Inside The “Toxic” Culture Of ‘The Bachelor’ Franchise As Crew Deals With Fallout Of ‘Bachelorette’ Pause; Extent Of EP Exits Revealed
EXCLUSIVE: Jenn Tran, star of the last season of The Bachelorette, was in tears, her mother sitting yards away, as she watched footage of her proposing to Devin Strader on ABC’s After The Final Rose live finale.
The engagement hadn’t worked out and was over before Tran was forced to relive that day alongside Strader. It was a decision that former Bachelor star Ben Higgins called “cruel and unnecessary.”
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“Do I have a choice?,” Tran asked host Jesse Palmer as he teed up the footage.
It seems she didn’t.
The decision to air the footage was made by Claire Freeland, who serves as showrunner and executive producer of The Bachelor franchise alongside Bennett Graebner. “Claire made that decision to put her in that position and air that proposal on live television,” one former producer said. “Producers were screaming at them in the booth to stop and were ignored. They said she was falling apart.
“You know why [Freeland] did it? Because it was her idea,” the producer said.
Warner Bros. TV, which produces the show via its Warner Bros. Unscripted Television and Warner Horizon divisions, denies this allegation and said the studio, network and Tran agreed with the plan.
Tran’s story highlights the current behind-the-scenes state of Bachelor Nation, which came to a head earlier last week when the majority of production staff were axed as a result of ABC and Warner Bros TV’s decision to pause The Bachelorette.
Speaking with Deadline primarily prior to the layoffs, described by one source as a “bloodbath,” a dozen current and former crew members claimed that Freeland and Graebner have run a “toxic” and “hostile” environment, where only their ideas are accepted and others are warned to “step in line” or else be asked to leave. Freeland and Graebner deny these allegations.
“My clients are well-respected professionals with a long history in this business. They are frankly stunned and saddened by some of the things they are hearing now for the first time,” Michael Weinsten, counsel for Claire Freeland and Bennett Graebner, told Deadline in a statement.
The Bachelor universe, which is responsible for around 700 episodes of television since Alex Michel became the first to search for love on the show in 2002, has seen its fair share of controversies in its 20-plus years on air.
It has previously been criticized for a lack of racial diversity; longtime host Chris Harrison stepped down after comments he made regarding contestant Rachael Kirkconnell’s attendance at an antebellum plantation-themed fraternity formal; Bachelor in Paradise had to halt production on Season 4 due to “allegations of misconduct” during filming; former segment producer Becky Steenhock sued producers for sexual harassment; and creator Mike Fleiss exited in 2023 after an investigation over workplace misconduct allegations. Fleiss has never publicly commented on the investigation.
But, it seems, controversy hasn’t left the rose ceremony.
Following Fleiss’ exit, the show elevated three people to run the franchise: Freeland, who had previously run The Bachelor in Canada; Graebner, who had worked on the franchise since 2008; and Jason Ehrlich, who has been involved in the show for over 20 years. The hope was that the trio could usher in a new phase for the reality universe, to move forward after the ignominy of its creator’s sudden exit.
A trio of other executive producers – Nicole Woods, Peter Geist and Louis Caric, who oversaw the franchise on a day-to-day basis – also departed after Freeland, Graebner and Ehrlich took over.
Woods and Caric, who both spent more than 15 years working on the franchise, are understood to have left after Season 9 of Bachelor in Paradise, which premiered in September 2023. At the time of their departure, they are understood to have engaged lawyer Bryan Freedman, who previously negotiated Chris Harrison’s exit from the show. Freedman did not respond to Deadline.
Geist, who spent over 10 years on the franchise starting with Bachelor Pad in 2012, left after Season 20 of The Bachelorette, which premiered in June 2023. These departures have previously not been made public.
Meanwhile, the troika of Freeland, Graebner and Ehrlich didn’t last long: Deadline understands that Ehrlich left after overseeing The Golden Bachelor, which culminated with its wedding episode in January 2024.
Subsequently, sources have told Deadline that Freeland and Graebner have run the franchise with “fear.” Members of the crew have recounted incidents of verbal and mental abuse, mind games and a lack of communication from the show’s remaining leaders.
