Following an Investigation Into Misconduct, ‘The Bachelor’ and ‘Bachelorette’ Creator and Producer Abruptly Departed

Ending its 27th season with a jaw-dropping finale, The Bachelor revealed that creator and executive producer Mike Fleiss would be departing the franchise. An episode that has been classified as one of the most dramatic finales ever seen, this announcement was made all the more shocking by its timing.

In a wide-reaching statement, he looked back on the debut of the show 21 years ago, addressed difficulties encountered throughout its history and spoke to alterations made in Bachelor Nation over the last two decades. On paper it would appear that his parting from ABC’s long running reality dating show was friendly enough; yet news broke via Deadline that Fleiss’ exit followed an investigation into misconduct.

According to insiders, Warner Bros. and ABC launched a joint investigation into reports of Fleiss’ alleged mistreatment of his own employees as well as instances of racism he may have perpetrated. It’s unclear what the results from the inquiry were since they haven’t been revealed yet; however, Deadline did disclose that Fleiss made the decision himself to leave rather than being let go by either company.

Variety reported on the news, and multiple employees of Fleiss revealed that they had gone to Human Resources due to his bullying behavior when suggestions for casting choices were made. Despite Fleiss claiming progress in diversity, he was hesitant and would react negatively when asked to bring in a diversified cast of dating hopefuls. Sources verified this troubling conduct which caused an examination into the situation.

Deadline released Fleiss’ complete farewell statement, though he neglected to address any of the allegations against him.

“I had no idea back in 2002 that we were building a pop culture juggernaut. It was a crazy idea then and sure as hell continues to roll– just look at every network and streamer that has ripped us off! Since its premiere 21 years ago, times have certainly changed and I’d have to say we didn’t keep up with the pace of those changes. I am proud of the work we’ve done over the past five years to make the show substantially more diverse, but I do believe I could have done more.

Hopefully, the franchise will continue to move in the right direction. Judging by the number of staff weddings we’ve hosted at our home and the number of teary messages that blew up my phone when I announced I had turned in my final rose, I’m pretty sure I had more good days than bad, lifted more spirits than hurt feelings and leave the franchise in good hands, with more friends than foe.”

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