Bachelor Nation apologized after mistakenly tagging Matt James’ contestant Pieper James in a since-deleted Twitter post about fellow season 25 alum Serena Pitt.
“Pieper and Serena, we sincerely apologize for the error in our previous tweet, in which Pieper was accidentally tagged to a feature on Serena,” a statement issued to People from the franchise on Friday, March 19, read. “[It] was caused by a typo in our scheduling system for a future post. We appreciate you holding us accountable.”
One day prior, Bachelor Nation, the official website from the producers of the Bachelor franchise, tweeted a link to an article where Serena answered 20 questions about herself.
“Let’s get to know the wonderful @pieper_jamess a bit more!” the deleted tweet from the franchise read to promote the article.
I mean @serena_pitt is beautiful and I would be glad to be mistaken for her but come on @bachnation not all multiracial people look the same. https://t.co/CkJpCTfHvG
— Pieper James (@pieper_jamess) March 18, 2021
For her part, Pieper responded to the mix-up. “I mean, @serena_pitt is beautiful and I would be glad to be mistaken for her, but come on @bachnation, not all multiracial people look the same.” Serena has not publicly responded to the situation.
The reality dating franchise has been in hot water surrounding the issues of racism and inclusion. After the season 25 premiere in January, a TikTok user accused contestant Rachael Kirkconnell of mistreating her during high school for “liking Black guys.” Another video began circulating that alleged Rachael “liked” racist social media posts. Then, a photo surfaced of the contestant attending an “Old South” antebellum-themed fraternity party in 2018.
Before Rachael released her apology on February 11, Chris Harrison spoke about the situation during an interview on Extra with Rachel Lindsay on February 9. The ABC personality received backlash for his controversial statements about the situation and has temporarily stepped back as host.
In his absence, Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe will be cohosting season 17 of The Bachelorette starring Katie Thurston.
“Chris Harrison will not be hosting the next season of The Bachelorette,” Warner Horizon and ABC Entertainment said in a joint statement on March 12. “We support Chris in the work that he is committed to doing … As we continue the dialogue around achieving greater equity and inclusion within The Bachelor franchise, we are dedicated to improving the BIPOC representation of our crew, including among the executive producer ranks.”
The statement concluded, “These are important steps in effecting fundamental change so that our franchise is a celebration of love that is reflective of our world.”