Mike Johnson, Dylan Barbour, JoJo Fletcher and More ‘Bachelor’ Alums React to Peter Weber’s Casting

Credit: ABC/Ed Herrera

Mike Johnson, Dylan Barbour, JoJo Fletcher and More 'Bachelor' Alums React to Peter Weber's Casting

Love is about to take flight, but are all of the members of Bachelor Nation onboard? Mike Johnson, Dylan Barbour and more spoke out after Peter Weber was named the Bachelor for season 24. ABC made the announcement at the season 6 Bachelor in Paradise reunion, which aired on Tuesday, September 17. "I feel so grateful," Peter said after Chris Harrison brought out the leading man. "I have all the faith in the world that this can work for me, and I know it's going to. … I was wired for that entire flight. It was crazy. And I [couldn’t] tell anyone [because] it was my secret.” The following day, the 28-year-old pilot discussed his new role on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. “I just lost my mind, I just started going crazy,” he recalled to Ellen DeGeneres about getting the photo call from producers. “The funny part was, I had to fly a red-eye that night from Burbank to Atlanta for my job. I was, like, ‘I’ve got to bring this down again. I’ve got to focus.’” Peter, who competed for Hannah Brown’s heart on season 15 of The Bachelorette, added that he’s ready to find love. [jwplayer Lg0DnMk9-l3ahXupL] “I’m just ready to immerse myself in this journey and hopefully come out with fiancée at the end,” he explained. "I’ve been moving on and I don’t know that I’ll ever completely lose all that love in my heart for her, and I kind of hope I don’t, because that will show me what I had was true and it was real … But, I’m ready to move on and I’m ready to find my girl, and I’m very hopeful this is going to work out.” Fellow season 15 contestants Mike and Tyler Cameron were also in the running earlier this summer. Tyler, for his part, was seemingly not an option anymore after he started seeing supermodel Gigi Hadid. “[Gigi] is ‘really into’ [Tyler],” an insider told Us last month after the twosome were spotted together all over New York City. Mike, meanwhile, made it clear he was down to become the first black Bachelor ever. He has, however, found comfort with singer Demi Lovato. “Demi Lovato and I went on a date,” he told Entertainment Tonight after the pair were spotted flirting on social media. “The woman is quite astounding and amazing. … When Demi and I are together, it’s laughter and we talk about real s—t. Like, she’s a down-to-earth woman and I respect it so much. And she’s just a really humble, really cool, really fun, down-to-earth person.” The Bachelor returns to ABC Monday, January 6, 2020, at 8 p.m. ET. Scroll through to see the best reactions from Bachelor Nation:

Credit: ABC/Ed Herrera

Mike Johnson, Dylan Barbour, JoJo Fletcher and More 'Bachelor' Alums React to Peter Weber's Casting

Love is about to take flight, but are all of the members of Bachelor Nation onboard? Mike Johnson, Dylan Barbour and more spoke out after Peter Weber was named the Bachelor for season 24. ABC made the announcement at the season 6 Bachelor in Paradise reunion, which aired on Tuesday, September 17. "I feel so grateful," Peter said after Chris Harrison brought out the leading man. "I have all the faith in the world that this can work for me, and I know it's going to. … I was wired for that entire flight. It was crazy. And I [couldn’t] tell anyone [because] it was my secret.” The following day, the 28-year-old pilot discussed his new role on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. “I just lost my mind, I just started going crazy,” he recalled to Ellen DeGeneres about getting the photo call from producers. “The funny part was, I had to fly a red-eye that night from Burbank to Atlanta for my job. I was, like, ‘I’ve got to bring this down again. I’ve got to focus.’” Peter, who competed for Hannah Brown’s heart on season 15 of The Bachelorette, added that he’s ready to find love. [jwplayer Lg0DnMk9-l3ahXupL] “I’m just ready to immerse myself in this journey and hopefully come out with fiancée at the end,” he explained. "I’ve been moving on and I don’t know that I’ll ever completely lose all that love in my heart for her, and I kind of hope I don’t, because that will show me what I had was true and it was real … But, I’m ready to move on and I’m ready to find my girl, and I’m very hopeful this is going to work out.” Fellow season 15 contestants Mike and Tyler Cameron were also in the running earlier this summer. Tyler, for his part, was seemingly not an option anymore after he started seeing supermodel Gigi Hadid. “[Gigi] is ‘really into’ [Tyler],” an insider told Us last month after the twosome were spotted together all over New York City. Mike, meanwhile, made it clear he was down to become the first black Bachelor ever. He has, however, found comfort with singer Demi Lovato. “Demi Lovato and I went on a date,” he told Entertainment Tonight after the pair were spotted flirting on social media. “The woman is quite astounding and amazing. … When Demi and I are together, it’s laughter and we talk about real s—t. Like, she’s a down-to-earth woman and I respect it so much. And she’s just a really humble, really cool, really fun, down-to-earth person.” The Bachelor returns to ABC Monday, January 6, 2020, at 8 p.m. ET. Scroll through to see the best reactions from Bachelor Nation:

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Chad Johnson

"He's all right," the former U.S. Marine told Us exclusively at Operation Smile Hollywood Fight Night on November 6. "He seems like a sweet man. They didn't really show you anything. I mean, he had sex with the Bachelorette and that’s pretty much all I know about him. He seems to be like a sweet guy. So, I can't really give too much opinion on him. I have no clue. I don't think that anybody can really."

