“There’s this thing about gay people … it seems to me, and I don’t know if I’m mistaken or not … but they’re more ‘pervert’ in a sense. And to me the show would be too strong … too hard to watch.”
Just an excerpt from Juan Pablo’s, the current contestant on the show “the Bachelor”, interview with the TV Page last Friday when asked his opinion about the possibility of a gay Bachelor. ABC quickly rejected his opinions with a formal statement.
“Juan Pablo’s comments were careless, thoughtless and insensitive, and in no way reflect the views of the network, the show’s producers or studio.”
We have seen over the past few weeks the aftermath of a TV celebrity coming out to the public as anti-gay with the suspension of “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson. While Robertson was blasted with a various array of hate from all angles Pablo was mostly saved from the hail storm. Some big reasons his fate continues to be lessened are the promised meeting with LGBT representatives and public apology.
“I want to apologize to all the people I may have offended because of my comments on having a gay or bisexual Bachelor. The comment was taken out of context. If you listen to the entire interview, there’s nothing but respect for gay people and their families. I have many gay friends and one of my closest friends who’s like a brother has been a constant in my life especially during the past 5 months. The word pervert was not what I meant to say and I am very sorry about it. Everyone knows English is my second language and my vocabulary is not as broad as it is in Spanish and, because of this, sometimes I use the wrong words to express myself. What I meant to say was that gay people are more affectionate and intense and for a segment of the TV audience this would be too racy to accept. The show is very racy as it is and I don’t let my 5 year old daughter watch it. Once again, I’m sorry for how my words were taken. I would never disrespect anyone.”
It is questionable that his major defense for such allegations remains to be his misunderstanding of the English language, yet he seemed to be pretty confident in sharing his thoughts in English on Friday. Also in his original comments Pablo stated that he did not believe it was a good example to kids, specifically his daughter, to watch gay relationships on television because of the confusing for messages about family. Not to bash “the Bachelor” empire and the ‘successful’ display of relationships, but does he really think “the Bachelor” is a beneficial show for children to watch when 27 women are competing for one man.
Regardless of his personal views, Pablo should have been more considerate of not only people who would be offended by his comments, but also the network he represents. Furthermore the backlash of letting his opinions being shared so vastly while he is in the media spotlight is something Pablo should have considered. Regardless sharing such extremely opposed views with the public, especially without clearly thinking through one’s decision and stating on one of the most watched reality shows, is not the best decision in 2014.