Former Bachelor lead Colton Underwood has landed himself a reality series with Netflix, but it’s already off to a rough start following petitions for it to be cancelled. After his interview on Good Morning America where he opened up about being gay, Underwood has received support and a whole lot of backlash. Not many can forget his past with ex-girlfriend Cassie Randolph – from placing a tracker on her car to threatening texts, resulting in a restraining order. Whether Netflix will be persuaded into cancelling the series before it even airs is TBA, so for now lets unload all the drama that is putting a damper to Underwood’s return to the world of reality.
The Turbulent Relationship Of Colton and Cassie
In 2019, Underwood’s journey on the Bachelor ended with him hopping over a fence to chase after the woman that had dumped him. It was one of the most suspenseful moments in Bachelor history, as Chris Harrison would say, and the start to a very turbulent relationship between Underwood and Cassie Randolph. In his memoir The First Time, Underwood revealed to having secretly split with Randolph for a couple weeks, saying: “To put it frank, after the show, we weren’t communicating as well as we once did and we needed space”. Although the split was temporary at the time, the lack of communication would end up separating the couple for good in 2020.
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After months of quarantining together and following Underwood’s COVID-19 recovery, the pair dropped the news of their spit via Instagram. With words of love and a series of photos from happier days, they reflected on their time together and why they believed it was better for them to remain friends. Bachelor Nation mourned the sad news until the breakup began to get messier in later weeks, allowing everyone to see what had truly gone wrong.
Underwood and Randolph unfollowed each other on Instagram in Aug. 2020 and one month later, a restraining order had been granted in her favor. Randolph accused Underwood of attaching a tracker to her car, bombarding her and those close to her with harassing texts, and showing up at her home uninvited. The judge granted a temporary restraining order that was later dropped in November after the Bachelor stars had worked things out privately.
Interview With Good Morning America
Almost a year after ending their relationship, Underwood sat down for an interview with Robin Roberts on the April 14 episode of Good Morning America where he came out as gay. He revealed to having known he was gay since he was a freshman in high school, but would “pray” endlessly to be straight. During the interview, he also apologized to Randolph for how he handled things throughout their relationship. Underwood also felt remorseful about dragging people through his journey of self-discovery, especially when on The Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise.
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Bachelor nation was quick to send their full support to Underwood, praising him for his courage in speaking out when knowing that he would be fully judged due to his past on the show. Harrison, who is currently sidelined from the dating franchise, was one of the first to congratulate the former football player on Instagram.
“Very proud of you today @coltonunderwood Happy to see you stand up and openly live your truth. You have my love and support my friend,” Harrison captioned a photo of him with Underwood.
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The Netflix Series Will Follow Underwood’s Journey As A Gay Man
Now, as Underwood lives an authentic life, Netflix will explore his journey as a gay man in an unscripted series. The project is currently in production and while the full scope of the series is under wraps at the moment, Variety has reported that Olympian Gus Kenworthy, an openly gay freestyle skier, will be the one to act as Underwood’s “guide” to the gay community.
The series is expected to not only focus on Underwood’s new life, but on what it means to be gay for pro athletes and devout Catholic believers. In his interview with Good Morning America, Underwood reflected on both these challenges that led him to having suicidal thoughts. Undoubtedly the series will have an impact for anyone struggling to come out and find acceptance within themselves.
More than 30K Want To Cancel The Series
Although Underwood has received a great amount of support, there is currently a petition on Change.org to cancel his upcoming Netflix series. The petition was started on April 14 by an anonymous user, citing the alleged stalking and harassment of Randolph.
“Cassie is a victim of Colton’s abuse, and he does not deserve a platform in any way,” reads the petition. “Regardless of his sexuality, Colton should not be given a platform as a result of his abusive, manipulative, and dangerous behavior.”
As of today, the petition has more than 30,000 signatures asking Netflix to pull the plug on the series before it officially airs. Members of the LGBTQ+ community have also voiced their discontent over Underwood’s past and what looks to them as him capitalizing on his sexuality.
The petition is one of many that Netflix has faced over the years, so it’s unlikely that Underwood’s series will get the early axe. With more than 2 million followers on Instagram, the 30k signatures aren’t really enough to get Underwood worried.
