Bachelor showrunners shown the door (again)

Less than a month after a Deadline article was published, exposing disturbing details and allegations that there is a ‘toxic’ work culture behind the scenes at The Bachelor, showrunners Claire Freeland and Bennett Graebner have reportedly left the franchise and are negotiating their departures with the studio, following a slew of other exits. These include former showrunner Mike Fleiss, who left in 2023 after an investigation into workplace misconduct allegations, resignations from Keely Booth and Michael Margolis, who is also Claire’s husband, and left after Deadline’s first report on the toxicity in February. 

This is the latest bombshell in a series of issues that have plagued the production of the show and its spinoffs over the last several years. Some of the issues that have been brought to light include allegations that cast member Corinne Olympios was the victim of a sexual assault that occurred during the taping of Bachelor in Paradise and while she was too intoxicated to consent, the controversy that surrounded Chris Harrison’s departure as host as it pertained to comments he made about contestant Rachel Kirkconnell attending an Antebellum-themed party, and the constant calls for more diversity on the show, not just with the casting of the main bachelor and bachelorette but also in the dozens of possible matches ushered in each season. 

Initially, Michael Weinstein, the lawyer engaged to represent Claire and Bennett (and also the lawyer responsible for negotiating Chris Harrison’s departure) vehemently denied the allegations of toxicity being made against his clients. He said they were “well-respected professionals with a long history in this business”, adding that “they are frankly stunned and saddened by some of the things they are hearing now for the first time.” But the fact that immediately following the report, so many high-ranking executives have departed is pretty telling. 

Not everyone shares in the concerns over how business was being done. Eight staffers sent testimonials to Deadline, challenging some of the concerns and speaking up in defense of the pair’s management style. One producer hired by Claire wrote in saying a group of crew veterans have a sense of entitlement and interpret all the changes as threatening. And while this is certainly a valid consideration, especially considering this is one of the longer running reality TV shows, it doesn’t explain or justify many of the other concerns being brought to the forefront by staff members who have been sounding the alarm about the hostility and questionable hiring practices in which close friends of Bennett and Claire are were brought on board. 

So what were the claims? In conversation with crew members who agreed to speak to Deadline under anonymity, it was alleged that Claire and Bennett failed to foster a collaborative work environment. Only their ideas saw the light of day – which is how we got the heartbreaking moment where former Bachelorette Jenn Tran was forced to rewatch her proposal to Devin Strader despite their relationship not working out and producers desperately trying to put a stop to having her endure that. It was a move ultimately made by Claire, and one that former contestants have called ‘cruel and unnecessary’. 

Anonymous crew members described people feeling like they were constantly faced with the decision to either get on board or be asked to leave. It was also alleged that Claire and Bennett fostered a sense of fear in the workplace, recounting moments of verbal and mental abuse, which included minimal communication from leadership, their incessant late arrival to meetings as a display of power and a sense that people should just be happy they still have jobs. 

I’ve been following what’s been referred to as ‘the reality reckoning’ for quite some time now – and though this has striking similarities to things we’ve seen in the past with calls for reality stars to unionize and fight back against larger networks who fuel production through unreasonably long filming hours and encouraging the consumption of alcohol to help intensify storylines, what’s happening at The Bachelor is also very different.

The biggest difference is that these allegations are coming from the crew, rather than a show’s current or past cast members, which is what we saw when Leah McSweeney, Eboni K. Williams and Bethenny Frankel all spoke out about what they endured during filming, leading to the calls for unionization as a line of defence against predatory production companies and exploitative networks. 

It feels like with the claims that have been made about production on shows like Real Housewives and perhaps even Vanderpump Rules, as Rachel Leviss pointed out during a podcast episode with Bethenny, that the cast were the main group of people having issues with how they were being treated and portrayed during filming. But in what we’re seeing with The Bachelor, it’s the crew dealing with what seems to be a very narcissistic and power-hungry duo in leadership. 

“They don’t outrightly treat people poorly, it’s not obvious,” a source told Deadline. “They don’t scream at people. It’s more that everything they do is secretive and passive aggressive and they know that they’re doing it to affect people.”

“They want to push people to the extremes so that they can bring in their own regime,” another source told the outlet. Despite Claire’s husband Michael having an extensive background in TV, a claim like this definitely begs some questions. 

It’s anyone’s guess what will happen next. But I don’t think it will be too long before the cast members start to speak out, again. Because we know that any time there are issues in the C suite, it's almost inevitable that they make their way down to the bottom. And with the cleaning of house over at the studio, it could mean even bigger changes coming to the show and its many spinoffs. 

It doesn’t mean it will all be bad, though. Take Jesse Palmer replacing Chris Harrison as host, for example. Personally, I feel like that was one of the greatest things that could have come out of that entire debacle and he has continued to inject a much-needed new energy into the show. If Warner Bros. approaches this as an opportunity for positive change and restructuring, we could be entering a brand new era of one of reality TV’s most popular franchises.