Ahead of the announcement that Peter Weber had become the next Bachelor, many viewers — and Bachelor Nation members — rallied for Mike Johnson. Not only was he a fan-favorite on Hannah Brown‘s season but there has yet to be an African American Bachelor.
Instead, Weber was named as the season 24 lead. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight published on Friday, January 3, the 28-year-old opened up about being the second-ever Hispanic Bachelor, after Juan Pablo Galavis, and highlighting his Cuban side.
“You see a lot of my Cuban roots come out from probably the first episode,” he said. “There’s definitely a theme of the whole Hispanic side throughout the show, I’m not gonna lie. It’s cool. And I love that.”
Weber also revealed that his family “plays a big role” in the season as well. His mother, Barbara Weber is Cuban and a former Miss Illinois, who met Peter Sr. while working as a flight attendant. Fans fell in love with the pair when they were introduced during Hannah Brown‘s season of The Bachelorette.
“They’re just my biggest supporters,” he told ET.
Johnson, 31, recently spoke about the lack of diversity on The Bachelor.
“Yes, Peter has a Cuban mom, but let’s just be honest — he’s white, right? And that’s just being completely transparent,” he told ET at the time. “I think that there should be an Asian lead, an Indian lead… diversity is not just black and white. It’s not just salt and pepper.”
Rachel Lindsay, who is the only African American Bachelorette was also vocal about the choice to pass on Johnson — and isn’t sure anything will change any time soon.
“I’m not hopeful at all. That’s why I keep talking about it because maybe it’ll start the conversation and maybe it’ll change,” the attorney, 34, told Us Weekly exclusively in October. “Even after me, you’ve had Sienne [Fleming], you’ve had Tayshia Adams. Not that Hannah B. was bad. But she was number nine. Tayshia was number three [of Colton Underwood’s contestants]. Usually, the system picks one of the top four, why not? Before, the excuse would be, ‘No one is making it far enough.’ Now they are. So now what?”
The Bachelor premieres on ABC Monday, January 6, at 8 p.m. ET.
