Update 3/31/23 at 11 PM ET:
the fleece Diversity Reports claiming his exit from the franchise came after alleged racial discrimination and an investigation into his on-set behaviour.
“Since its premiere 21 years ago, times have certainly changed, and I must say we haven’t kept up with the pace of those changes,” Fleiss told hollywood reporter on Friday, March 31, two days after his announcement that he was leaving the series. “I’m proud of the work we’ve done over the past five years to make the show more diverse, but I believe I could have done more. Hopefully the franchise will continue to move in the right direction.
Ultimately, the franchise creator told THR, he believed he left his post with “more good days than bad, more spirits than hurt feelings” and “more friends than enemies.” .
Original story continues below:
His last rose! Single creator Mike Fleiss announced that he was leaving the franchise after more than two decades.
“First and foremost congratulations are in order zack [Shallcross] And kite [Biggar]Fleiss, 58, told Diversity In a statement on Tuesday, March 28, referring to the season 27 lead, 26, and his fiancee, 27, the finale airs on Monday, March 27, following their engagement. “I wish him a long and happy life.”
Fleiss, who started the ABC series in 2002, confirmed his departure as head of the dating show.
“I want to thank WBTV and ABC for 21 extraordinary years,” he continued. they’ve found the perfect creative team to assign to me the Bachelor Keep the franchise and this light bold in a bottle and move on. Let the journey continue.
California native who made the bachelorette following in 2003 graduate’s Success, earlier in 2021 has stepped in as executive producer and showrunner of the female-led series. (Season 20 Bachelorette Will premiere later this summer with the leads charity lawson,
Going forward, the Bachelor will be driven by protesters Claire Freeland, jason erlich And Bennett GraebnerAccording to Diversity,
Ahead of his departure, Fleiss made headlines for his rocky marriage in 2019 Laura Keppler, Bachelor Winter Games The producer raised eyebrows in July of that year when Kepler, who was pregnant with the couple’s second child at the time, claimed her husband attacked her at their home in Hawaii and demanded she get an abortion.
While Fleiss denied the allegations, the pair said it ended that month. Kepler eventually dropped the assault claims she made against her husband, and their legal separation was finalized in July 2019.
Four months later, the pair announced that they had reformed and got back together. “Happy to report that @FleissLaura and I have reconciled. I love my wife and am grateful for this opportunity to work on our marriage,” Fleiss wrote via Twitter in November 2019. Was.” Thanks for the support, #BachelorNation!
Fleiss’ marital woes, however, were not his only actions in question that year. In October 2019, former graduate Caitlin Bristowe Show’s producer reprimanded for allegedly preventing her from being able to compete dancing with the Stars After her 2015 Search for Love.
“I’ll tell you exactly why I can’t move on dancing with the Stars, Anyone who listens to this podcast knows why I can’t move on dancing with the Stars,” Bristowe, 37, said during an appearance on the “Talkhouse” podcast. “I will say this with a mic in my hand and a smile on my face that Mike Fleiss is a piece of s–t! is the author of the BachelorAnd he hates women.”
The “Off the Wine” podcast host claimed that Fleiss allowed “all the bachelors” to compete on the dance series, but did not encourage her to do so.
“I was bitter for a long time because dancing was a passion of mine. Not being told no, just because someone wants you to say no,” Bristowe exclusively said. us weekly In October 2019. “If you have a choice to crush someone’s dreams or fulfill it and you choose to crush their dreams just because you have a grudge against them and I’m just like, ‘What kind of person are you? ?'”
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Fleiss, for his part, previously claimed he had no problem with the Due Edit designer. dwts, “@kaitlynbristowe has my full support if she wants to appear dwtshe wrote via Twitter in March 2017. Bristowe eventually competed on Season 29. dwts And won the prestigious Mirrorball trophy in November 2020.