Rachel Lindsay Not Buying ‘The Bachelorette’ Contestant’s Excuse for Why He Doesn’t Really Date Black Women

Rachel Lindsay and Will Gaskins grew up in mostly white areas but have vastly different dating histories. (ABC)

“The Bachelorette” contestants got real about interracial dating on Tuesday’s episode and Rachel Lindsay was left questioning a Black suitor’s excuse for not dating a Black woman.

Will Gaskins told fellow competitors June 27 that Lindsay, the first Black bachelorette in the series’ history, is “not look like the people that I’ve been dating for the past couple years.”

“I typically date white girls,” Gaskins, who was later eliminated, said. “It’s not like I don’t date Black girls. I have. But growing up where I grew up, especially in high school, there weren’t a lot of Black girls.”

During a one-on-one date, Gaskins shared his dating history with Lindsay, who said she also grew up in a predominantly white community but has mostly dated Black men.

Twitter users quickly reacted to Gaskins’ admission and some were skeptical about his reasoning.

https://twitter.com/Victoriaaa_E/status/879905455824289792

Subscribe To The ABS Newsletter — Get our stories in your inbox.

Independent journalism still matters.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Latest from Atlanta Black Star

Back to top