“When Mike [Fleiss] left there was a sigh of relief. Never did we think that two [of the] people that would take over would make us wish that he was still here,” one crew member told Deadline.
Warner Bros Television Group is currently looking into complaints it has received since Deadline first made inquiries about production of the franchise. A spokesperson told Deadline, “We take a healthy workplace culture and safe production environment incredibly seriously, which is why in recent years we’ve made meaningful improvements to our on-set policies and practices. We are committed, in conjunction with ABC, to continue evolving the way The Bachelor franchise productions operate so that our employees and cast feel comfortable and heard.”
Days after Deadline revealed that The Bachelorette would skip its summer cycle came another bombshell moment for staffers: On February 12, staff assigned to work on The Bachelorette were told that they wouldn’t be returning to the franchise, news that caused shockwaves throughout the crew. It’s not clear exactly how many were impacted, but these shows generally have crew of north of 200 people. Staff that are currently still working on The Bachelor, including on the specials that follow a season of the flagship show, will continue until their responsibilities end. Some staff may, of course, return to the franchise.
Meanwhile, Bachelor in Paradise will have a majority new crew when it goes into production later this year under the leadership of new showrunner Scott Teti. Paradise, which shoots in Mexico, has traditionally had a similar crew to The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, apart from three to four people, one source said.
But some had already been informed before this that they may not be asked back, including Ken Fuchs, who has directed hundreds of hours of The Bachelor franchise. Warner Bros TV insiders, however, insist that Fuchs, who is directing The Bachelor’s Women Tell All special next month, remains an “active part of the franchise.”
“The last two years, but particularly the last six months, have just been incredibly hostile, toxic and horrible,” one crew member told Deadline. “It’s a dumpster fire right now,” added another.
Some of the departures have been down to budgetary issues. As with all long-running unscripted shows, costs are being cut and that has an effect on staffing.
But staffers suggest that there’s more to this than just money. Sources have said that showrunners Freeland and Graebner have passive-aggressively criticized the work of people who have produced the show for many years, and have ignored senior members of the production team.
“They sit behind their closed doors. They don’t walk around the office, they don’t talk to people, when they’re on set, they sit with each other, they don’t talk to the staff. It’s bizarre. I’ve never seen such horrendous leadership,” another former producer told Deadline.
“The most surprising thing of all is the silent toxicity,” added another crew member. “Everyone thought it was just happening to their department, and it was only a few months ago when we realized it’s happening to all of us.”
There’s also the suggestion that if workers don’t “step in line” they will be let go, and crew members said the feeling was that they should just be “grateful to be working” at a time when getting another job is difficult.
“They want to push people to the extremes so that they can bring in their own regime,” one source said.
“They don’t outrightly treat people poorly, it’s not obvious,” added another source. “They don’t scream at people. It’s more that everything they do is secretive and passive aggressive and they know that they’re doing it to affect people.”
A third source said that Freeland and Graebner come late to every meeting because “they want to keep people waiting.” “They have this weird language between the two of them. There’s no collaboration, no direction, they sit behind closed doors. People are being excommunicated from meetings that they’ve been in for 20-plus years. It’s hard to explain because they’re not screaming,” the source added.
Freeland and Graebner’s counsel Weinsten said, “To be clear, in the two years they have been running the Bachelor franchise, no one has ever complained to them, or even implied that they were being anything other than professional. The fact is they were tasked specifically to change the creative direction of the franchise. Change doesn’t come easy. And as always, when there is change, some will be resistant and have a desire to return to old ways and old patterns. Clearly, some of these individuals have struggled to grasp this new direction, and in the process have misinterpreted my clients’ good intentions.”
After Fleiss’s departure, Warner Horizon implemented new procedures and standards of conduct for the franchise. One studio insider said that many entrenched crew members preferred the status quo and voiced objections to changes, blaming the producers for new policies put in place by the studio. The source added that various crew members have been “disgruntled” and felt that they should have been hired for the showrunner role instead of bringing in someone from the outside.
