According to an article in the feminist blog Bustle, it is “problematic” to say that Nick Viall is “the ‘most deserving’” person to have been selected to headline the next season of The Bachelor — because he’s white.

“On Good Morning America, Bachelor host Chris Harrison said that Nick is “the most deserving” Bachelor, and that’s problematic,” Alexis Rhiannon writes. “I’m not saying that Viall isn’t the ‘most deserving’ based on his character, or how he behaves when he’s in a relationship, or anything like that.”

“But, in a world where we’ve yet to see a black Bachelor head up the show, it’s questionable to say that a white man who’s already appeared on television three times looking for love is somehow more deserving of this fourth opportunity than anyone else,” she continues.

Oh boy.

First of all, I’d say that no one really “deserves” to be “The Bachelor.” I mean, what dude is so great that he actually deserves to have 20 beautiful women competing to date him? Especially when those women also have to deal with their heartbreak and humiliation being broadcast on national television in order to participate?

It’s a super weird thing for anyone to want to be involved in. But for whatever reason, Nick Viall himself did it multiple times as contestant on The Bachelorette — only to have his heart repeatedly, publicly broken. This makes him an incredibly sympathetic figure to the viewers, which — spoiler alert! — is exactly the kind of figure you’re looking for when selecting a protagonist for a show like this.

#related#Rhiannon acknowledges as much. In her piece, she explains that “any familiarity takes a contestant a long way with fans,” and “because he’s familiar, we feel more warmly toward him, and want him to succeed.” She then argues, however, that the fact that Viall has appeared so many times actually means he deserves it less . . . because he’s already had his chance, and it’s time to give it to someone else.

But people don’t cast shows that way. Television is a business, not a charity — and all her piece did was prove why choosing Nick Viall was such a smart move for ABC to make.

— Katherine Timpf is a reporter for National Review Online.