Colton Underwood, star of season 23 of The Bachelor, came out as gay this morning in an interview on Good Morning America.
"I've ran from myself for a long time. I've hated myself for a long time," the 29-year-old explained to Robin Roberts. "I'm gay. And I came to terms with that earlier this year and have been processing it. And the next step in all of this was sort of letting people know."
Fans of the show and members of the LGBTQ+ community congratulated Underwood. "Every LGBTQ person’s journey to discovering and accepting their authentic self is different, and Colton Underwood’s decision to share his truth with the public reminds us that there is no set timeline for coming out," GLAAD's head of talent, Anthony Allen Ramos said in a statement. "Given the large and loyal fandom who know Colton from The Bachelor, his coming out and discussion of his faith will hopefully open eyes to the millions of out and proud LGBTQ people who are also people of faith."
Shortly after his coming out, it was reported that Underwood might already have a Netflix series in development following his journey as a gay man. Variety broke the news from an unidentified source "close to production," calling the show "an unscripted series with multiple episodes." They continued: "While the full scope of the series is under wraps, an insider tells Variety that Olympian Gus Kenworthy will appear in the series, acting as a guide, of sorts, for Underwood."
Netflix and Underwood have both declined to comment on the rumored project.
While some are celebrating the coming out, Underwood is facing negative opinions from homophobes as well as his fair share of criticism.
Just last year, Cassie Randolph, his ex-girlfriend from the Bachelor series, filed a restraining order against him citing domestic violence. According to her suit, Underwood was stalking her, put a tracking device on her car, and sent her frightening text messages. Randolph dropped the restraining order last November.
Other critics are frustrated with the publicity and attention Underwood is getting largely because he is a traditionally attractive, white, cis, gay man. To already have a Netflix series documenting his life minutes after coming out to the world is just another example of the privileges our community, as well as the world, extends to a certain kind of story and a certain group of people.
The series is reportedly filming now.