Freeland and Graebner’s relationship with the staff has been questioned, with many saying they don’t know the crew. This culminated in a situation during the first night of filming Season 28 of The Bachelor where staffers were asked to wear name tags.
“I’ve been here a long time and we’ve never worn name tags before,” said one source. “But it didn’t surprise me, because they were showrunners who never showed up. They were always hiding behind the screen or in their offices, so they have never really taken the time to get to know people.”
The studio insider told Deadline that while crew wear physical lanyard credentials during live shows such as After The Final Rose, they do not typically wear them during episodic production. But Freeland and Graebner asked them to wear name tags for the first night of production to “get to know people better” and to “break the ice with new staff joining the show.”
In addressing allegations of toxic work environment on The Bachelor franchise run by his clients, Weinstein referenced the recent the scrapping of The Bachelorette’s 2025 season.
He said, “With The Bachelorette being put on pause, staff and crew are inevitably and understandably upset. While my clients feel badly, especially in this trying time for the industry and everyone who works in it, this should not take away from the positive changes my clients have brought to the franchise. To even suggest that my clients were somehow resistant to other points of view, acted secretly and/or abusively or threatened anyone’s job is patently false and frankly absurd. My clients will happily listen to any and all points of view, but at the end of the day, my clients are the ones with a new positive vision for the production. And there are many, many people in this industry and franchise ready, willing and able to attest to their creativity, professionalism and vision.”
Television production can be a grueling and exhausting profession, with one positive that multiple crew members mentioned is an improvement in hours since Freeland and Graebner took over.
“One thing that was horrible when I started here were the hours. They used to work us like 100 hours a week,” said one source who has worked on the show for many years. “But it’s gotten much better.”
Freeland and Graebner do have some supporters on staff. After Deadline got in touch with Warner Bros TV about the production environment on The Bachelor shows, we were sent eight testimonials from staffers.
One said that their experience with the pair has been “positive.” “They are receptive to feedback, forward thinking, and genuinely want the show to grow,” the staffer said. “I have found them open to change and willing to think about how to innovate and make the show fresh. In my time working with them, they have been consistently professional and easy to work with.”
Another crew member said they have been “nothing short of professional, fair, and kind”. “I have never seen them raise their voices, behave inappropriately, or humiliate anyone. They have been consistently equanimous and inclusive throughout their tenure, a welcoming change for the franchise. After many, many years of working on this production, Claire and Bennett have brought real positive change to the work environment and the Bachelor franchise,” said the worker.
A third producer said their “experience with Bennett Graebner as a boss has been exceptional. He has always treated me with respect and kindness. I can say the same regarding Claire Freeland.”
Another producer, hired by Freeland and Graebner, added, “For the most part, this team is made up of smart, creative, talented industry professionals, eager to embrace change and keep The Bachelor brand alive. There is a smaller faction of franchise veterans that feel entitled to their place on the series and see change as a real threat. I would suggest that the latter have become complacent after years of constant renewals. ‘This is how we’ve always done it’ won’t cut it anymore. For some, this is a very hard pill to swallow, and Claire and Bennett have become the scapegoats for those who are no longer able to fly under the radar.”
Others have questioned their hiring practices.
Jodi Baskerville, who was promoted to become the franchise’s first Black executive producer in 2021, left in early 2024. She worked on the story side of the post-production division of The Bachelor universe. Baskerville did not respond to a request for comment.
Seven months (and two show cycles) after her departure, the studio hired Michael Margolis and Keely Booth. Margolis and Booth previously worked on the Canadian version of Bachelor in Paradise, a show Freeland previously ran.
The problem? Margolis is Freeland’s husband and Booth an old friend. Warner Bros has formal conflict-of-interest processes in place, as well as protocols to be followed if hired, and the company said that a formal process occurred and that the pair do not report to Freeland.
The hope for everyone involved is that The Bachelor can remain a hit franchise; it remains one of ABC’s signature shows, spawning new spinoffs such as The Golden Bachelor and The Golden Bachelorette all of the time.
“I have helped people fall in love, I’ve been to their weddings and I have seen their babies,” concluded one crew member. “For me, it’s more than just a job and that’s why it’s so hard for me to see this kind of stuff.”
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