New Bachelor Peter Weber is clearing a few things up before his journey to find love hits our TV screens next week!
When the 28-year-old was announced as ABC‘s next leading man back in September, the decision fiercely divided viewers — while some were happy for the airline pilot, others were pretty upset that fan-favorite and frontrunner Mike Johnson didn’t get picked for the job. And even franchise alums publicly spoke out with their grievances about the decision.
Related: These ‘Bachelor’ Alums Don’t Get Why Pilot Pete Is The Next Leading Man…
The 31-year-old military veteran would’ve been the franchise’s first Black male lead, second to Rachel Lindsay, who served as The Bachelorette‘s first-ever Black female star back in season 13.
In a recently released interview with Entertainment Tonight, Pete finally addressed all the backlash and explained why there are no hard feelings about the situation on his end. He said:
“A, I didn’t make this decision, right? I was very grateful to accept it and move forward, but listen, regardless of race, of identity or whatnot, everybody is deserving of love. And I’m not the only person.”
With a show of support for Johnson and his equally adored castmates, he continued:
“Mike would’ve been a great Bachelor. Tyler [Cameron] could have been a great Bachelor. They picked me and I’m very excited and very humbled and I can’t wait for this journey to begin.”
A nice and classy response there, bud. Nothing short of what we’ve come to expect from the handsome hunk who stole Hannah Brown‘s heart only a few months ago!
But his politically correct answer aside, there has to be something said for the lack of diversity on the show over the years. The very thing that struck a chord with fans everywhere, right?
In response to that, the half-white and half-Cuban reality TV star offered:
“I totally get [the criticism], it’s fair. All I can say is I’m so grateful to have this opportunity and I wish you know Mike and everyone all the love in the world.”
He continued:
“I’m all for diversity and I’m excited for this journey to maybe date some diverse women that I haven’t dated before. I haven’t found my person yet, so maybe I just haven’t been dating the right type of person.”
Hmm. What a stark contrast from the comments Demi Lovato‘s one-time ex-boyfriend shared with ET in the wake of his snub. At the time, he said:
“I think of diversity more than just black and white. And yes, Peter has a Cuban mom, but let’s just be honest — he’s white, right? And that’s just being completely transparent. I think that there should be an Asian lead, an Indian lead… diversity is not just black and white. It’s not just salt and pepper.”
Perezcious readers, got anything to say about all of this? Will U be tuning in to watch Pete hand out roses on at 8 p.m. on January 6? Let us know in the comments!
[Image via People TV/Strahan, Sara, and Keke/YouTube]
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