'The Bachelor' Says Gays Shouldn't Be on the Show
The current star of The Bachelor, Juan Pablo Galavis, said in a new interview that he doesn't think the show should allow a gay or bisexual contestants on the show.
His comments came during an interview with TV Page's Sean Daly, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "They're more pervert in a sense. To me, the show would be too strong, too hard to watch on TV," said the 32-year-old reality star.
Galavis, who also appeared on the most recent season of The Bachelorette, was asked by the writer whether ABC should have a gay or bisexual bachelor on the show. "No." he responded. "Just 'cause I respect them but, honestly, I don't think it's a good example for kids to watch that on TV. It's hard, it's hard, it's a very thin line."
He continued: "Obviously, people have their husband and wife and have kids, and that's how we are brought up. Now there's fathers having kids and all that, and it's hard for me to understand that too in the sense of a household having people's -- two parents sleeping in the same bed and the kid going into bed. It's confusing in a sense, but I respect them because they want to have kids, they want to be parents. It's a scale, where do you put it on the scale, where's the thin line to cross or not. You have to respect everybody's desires, opinions and way of living. But it would be too hard for TV."
Galavis offered his opinion as to why he thinks it would be a mistake to have gays on the show. "There's this thing about gay people -- it seems to me, I don't know if I'm mistaken or not -- I have a lot of friends like that, but they're more pervert in a sense. To me, the show would be too strong, too hard to watch on TV," he said.
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ABC and The Bachelor producers issued a statement Saturday to address Galavais' comments. about gay people. The network and production company Warner Horizon said in a joint 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."
Galavis later apologized for his comments, posting on Facebook, "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."