Dear Netflix, Why?
What you need to know before watching Netflix’s new docuseries: “Coming Out Colton”
— Way back in 2018, before the age of Covid, mask mandates, staying indoors and all that jazz, there was Colton Underwood, the 23rd Bachelor who had previously been known on the 14th season of the Bachelorette. For many Bachelor/Bachelorette fans, Colton stole the show as the virgin NFL player who was looking for love. He was just a big sweetheart who captured many hearts around the country. This is why he was able to have his very own season of the show, this season was full of tons of drama, but nothing lives up to the drama that would occur after the season ended. Colton seemingly found his future wife, and all was well…right? Well in his new Netflix documentary, “Coming Out Colton” there is a lot to unpack, but here’s what you need to know before you watch-if you even want to at the end of this.
The Bachelor
If you’ve never seen the Bachelor, to sum up, it’s basically a show in which one man meets multiple women and dates each one to find the love of his life. In each episode, one woman with whom the Bachelor hasn’t made a connection with will be sent home and is eliminated. In the end, the Bachelor or Bachelorette chooses one person to marry or continue on or whatever they choose to do. In all honesty, the concept is a little strange, but it’s incredibly interesting to watch.
In season 23 of The Bachelor, former Bachelorette contestant, Colton Underwood, went on his love journey in which he met, dated, and fell in love with a woman named Cassie Randolph. Cassie was a kindhearted young woman that immediately caught the eye of Colton. The two ended up going on to have an over two-year relationship. From the outside, their relationship seemed beautiful and perfect but what the public found out later was the relationship was everything but.
Colton and Cassie
Beginning in 2018, upon the conclusion of their Bachelor season, Colton and Cassie began a long, tumultuous, relationship that ended in May of 2020. The breakup wasn’t shocking due to the fact that the two had remained silent for some time before they publicly announced the separation, but it was slightly unexpected. But even though the breakup began as quiet and mutual, it didn’t last long. Soon after Colton revealed that he wanted to write a chapter about Callie in his upcoming book “The First Time”, seemingly capitalizing on the virgin bit he had led with, in his Bachelor and Bachelorette seasons. After Callie heard about the book, she was reportedly very upset as Underwood had never asked her if he was allowed to put her in the book. The two publically fought but eventually, the drama died down and Colton released his book with seemingly no hiccups. That was until September 11, 2021, when it was discovered that Randolph filed a restraining order against Colton Underwood for the following reasons:
- Harassment with unsettling texts messages to Ms. Randolph.
- Showing up at her home, and her parent's home uninvited.
- Unlawfully putting a tracking device in her car without her knowledge in order for him to track her whereabouts.
- Harassing Randolph through anonymous text messages, then lying about it.
When the public had gotten wind of these events, the seemingly perfect NFL player’s reputation was shattered. He went from the Teddy Bear that everyone had connected to, to just plain creepy and disturbed. The worst part for him was, there was evidence and witnesses to back up her claims as he was exposed for who he was. In one text message to her, he said that Callie was “a selfish person who isn’t ready to be loved”.
Coming Out…COLTON!?
Yes, you see the picture, you’ve read the phrase “coming out”, Colton Underwood is gay. Underwood came out as gay in April of 2021, shortly after the drama with Callie subsided. Fans of The Bachelor were shocked and overall people were incredibly supportive. He is the first man from The Bachelor to come out as gay. Colton came out shortly after Netflix announced in April that they were going to be doing a docuseries with Mr. Underwood about his sexuality, his past, and the drama. And although people were supportive of Netflix finally doing a show about the LGBTQ+ community, people were a little upset about who they were doing the show with.
The Controversy
Although people were excited about Colton coming out, especially because no matter who you are, coming out is hard, there was still controversy with the show.
Twitter user @ttlizz wrote, “so we are giving colton a series on coming out when he stalked and put a tracker on his ex fiances car???? bc that makes sense??????” People were pretty upset. Not just on Twitter but in reviews as well. In the article by Caleb Alvarado, the author writes, “The intended audience for “Coming Out Colton” is unclear. Straight allies among “The Bachelor’s” viewership might have had reason to applaud Underwood but for the fact that the relationship he forged on the show ended with acrimony and with Underwood’s allegations of threatening behavior.” The article goes on to discuss that again: people do generally stand behind the fact that he is a gay man and people are supporting that, but the big question is should he be getting a platform to appeal to people when he was just recently surrounded in scandals for stalking his ex?
Authors Thoughts/Notes
We’re just going to have to see what happens when the series releases on December 3rd, two days after this article will be published. There is likely going to be very mixed reviews and more controversy. But on a positive note, as part of the LGBTQ+ community myself, I would like to congratulate Colton on coming out, apparently, he came out only five days before me so I do feel connections with that, however, I do have mixed feelings about the show. But we’ll just have to see.
