Love to See It with Emma and Claire

A lot has happened in the weeks since then-police officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd. This horrifying event sparked mass protests against racism and police brutality, around the country and around the globe. Since then, arrests have been made, public schools have cut ties with police departments, white CEOs and Editors In Chief have been forced to step down, and famous reality TV stars have been fired. And it seems – maybe – that space has finally been opened up for anti-racist fans of The Bachelor franchise to not just demand real change, but actually get it. Bachelor alumni who often avoid politics on their feeds in favor of shilling products, were suddenly put in a position where they had to speak up or signal complicity. Their comments sections became spaces for full-blown debate. Rachel Lindsay and Becca Kufrin had a candid, raw, difficult conversation about race on the official Bachelor podcast feed. Just days after a grassroots campaign for Bachelor diversity was launched and Rachel threatened to sever ties with the franchise altogether, “The Bachelor” named Matt James – the founder of nonprofit ABC Food Tours who was supposed to be a contestant on Clare Crawley’s season – as the first Black Bachelor. Because so much has been going on, we wanted to dedicate a whole podcast episode to diving a bit deeper into this current moment of Black Lives Matter activism, and how it is playing out in Bachelor Nation. First, we spoke to two of the Bachelor Diversity Campaign's co-creators, Ria Ali and friend of the pod Brett Vergara about the grassroots campaign that now has more than 100,000 signatures. Then we caught up with Rachel Lindsay, the morning that the news about Matt James becoming the franchise’s first Black Bachelor broke. Finally, Taylor Nolan, who has been an outspoken voice for change within The Bachelor franchise, shared some very practical advice for white people who want to be actively anti-racist. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, we go back to where it all started – for this podcast that is. Kaitlyn’s season was the first one that Here to Make Friends recapped, all the way back in 2015. By then, The Bachelor was more consistently casting people of color on the show – but they didn’t often get far or have very positive portrayals on the show. Of Kaitlyn’s contestants of color, only Ian Thomson – who had a very rough exit – got any real screen time during Monday’s recap. Once again, the supercut approach made the show even whiter. But Ian wasn’t the only Black man to have a very unflattering storyline on the show. Kupah James left at the beginning of episode four, after a painful conversation with Kaitlyn about their lack of connection and a dramatic exit interview. Jonathan Holloway, a soft-spoken single dad, made it a bit further despite being #TeamBritt. To find out more about that messy exit and what it was like in Kaitlyn’s Bachelorette mansion, we talked to Kupah and Jonathan about their time on the show. It may seem like the protests are simmering down, or at least like they’re out of the news cycle or your Twitter feed. But people are still in the streets, fighting for a better world, and it’s incumbent on us to stay tuned in and to keep doing what we can. As promised, we are going to give our community calls to action each week: (1) The Okra Project – “The Okra Project is a collective that seeks to address the global crisis faced by Black Trans people by bringing home cooked, healthy, and culturally specific meals and resources to Black Trans People wherever we can reach them.” https://www.theokraproject.com/ (2) Native Women’s Association of Canada – Canada is having its own difficult conversations about racism and police brutality, and many of these dialogues center around police violence against First Nations peoples https://www.nwac.ca/ (3) Subscribe to 2 Black Girls 1, support their Patreon https://www.patreon.com/2blackgirls1rose See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are coming back in the midst of a global pandemic and a series of nationwide (and global!) protests against racism and specifically police brutality. We always want the podcast to feel like it’s adding something to the world, not taking up space. So the context of the world has changed how we will be approaching this season. On this episode, we have a short discussion about Sean Lowe’s season, which was the first Bachelor season after a class-action lawsuit was filed against the show by two men, Nathaniel Claybrooks and Christopher Johnson, alleging that “the deliberate exclusion of people of color from the roles of the Bachelor and Bachelorette” violated their civil rights. One of the results of trimming the season down to spotlights on its final six or so contestants – and fan fave Sarah Herron – was that the only woman of color spotlighted was Catherine. None of the black contestants really got any screen time. But two black women actually had notable arcs on the season – Leslie Hughes, who made it to week four, and Robyn Howard, who made it to week five. Leslie garnered a glam one-on-one, the annual Pretty Woman