Jenn Tran's ‘Bachelorette’ season was supposed to be groundbreaking. Asian American 'Bachelor' contestants say the franchise 'didn't care about her.'

For many Asian American viewers, July 8 marked the beginning of a history-making season of The Bachelorette — one that would finally put an Asian American woman at the center of her own narrative.

With Jenn Tran as the Season 21 lead, fans of Asian descent were looking forward to watching a member of their community find love on a franchise that has historically been more concerned with telling white narratives.

Tran did not get her fairy-tale ending with final rose recipient Devin Strader, disappointing fans in the process. They weren’t the only unhappy viewers: Former Bachelor franchise contestants who are Asian American told Yahoo Entertainment they were heartbroken over how her season came to a close.

Jill Chin, a contestant on The Bachelor Season 26 and Bachelor in Paradise Season 8, told Yahoo Entertainment that she was “hopeful, but also a bit fearful” to watch Tran’s season knowing how female leads have been treated in the past.

“I had spoken to Jenn before she was cast as the lead about navigating this space as an Asian woman, and she was excited to be a role model,” Chin, who is Chinese American, said. “I was excited to see her family, hear Vietnamese being spoken, and it warmed my heart when Jenn mentioned that Devin [Strader] wanted their kids to learn the language. When it came to the proposal and Jenn came to the stage, my heart absolutely broke for her.”

Jenn Tran and Devin Strader during "The Bachelorette" season finale. (ABC)

Tran’s journey to the proposal, as far as the pretaped finale footage would have you believe, ended as it had for many of the leads before her — with an emotional affirmation of love and a romantic engagement. She even subverted expectations by dropping down on one knee and proposing to Strader, who had been vocal about his fear that she did not love him back. Strader enthusiastically accepted her proposal, and he and Tran went on to live their lives as a happily (and secretly, for contract purposes) engaged couple beyond the cameras — for a few weeks, that is.

Strader ended his engagement to Tran in a 15-minute phone call before the Sept. 3 finale aired. When Tran sought out an explanation, he allegedly ghosted her too.

Viewers criticized ABC’s decision to not only air Tran and Strader’s proposal and force her to watch it while sitting next to him but also to have a camera live-recording her tears.

Yahoo Entertainment reached out to ABC for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Chin, in particular, was “disgusted” with how the situation was handled.

Tran’s season drew attention from the moment she was revealed as the Bachelorette.

When ABC announced Tran would be the one handing out roses, she beat out two other fan favorites who also had competed on Bachelor Joey Graziadei's season, Daisy Kent and Maria Georgas, both of whom are white.

While Tran’s casting was groundbreaking, fans were suspicious that not enough Asian men were cast on her season. During the show, one contestant admitted that he joined the series hoping for Kent or Georgas instead. Soon after breaking off their engagement, Tran revealed that Strader had immediately followed Georgas on Instagram — furthering the suspicion that some of the men this season had wished for a white female lead instead.

Chris Conran, a contestant on The Bachelorette Season 16 and Bachelor in Paradise Season 7, told Yahoo Entertainment he felt Tran wasn’t given a fair shot from the beginning.

“The men were probably told the Bachelorette would be Maria and went into the experience with negative feelings after finding out it was Jenn,” said Conran, who is Thai American. “Could race be involved? The obvious answer is yes, but I got the vibe that the guys had levels of disrespect because ... they had zero intention of ending up with her.”

“I don’t think that unconscious bias can be ruled out,” Chin said. “For the sake of drama or not, having a plotline for one of the contestants be that he wanted one of two white women as the lead was a conscious choice.”

Tammy Ly, who appeared on The Bachelor Season 24 and Bachelor in Paradise Season 7, told Yahoo Entertainment that “while I don’t think this was done intentionally, by creating an environment where it was widely known that the contestants wanted a different lead, I can see how they accidentally reinforced this painful bias — and doing so for the TV audience is the exact opposite of what they claimed they were wanting to do in this era.”

“It’s such a strange part of [the franchise], that everyone is supposed to love her, want her, desire her. That’s what the show is premised on, and for Jenn to own that right and claim that spot as an Asian American confronts a lot of insecurities,” Grace Wang, an associate professor of American Studies at the University of California, Davis, told Yahoo Entertainment. “Devin may be reconfirming those kinds of fears and anxieties that you push down. Whether it’s gendered, it’s race, it’s intersecting both of those.”

Having grown up in a predominantly white community, Tran has been frank about her complicated relationship with her Vietnamese heritage.

“When you’re at that age and you’re growing up … you just want to fit in and you want to be like everybody else,” Tran said on the June 26 episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast. “But it wasn’t really until college where I got really exposed to a lot more diversity and I also got tired of hiding who I am.”

Conran believes the franchise is more concerned with ratings than actually caring for leads of color like Tran.

“They didn’t care about her, or what’s best for her, whatsoever,” he said. “It’s all about money and keeping the ship running. They didn’t protect Jenn, and this was apparent in the finale. I wish the best for Jenn and hope she can get away from the 'Bachelor' franchise.”

Conran added, “I am more than certain she will find a man who treats her right and doesn’t fake love for clout.”

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