Bachelorette EP Confirms Caila's Last-Minute Uncasting? 'If It Ain't Broke...'

By Matt Webb Mitovich
Bachelorette Diversity Controversy Caila Courtesy of ABC

The Bachelorette franchise's sidestepping of a recent casting diversity promise may have come at the 11th hour, if one follows and gives credences to a growing number of breadcrumbs.

On the heels of Reality Steve's Monday-morning, pre-finale report that producers originally picked Bachelor 20 castoff Caila (who is half Filipino) to be the next Bachelorette, only to then go with runner-up JoJo, tweets from series boss Mike Fleiss could also be read as suggesting a change of plans.

As pointed out by the Los Angeles Times (among others), on March 6 — shortly after Caila reportedly filmed her Bachelorette intro package — Fleiss shared that he might change up his traditional dinner for Night 1 of production, foregoing barbecue chicken for something with a more international flair:

But just days later, according to Reality Steve, Caila got a call with the bad news. And this past Wednesday, two days after "Southern sweetheart" JoJo (as she is touted in ABC's press release) was announced as the new Bachelorette and as production on her "journey" commenced, Fleiss updated us on his dinner plan, arguing, "If it ain't broke...":

In January, ABC's then-president Paul Lee said he would be "very surprised" if The Bachelorette's 12th cycle "isn't diverse," adding, "I think that's likely to happen." In the wake of the selection of  JoJo, ABC has declined to comment on the diversity controversy.

Do you think Mike Fleiss was "subtweeting" about a casting change-up? Would you have preferred Caila over JoJo as the next Bachelorette?

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