Lawsuit accusing ABC of racial bias in 'The Bachelor' dismissed

A federal judge has dismissed a civil rights lawsuit filed by two black men who said they were rejected for the starring role of “The Bachelor” on the popular ABC reality television show because of their race, Reuters reports.

The discrimination suit filed by Nathaniel Claybrooks and Christopher Johnson in Nashville federal court argued that ABC had never cast a person of color – African-American, Hispanic or Asian – in the show’s central role as a matter of policy.

The men’s goals were “laudable,” but the rights of the show’s producers to control their creative content are protected by the First Amendment, U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger ruled on Monday in dismissing the case.

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