Bring on the damage control! Golden Bachelor Season 2 lead, Mel Owens, got dragged earlier this summer after he went on a podcast and said that he wouldn’t be interested in dating women over 60. It was a bold thing for a 71-year-old to say before going on a show about senior citizens looking for love, so we knew it was only a matter of time before he walked back his comments. Like clockwork, he just put his foot all the way in his mouth.
What does Golden Bachelor Mel Owens want from his women?
As a reminder, Mel’s controversial comments arrived as he recalled a conversation he had with Golden Bachelor’s executive producer. The 71-year-old former football player said he wanted to stay away from women with “wigs” and “artificial hips.”
“They ask me, ‘What’s your preference?’ So I just said 45 to 60, just being honest,” Mel said on the podcast. “And then we had lunch with the executive producer. I said, ‘You know, if they’re 60 or over, I’m cutting them.’”
Despite calls for ABC to replace Mel with someone else, they moved forward with the season. and are currently filming. He spoke with Glamour about the experience so far, and he said that he “didn’t know” his comments would be offensive because he didn’t have enough context about the show’s premise.
“I didn’t know the age range [for Golden Bachelor] because I wasn’t watching it. I’m thinking, to me, the age range was 45 to 60. That’s my age range. I’m thinking that’s the gold years for me,” Mel said.
According to the outlet, Golden Bachelor Season 2 is roughly two weeks into production. Mel said that the casting team gave him age-appropriate dating options, despite his initial comments. They’re all over 60.
“I’m absolutely shocked at the women,” Mel said. “Of how active they are. They’re brilliant. They’re brilliant. It’s shocking how brilliant they are.”
Keep in mind, all of these women went into the season knowing that they weren’t what he originally had in mind. He said he started the season off by apologizing to all of the contestants.
“I said, ‘It was unfair, insensitive. I want to earn it back. Just give me the chance,'” Mel revealed. “And hopefully, these last two weeks I earned some of that back.”
Golden Bachelor Season 2 premieres on Wednesday, September 24th, at 8/7c on ABC.
TELL US – WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON MEL’S APOLOGY? DO YOU STILL PLAN ON WATCHING SEASON 2 OF GOLDEN BACHELOR?