shopping spree date, and Robyn, when she wasn’t getting mixed up in Tierra drama, had a pretty frank conversation with Sean about race. To look back at that season, the first for several years that even had any black contestants, we talked to Leslie and Robyn about their time on the show. Links: National Bail Fund - https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/nbfn-directory Bachelor Diversity Campaign - https://www.change.org/p/abc-a-campaign-for-anti-racism-in-the-bachelor-franchise Follow @bachdiversity on Instagram and Twitter See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In an alternate reality, in a 2020 not derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Clare Crawley might already have been engaged -- and we would be getting ready to tear into her cast’s bios and rate limo exits. Instead, Clare is -- presumably -- single and waiting to mingle, and we’re gearing up for a much different Bachelor summer: no Bachelorette, no Paradise. But, to fill the void, ABC will be airing a journey into the show’s archives called “The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons -- Ever!” which premieres Monday, June 8. Each episode will recap, at dizzying speed, the highs and lows of a single classic season, kicking off with the most successful Bachelor ever: Sean Lowe. Last week, we spoke with Senior Vice President of Alternative Programming for ABC Rob Mills about plans for Clare’s season, what to expect from the upcoming greatest hits series, and the future of the franchise as a whole. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After vowing on this very podcast to never watch 'The Bachelor Presents: Listen to Your Heart', we have to eat our words and admit, we really loved it! The spin-off wrapped up its first season this past Monday with Chris Watson and Bri Stauss being named the winners. We talked to the couple over Zoom about what drew them to each other, what we didn’t see on the show, and the process of recording a whole album in quarantine. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re dropping in today to check in - while we’ve been in quarantine, we’re still talking about all things The Bachelor on our Facebook and Instagram. And last week we had an amazing interview with Julia Rae from Listen To Your Heart. We talked to Julia about her eventful episode this week, her choice between Sheridan and Brandon, and what it's like to watch yourself date on TV while stuck in quarantine. We also have some exciting news: Here To Make Friends is nominated for a Webby, and we need your help! Click this link to vote for us for People's Voice Best TV & Film Podcast: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2020/podcasts/general-series/television-film See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can you believe it's been four long years since we recorded our episode on Peter's finale? Ok, it's only been four weeks, but while being in quarantine, it feels like a lifetime ago. We won't be doing the podcast again until May, but in the meantime, we'll be doing a new video series on Wednesdays on Instagram and Facebook called Here To Make Friends In Quarantine. We'll talk about the latest on Clare Crawley's season and all about how our Bachelor Nation faves are social distancing. Our first episode, premiering this Wednesday, April 15th, features an interview with Colton Underwood. Check out HTMF in Quarantine on Wednesdays on @heretomakefriendspod on Instagram and Here To Make Friends on Facebook See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re speechless. Hannah Ann left it all on the floor. Madison shared her truth. Barb was out for blood. We’re joined by former contestant-turned recapper, Sharleen Joynt to break down the dramatic ending to Peter’s journey. We talk about Peter’s decision and his boundaries with his family before getting into a quick discussion about our first look at the men of Clare Crawley’s season Check out Sharleen's recaps and blog below: https://www.flare.com/bachelor/bachelor-episode-12-recap-peter-season-24-finale-2020/ http://www.alltheprettypandas.com/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Look, bud. We gotta talk about this finale, bud. We didn’t feel much of anything for the women this season. But, let me tell you, bud, the most dramatic finale in Bachelor history had us feeling a whole lot of sympathy for Hannah Ann. That was a doozy, bud. We have a little treat before we dive into the recap. We called up the one and only Claire Fallon to get her prediction for what will unfold during tonight’s conclusion, where she ranks Pete on a scale of other Bachelors, and her thoughts on Clare Crawley as our next Bachelorette. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are still not over our obsession with Netflix's 'Love Is Blind' and especially the couple at the center of it, Cameron Hamilton and Lauren Speed. Lucky us, we had the happy couple in studio to talk about their unconventional courtship, representation of interracial relationships on reality TV, and whether or not they're interested in hosting a possible season two. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices