‘Do Better.' ABC Is Under Fire After New Golden Bachelor Says He's ‘Cutting' Any Woman 60 Or Older
Bachelor Nation is gearing up for the return of Bachelor in Paradise to the 2025 TV schedule, but it seems trouble may be brewing for another of the reality dating shows. The Golden Bachelor Season 2 lead Mel Owens went on a podcast earlier this month, where the 66-year-old said he told producers he wouldn't date any women over 60, and fans are calling on the network to 'do better' with its casting.
Mel Owens, a former NFL player — who was cast to follow Gerry Turner as the second Golden Bachelor — went on the In the Trenches podcast on June 4, where he was asked how much control he had over the women cast for his season. He said he won't know anything about them until they exit the limos at Bachelor Mansion, but he said during the casting process producers asked him about the kind of women he wanted to date. Owens recalled:
They asked me, like, 'What's your preferences?' So I just said 45 to 60, just being honest, right? And then the process went and I was selected. And then we had lunch with the executive producer. I said, 'If they're 60 or over, I'm cutting them.' [He said] 'Oh no, you can't. This is not The Silver Bachelor, this is The Golden Bachelor.' He goes, 'But they're gonna be hot, don't worry about it.'
Say what you want about Gerry Turner, but The Golden Bachelor's first season warmed viewers' hearts with its messages about hope and never being too old to find love, so as a longtime Bachelor Nation fan, I'm kind of surprised to hear that the Season 2 star apparently has a pretty specific age limit when it comes to who he'll date.
It's unclear which producers he told this to, but it's disappointing to hear that they apparently knew Mel Owens has no interest in dating women his age and decided to cast him anyway. For context, none of The Golden Bachelor's cast members were under 60 in its premiere season, and The Golden Bachelorette had just one 59-year-old (Mark Anderson). Owens continued:
I know they're gonna be beautiful, I know they are. But I had no say in them. I had no résumé. But they asked me what is my profile. Well they gotta be fit, because I stay in shape, work out and stuff. And I told him, 'Try to stay away from the artificial hips and the wigs,' you know, that kind of stuff.
This definitely isn't a great look for ABC, and Bachelor Nation viewers are not taking these comments lightly.
The Golden Bachelor's second season hasn't even begun filming yet, but already fans are speaking out about the decision to cast Mel Owens after hearing his comments on the podcast. On the official Instagram announcement made by ABC months ago, social media users are returning to comment on the latest developments, writing:
Too bad he's a walking red flag before the season even started. Do better ABC! – jade.brooke
Did you really keep telling us you are going to 'do better' with casting and then cast a Golden Bachelor who has said he would 'cut any woman 60+ on night one'? – sherrieatsplants
This man is a walking red flag, and definitely doesn't signal to me personally that this franchise is interested in doing better… – abundant.heart.tarot
Too bad he's not looking for a woman over 60 ☹️. I think for all the golden women who watch this show that's a real slap in the face. I for one won't be watching 😡 – kathy4more
The Bachelor franchise has already been under fire the past few years, particularly over its casting of men (Golden and otherwise) who have had restraining orders against them or been involved in race-related scandals and other controversial behavior. In March, executive producers Claire Freeland and Bennett Graebner exited the franchise amid accusations of a toxic workplace environment, and the 2025 cycle of The Bachelorette was canceled.
Mel Owens' comments are a really tough pill to swallow. I don't want to see 40- and 50-somethings on The Golden Bachelor, but I also don't want the quarterback-turned-lawyer to pretend to date women he's not interested in.
It's quite a pickle, but while we wait to see if ABC or Mel Owens addresses the comments, Bachelor in Paradise is set to premiere at 8 p.m. ET Monday, July 7, on ABC and streaming the next day with a Hulu subscription.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
28 minutes ago
- Fox News
How Trump sued CBS and won: The '60 Minutes' settlement that rocked the media world, explained
President Donald Trump sued CBS News and its parent company, Paramount Global, in October 2024 over an interview on "60 Minutes" with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump accused the outlet of deceptive editing and election interference. The lawsuit and its subsequent settlement have far-reaching implications and set off a fierce debate about media ethics and accountability, as well as corporate interference. Fox News Digital breaks down exactly what happened — from the final payout to speculation as to why Paramount settled and what blowback the lawsuit has received since. What happened: October 8, 2024: CBS '60 Minutes' airs two different answers from former Vice President Kamala Harris to the same question | Watch October 18, 2024: Former FCC commissioner explains if CBS News could be in hot water over editing | Watch October 20, 2024: CBS breaks its silence over editing allegations October 31, 2024: Trump sues CBS News for $10 billion alleging 'deceptive doctoring' of Harris' '60 Minutes' interview February 5, 2025: FCC releases CBS News' raw '60 Minutes' transcript April 14, 2025: Trump lashes out at CBS News and "60 Minutes" April 23, 2025: "60 Minutes" executive producer Bill Owens abruptly quits May 9, 2025: Paramount, CBS News' parent company, faces mounting pressure May 29, 2025: Trump rejects Paramount's $15 million offer to settle CBS News lawsuit July 1, 2025: Paramount, CBS pay eight figures, change editorial policy in settlement | Watch July 7, 2025: CBS parent company sparks massive outrage with Trump lawsuit settlement Reactions:
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Vanessa Hudgens' Pregnancy Announcement Also Debuted the Juiciest Manicure of Summer 2025
Vanessa Hudgens is pregnant with baby number two—but that's not all she revealed with her big Instagram announcement. On July 12, Hudgens shared that she's expecting her second baby with husband Cole Tucker, a former Major League Baseball player she met over Zoom in 2020. The couple welcomed their first child in July 2024, though the parents have yet to reveal the one-year-old's name or gender. 'Round two!!!!' Hudgens captioned a slideshow of photos with her husband, who was dressed in a white tee-shirt and grey pants. In the portraits, Hudgens wore a cream eyelet boho skirt set, leaving the tank top half-way unbuttoned to reveal her growing baby bump. Hudgens styled the breezy summer look with a stack of resin and gold bangles, a diamond belly button ring, and plenty of rings on her left hand, which she used to point towards her baby bump in the second and third photo. The images also teased her latest manicure, though her followers could only see the pinkish tone of one glossy, coffin-shaped nail in the last two images. Luckily celebrity nail artist Zola Ganzorigt came through with a closer look, who revealed the full set of 'guava glaze' nails on her own Instagram feed. In a video set to 'Sugar! Honey! Love!,' Ganzorigt revealed a multi-chromatic manicure that shifts between pink and green similar to that of the juicy tropical fruit. Though she did not share her process on Insta, Ganzorigt seemingly topping off the cat-eye nails with chrome powder to create her signature glazed finish. Congratulations are certainly in order for Vanessa Hudgens. Mostly for her pregnancy, but also for having one of the most whimsical manicures I've seen since princess nails took over everyone's FYPs. While we come to expect food and drink-inspired manicures from another one of Ganzorigt's high-profile clients, Hudgens' set just soared to the top of my summer 2025 vision board. Sorbet Nails Are Summer's Fresh Spin on the Ice Cream Manicure Get the scoop here. Originally Appeared on Glamour
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The ‘Superman' Oscar nomination you (probably) didn't know existed
James Gunn's Superman is off to a stunning start, at the box office and with reviewers. Superman adaptations have long resonated commercially, critically and with the Motion Picture Academy, with Richard Donner's excellent 1978 Superman, starring Christopher Reeve, paving the way for lauded comic adaptations like The Dark Knight and Black Panther. Donner's Superman was nominated for three Oscars, including for John Williams' epic score, and received a Special Achievement Academy Award for its visual effects. More from Gold Derby 'Can it get any weirder?' Live Aid's last-minute headliner recalls offer to play for 2 billion people The Supermen that never were: Here are 5 scrapped Man of Steel movies ranked by their Oscar potential While live-action Superman adaptations date back to the 1948 serial and the better-known 1950s TV version The Adventures of Superman starring George Reeves, the Man of Steel's first Oscar-worthy appearance came way back in 1941 and was actually in cartoon form, via the 1941 Superman from animation pioneer Max Fleischer. The character of Superman first appeared in Action Comics No. 1 (1938), and his initial big-screen adaptation proceeded apace. Paramount Pictures acquired the highly coveted film rights to Superman in 1940, beating out Republic Pictures, which consequently grabbed the rights to adapt Captain Marvel (now DC Comics' Shazam) in serial form. Paramount pitched the Superman series to Fleischer, whose company was partially owned by the studio, and the rest is comic book movie history. Max and his brother Dave founded Fleischer Studios in 1929. With Max serving as the lead animator and Dave as producer-director, the brothers found initial success in their adaptations of the comic strip Popeye the Sailor Man, with the 1936 animated short "Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor," which secured the Fleischers' first Academy Award nomination. With an assist from Superman cocreator Joe Schuster, who helped the animators nail the character design, the brothers and their crew began work on their superhero reels, hoping to meet Paramount's stated goal of having the first short in theaters by Christmas 1940. But production took longer than expected, and the first Superman installment, 'The Mad Scientist,' didn't premiere until September 1941. It was the first of 17 shorts in the series. Superman begins with the titular (but unnamed) 'Mad Scientist' sending a threatening note to Clark Kent's editor, Perry White. The letter claims the antagonist will use his newest deadly invention, the Electrothanasia-Ray, promising that 'total destruction will come to those who laughed at me and failed to heed my warnings.' Lois Lane has a lead and flies off to the villain's lair — quickly finding herself captured by the scientist just as he readies his weapon. Superman intervenes to save day, thwarting the nefarious plan and rescuing Lois. The Fleischer Superman series marked an early high point for superhero adaptations, and Paramount knew it. The studio even commissioned theatrical trailers to promote the animated serial, a novel maneuver for an 11-minute cartoon. Midway through production, the Fleischer brothers had a falling out, prompting Paramount to dissolve Fleischer Studios after only nine installments of Superman were completed. With the brothers no longer involved, the company was reorganized as Famous Studios, which cranked out eight additional episodes, with a new voice cast and darker storylines, and a notable decline in quality. The popularity of the Kryptonian cartoons soon waned. The final short, "Secret Agent," was released July 30, 1943. The rights eventually reverted back to National Comics (now DC Comics), which failed to renew their copyrights, resulting in the serials falling into the public domain. In addition to being the first adaptation of the Man of Steel and paving the way for the superhero adaptations to follow, it also introduced the humorous plot device of Clark breaking the fourth wall, which gradually made its way into the comics. The series as a whole featured a number of classic Superman hallmarks, from mad scientists and giant robots to patriotic repudiations of Nazis. At the 14th Academy Awards in 1942, Superman was nominated for Best Short Subject, Cartoons, becoming the first superhero film nominated for an Academy Award. The short ultimately lost to Walt Disney's Lend a Paw, the 115th short in Disney's Mickey Mouse series and the only to win an Oscar. Superman left a large impact on both animation history and subsequent comic book adaptations. 1,000 animation historians ranked the 1941 outing at No. 33 in the book The 50 Greatest Cartoons. They praised its pulp magazine visuals and tight plotting, faithfully reproducing the feel of reading a comic book. Fifty years later, the look of the Fleischer series directly influenced the visual design of the Emmy-winning Batman: The Animated Series (1992-95). And Gunn himself pays homage to that old-school Kryptonian: the very first image in the filmmaker's new Superman is a snippet of the Fleischer hero, serving as both a connection to the past and a symbolic passing of the Man of Steel torch. Best of Gold Derby Everything to know about 'The Batman 2': Returning cast, script finalized Tom Cruise movies: 17 greatest films ranked worst to best 'It was wonderful to be on that ride': Christian Slater talks his beloved roles, from cult classics ('Heathers,' 'True Romance') to TV hits ('Mr. Robot,' 'Dexter: Original Sin') Click here to read the full article.
