Bachy’s Niranga Has Spoken Out About The Need For More Diversity On Aussie Reality TV
Bachy fave Niranga Amarasinghe has spoken out about his experience on Bachelor In Paradise, and how he thinks The Bachelor franchise can diversify its contestants.
Fans noted on this year’s BIP season that Niranga was barely shown and the only storyline he got was with Cass Mamone. The only other person of colour on the season, Mary Viturino, was also shown very little compared to her white costars. On the latest instalment in So Dramatic’s summer series, host Megan Pustetto interviewed Niranga about why he thinks people of colour often get such a shitty edit — if they’re even shown at all.
“I can’t really say why they didn’t show much of me, or the other cast members who were people of colour. It’s very hard to say, but there’s a bit of an issue there and hopefully they get it right in the coming years,” he said.
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Niranga also spoke about the need for more diversity in the people the show casts. “I think in like America and overseas, in Sweden and stuff, they’ve had dark Bachelorettes and Bachelors. It would be good to see that in the Australian franchise. I guess, are they ready for it? Or have they found the right person yet? I’m not sure what the answer is but I really hope they do come around.”
As to why Australia is so far behind when it comes to casting non-white contestants on our reality TV shows, Niranga reckons producers need to change the way they attract people to their shows. “I think they need to advertise it more, to make a more diverse cast, if they are looking for a more diverse Bachelor or Bachelorette…I don’t think they’re going out to look for them, they are just finding good looking people on Instagram,” he said.
“I think there’s a lot of cultural differences, getting half-naked on TV or making out on TV isn’t right for some people’s culture. So yeah, there’s a lot less people applying that are diverse. They need to give those kind of people more confidence.”
As far as past contestants go, Niranga is behind Renee Barrett being the next Bachelorette, which is a rumour that has been circulating this week. “I’d really love to see an Indigenous [Bachelorette] like Brooke or Renee. I 100% back Renee to be honest, she would do an excellent job, she’s quite a headstrong person, I think she’d keep her head above water and smash it. Fingers crossed. I think all of Australia is behind her.”
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