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Eric Bigger

“I thought Peter should be the next Bachelor. I really was like, ‘Peter's the guy.’ He just fits the mold. He fits the show. He fits that audience,” Eric, who competed on Rachel’s season of The Bachelorette in 2017, told Us at the Wags & Walks gala in October. “He fits what they're looking for. I think he's a great guy.”

The former Bachelor Winter Games contestant added that Peter “seemed liked he was ready for” the journey when they met a few weeks ago.

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Robby Hayes

“When I first heard this, I thought it was the other Peter from Rachel’s season,” the Bachelorette season 12 runner-up told Us, referring to Peter Kraus. "If [the other Peter] was in here, I couldn’t pick him out of a crowd. Seriously, I don’t follow it. ... It’s just so long ago. … [But] I’m sure he’ll do great.”

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Amanda Stanton

“I think he'll do a good job,” the Now Accepting Roses author told Us after admitting that she didn’t watch Hannah’s season of The Bachelorette. “I was traveling a lot over the spring and summer and I actually don't have cable in my house, so I didn't have a chance to watch it, but I've seen some stuff, so I think he'll be good! He's a pilot and he's cute! I think he'll do great.” 

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Mike Johnson

“I would 100 percent have accepted being the Bachelor if they had chosen me,” Mike admitted to Extra. “I think I would have made a really good Bachelor. I would have been the first black Bachelor, as well as the first veteran Bachelor. ABC made a great choice with Peter — that’s who they decided to go with. I’m a phenomenal man and still am. The point of going on The Bachelorette was to find love, and that opportunity is still there for me.”

The Air Force vet did throw a little shade at Peter, however, joking that he could have outdone Peter and Hannah’s now-infamous windmill sex.

“I’m in better shape and my stamina is longer and that’s where it lies,” Mike quipped.“For what they are trying to capture, Pete gives them.”

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Kendall Long and Joe Amabile

"I’m excited. I’m looking forward to all of the windmill jokes on the first night," Long told Us at Gentle Barn’s 20th Anniversary Celebration on September 28. "I think if you are open to love and you are looking for it then that constitutes a good Bachelor."

Amabile added, "He seems like a really genuine guy. ... I think with every Bachelor, there’s backlash, like, 'Oh we wanted this person or that person!' But overall I think people are happy."

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Caitlin Clemmens

"I didn’t watch too much toward the tail end of Hannah’s season, but Peter’s really attractive. He seems like a really down to earth guy, he’s got a good family and a good job," the Bachelor in Paradise alum told Us on September 27. "I’m curious to see how it goes. He’s got that risqué side to him too!"

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Derek Peth

“Personally, I was always an advocate for Mike for Bachelor, from day one. You can go back many months, I think to the second week of their season, and I was saying ‘I really like Mike,’” Derek told Us exclusively at the Bachelor Podcast Suite at the 2019 iHeartRadio Festival. “But Peter definitely, from things he said at the reunion show, shows he has a good head on his shoulders. He's thinking about things the right way. So, at least from the way it sounds so far, he's interested in the right things. But I really, really wish that Mike would have been picked Bachelor. Because, again, I think representation matters and that would have been great for all of us to see more diversity. It's such a Caucasian-centric, heterocentric.”

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Ben Higgins

While the season 20 Bachelor doesn’t “know a ton about” Peter, he’s confident it will be a good season. “I think he cares. I think, [from] what I’ve seen is he’s sincere, he doesn’t think too highly of himself, but he also doesn’t think too low of himself either,” Higgins said told Us exclusively at the Bachelor in Paradise season 6 reunion taping. “I think he has a good head on his shoulders. I’m excited to see where this takes him.”

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Jordan Rodgers

While the SEC commentator, who met fiancé JoJo Fletcher on season 12 of The Bachelorette, admitted to Us that he’s “never watched a full episode” of The Bachelor, The Bachelorette or Bachelor in Paradise, he is on board with Peter.

“I was hoping for pilot Pete or Mike, so I'm happy and I know there's a couple of guys from that last season that were in the running for the Bachelor that have moved on to other relationships and they're doing great,” Jordan told Us while discussing his partnership with CheapTickets. “So I don't think Mike was in the running for that for one of those reasons, so I think Pete is gonna be great. A lot of good feedback about him. I'm excited for that. It's always, you know, it doesn't matter who it is, it's always a good season. There's always drama, there's always everything you could want so he’s gonna be great.”

“Get that celebrity boo,” Jordan added, referring to both Mike and Tyler. “That’s great. Are you kidding? You get dumped on a TV show and then some celebrity is coming after you? Like good for them. Like that's awesome. I love it.”

