“The Golden Bachelor” is Not Interested in Finding a Golden Girl

Mel Owens, ABC’s next Golden Bachelor, isn’t picky. His list of what he’s seeking in the pool of contestants vying for his affection is pretty short. Unfortunately for the network, if Owens had his way, the pool would prove so shallow that it just might render moot the need to watch this season at all.

In a recent appearance on the “MGoBlue” podcast, Owens discussed his preferences, and they seem to fly in the face of the very foundation of the show. The Bachelor franchise does not involve the main character in the casting process, but Owens did make his predispositions clear to producers, and the golden bachelor isn’t seeking a golden girl at all:

“They ask me, ‘What’s your preference?’ So I just said [ages] 45 to 60, just being honest,” he stated on the podcast. “And then we had lunch with the executive producer. I said, ‘You know, if they’re 60 or over, I’m cutting them.’”

Per Owens, the response from ABC producers was as crystal clear as his preference – he can’t do that – but they did assure him that the contestants would be easy on his eyes:

“‘Mel, you can’t. This is not The Silver Bachelor. This is The Golden Bachelor,’” he said one producer told him. “He goes, ‘But they’re going to be hot. Don’t worry about it.’”

And Owens didn’t stop there:

“They asked me, ‘What is my profile?’ Well, [the women] got to be fit, because I’m staying in shape and work out and stuff. And I told them, ‘Try to stay away from the artificial hips and the wigs, you know, that kind of stuff, right?’” he went on to say.

While the instant react might be, as this TikTok analyst states, “This is really bad,” I’m actually not sure. Does Owens come across as condescending and judgmental and shallow and, frankly, icky? Yes. When it comes to a television reality show, is there such a thing as bad publicity? Absolutely not! I think ABC is THRILLED.

[TikTok: tessdhiggins] [Yahoo]