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Why People Are Upset Jesse Palmer Was Chosen To Host ‘The Bachelor’ Instead Of Emmanuel Acho

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Emmanuel Acho and Jesse Palmer

After a glimmer of hope that the long-standing tradition of having a white male host of The Bachelor would change with Emmanual Acho, a former Bachelor takes his place. 

Jesse Palmer is set to host the new season 26 of "The Bachelor," which will premiere in 2022.

Palmer will replace former host, Chris Harrison,  amid controversy relating to comments he made about racist photos of former Bachelor Matt James girlfriend, Rachael Kirkconnell. 

But fans hoping "The Bachelor" would diversify it's hosts will still be disappointed by Harrison's replacement. 

Why was Jesse Palmer chosen to host 'The Bachelor' instead of Emmanual Acho?

Though some hoped Acho would take on hosting duties, it seems creators of the show had another man in mind.

Palmer has hosting experience on had already on ESPN since 2007 as a sports analyst and previously contributed to "Good Morning America" and ABC News. Palmer also currently hosts ABC’s summer surfing competition show "The Ultimate Surfer" and has hosted a dating show created by Bachelor producer Mike Fleiss in 2018 called "The Proposal." 

Palmer was also a former Bachelor himself and said in a statement, "For more than 20 years, "The Bachelor" has brought the world dozens of unforgettable love stories, including at one time, my own."

Some of the Bachelor Nation would have preferred Emmanual Acho to take over. 

Fans were excited to see a new face when Emmanual Acho was the host of the "After the Final Rose" special at the end of James’ season.

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Acho was a former NFL linebacker for the Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles and the host of a video series called “Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man,” which is also the title of his 2020 best-selling book.

Jesse Palmer's role as host has upset some fans of 'The Bachelor.'

Lots of Bachelor nation fans were disappointed to see Palmer as the new host because of his unsuccessful reputation as the former Bachelor and the fact he's another white male host.

In the past, when faced with race allegations, The Bachelor franchise has stepped up like when they made Rachel Lindsay be the first Black Bachelor and then finally including more Black contestants. Then, when we saw the whole race scandal with Matt James' girlfriend, they threw in Emmanual Acho as the first Black host who was also dedicated to anti-racism.

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It seems a bit calculated and strategic and therefore, maybe it's not too surprising that we didn't get a man of color as the next host.

Unfortunately in Acho's situation, it seemed like he was open to being the new host after an interview in May 2021 on "The View," where he said “I absolutely would be open to hosting "The Bachelor." I think it’s a matter of how does "The Bachelor" currently need help? I think the franchise realizes it needs help both on-camera and exploring diversity better on-camera, but probably more importantly, behind the scenes."

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Megan Hatch is a writer at YourTango who covers news & entertainment, love & relationships, and internet culture. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.