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Dylan Barbour

“Peter is a really good guy and he, he's just super down to earth and just super like what you see is what you get,” Dylan, who appeared on season 15 of The Bachelorette with Peter, told Us at the BiP reunion taping. “And I think there are going to be a lot of girls lining up to get to know Peter, so I think it's going to be a really good season.”

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John Paul Jones

Fellow season 24 contestant JPJ agreed. “I think Peter's at a spot personally, professionally to settle down an  meet his wife,” he told Us at the reunion taping. “I’m super excited and I think America is really going to enjoy watching him fall in love.”

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Rachel Lindsay

The former Bachelorette, who made history as the only black lead during season 13, was disappointed that Mike didn’t get a shot at love.

“I think Peter seems like a very nice guy. He seems lovely. This is absolutely nothing against him, but how many Peters have we seen before? What season are we on? 24. So, we’ve seen 24 Peters,” Rachel told Entertainment Tonight. “I’m bored. And it’s nothing personal against him. … I want to be hopeful, but when you have a contestant like Mike Johnson, who seems to check all the boxes, how is he not the Bachelor? I don’t understand.”

Rachel added that the “system isn’t working in giving us a Bachelor who is a person of color.”

“We need to change the system. Something has to be done. Break the rules, step outside the box, give the people what they want!” she explained. “You’ve seen some of the girls that Peter’s dated. It came out before, his girlfriend was in the news from the past, before Hannah. So, you know what his type is at this point. And so, I expect girls to look more like Hannah than they do like me or someone else of color.”

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Nick Viall

“As a person, I really enjoy Pete. I think he's fantastic,” the season 21 Bachelor told Us exclusively at the Plenty of Fish Dine and Dish event. “I don't know a ton, but the little bit that I do know, he's a very charming and charismatic guy.I have a sense that we'll see more layers of Pete. … And I think more will be a little bit more of personality and more character. He may be a little more of a risk-taker than we expect.”

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JoJo Fletcher

The former Bachelorette is “so excited” to watch Peter’s journey to find love. “He was one of my top picks, so I loved him,” she told Us at McDelivery Night In with McDonald’s and Uber Eats.

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Becca Tilley

JoJo’s BFF and fellow season 20 Bachelor contestant also weighed in on the choice at the McDonald’s event.

“I think he's great, but I met Mike Johnson on the plane last night, and I thought he would have been great!” Becca told Us. “I think they had a lot of good options from Hannah’s season, but Peter will be great, and whoever they chose, I'm sure it will be an entertaining season as always.”

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Hannah Brown

While the season 15 Bachelorette has moved on to Dancing With the Stars, she told Entertainment Tonight that she’s “really happy” for Peter, who she eliminated after the fantasy suite dates.

“I had real feelings for him and I know that he had real feelings for me, but ultimately when you care for somebody, you want them to find their happiness,” Hannah said. “So, I think he's going to be a great Bachelor and is going to make all those girls really, really happy and have a really great experience."

The former pageant queen added that Mike would have also been a “great Bachelor.”

"I feel like the people that have been doing this for years and making these decisions, make these decisions for a reason,” she explained. “It's not that one person's better than the other."

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Ali Fedotowsky

The “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast host wrote on her blog that she was “pulling for Peter to be the Bachelor for quite some time now.”

“I absolutely adore Peter and feel like he is going to be one of the best Bachelors ever! However, I got thinking about why I felt that way. And I realized after talking with my friend and former Bachelorette, Rachel, that it’s because Peter is a lot like and reminds me so much of Ben Higgins. And I adore Ben Higgins!” the season 6 Bachelorette explained. “I don’t like to pick favorites but I could definitely make a strong argument for the reasons why I think Ben is one of the best Bachelors we’ve ever had. And his relationship didn’t work out from the show! But I strongly believe that whether or not a relationship works out from the show is not a good enough reason to say whether or not someone was a good Bachelor or not.”

However, after chatting with Rachel, Ali admitted that viewers have “seen Peter as the Bachelor before.”

“I get that maybe Peter was the strongest choice for them from this past season. And I know a lot of people are pulling for Mike. I for one was not pulling for Mike. Not because I don’t think Mike is a great guy. I absolutely do! But I just never connected with him for some reason. I think that’s because the show didn’t show us enough of him. And I’m sure there’s a reason for that. Because the show knows what they’re doing. But whatever the reason we just didn’t see much of him,” she wrote. “So how cool would it be, and again I’m stealing all this from Rachel so I want to give her credit, if the show went and did an open casting call and interviewed a diverse group of men to find the absolute best candidate and switch things up! It’s funny because you guys as viewers had said you want the franchise to bring in somebody new season after season and I’ve always argued that the show doesn’t do that because they have a formula that works. But I don’t argue that anymore!”

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Jared Haibon and Ashley Iaconetti

The newly married couple cited their friend Nick Viall’s tweet, “Who ever is named the next Bachelor... just remember you all thought you wanted Blake over Colton and anyone over Hannah B.”

“I think he's going to be great. Nick actually had a great point where he said, everybody wanted Blake over Colton and nobody wanted Hannah B. to be Bachelorette,” Jared told Us at the Plenty of Fish Dine and Dish event.

“They know what they're doing,” Ashley added. “Trust them.”