called the n-word like randomly by some people.”“It happens all the time! Happened all the time to me in college, I remember that. And like that's just not right,” he added.[video_embed id='1977727']RELATED: Will the casting of the first Black Bachelor create meaningful change? [/video_embed]This startling and frank convo caused Bachelor Nation to grab their armour and their best sword, swearing to protect Ivan at all costs. Honestly, we volunteer as tribute. Jokes aside, viewers were also incredibly moved by the conversation, and wowed that it was even included at all. The shock is understandable. The Bachelorette franchise is mostly built on providing viewers with a sweeping fantasy of romance – cocktail parties, rose ceremonies, fantasy suites, ornate mansions, exotic locations, and everyone dressed to the nines. For the show to make the bold and purposeful move to address the issue of racism and police brutality in America is a huge leap from previous seasons which sought to brush unsavoury issues under the rug (although their The Women Tell All episode earlier this year where Rachel Lindsay and others spoke about the racist harassment they received was a huge first step). We are majorly impressed.So was Tayshia, as she admitted to Ivan that “Having different, beautiful relationships with people that I probably wouldn't have, is amazing to me."Then, during her solo interview with the camera, she added, "He understands me more than anybody else can. That's obviously what I've been looking for."You know what this means – Ivan is definitely one to watch for the remainder of this show.[video_embed id='2049925']BEFORE YOU GO: 'Horse girl' from Alberta can gallop and jump just like a horse [/video_embed]

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