Colton Underwood may get show after coming out as gay: Why there’s backlash

Colton Underwood, a former lead on The Bachelor, came out as gay in a very public way this week in an interview with Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts. As the news spread, so did reports that Netflix is working with Underwood on a reality show that follows his life as an openly gay man. “I’m gay. And I came to terms with that earlier this year and have been processing it,” Underwood told Roberts on Wednesday. “I’m the happiest and healthiest I’ve ever been in my life.”

Some people face considerable obstacles on their path to coming out, and Underwood shared his own. “I’ve ran from myself for a long time. I’ve hated myself for a long time,” he told Roberts.   

The response to Underwood’s revelation has been largely supportive, with many — including Schitt’s Creek star Dan Levy who is openly gay, and alumni and producers of the popular long-running reality dating show — applauding the 29-year-old Underwood for his honesty and sending messages of pride and solidarity. 

“I am so proud of you for finally being able to share and live your truth,” tweeted Tayshia Adams, who competed on his season of the series and went on to star in her own season of The Bachelorette, another show in ABC’s reality dating franchise.  

But Underwood’s alleged past treatment of Cassie Randolph, the woman he chose on his Bachelor season, has complicated the reactions. After the pair’s breakup in 2020, Randolph, 25, was granted a restraining order against her former boyfriend. She said he’d placed a tracking device on her car, sent her harassing texts and showed up uninvited to her LA apartment and her parent’s home. According to TMZ, she later dismissed the restraining order and asked that the police investigation be dropped. 

Following Underwood’s GMA revelation, Variety reported that Netflix is planning a reality show that looks at Underwood’s life as an openly gay man, and now a Change.org petition is circulating urging Netflix to cancel those plans. The petition has more than 10,000 signatures as of Friday morning. Online petitions have no actual power, but they do serve as a barometer of public opinion.  

“Regardless of his sexuality, Colton should not be given a platform as a result of his abusive, manipulative and dangerous behavior,” the writer of the petition says. 

Wrote one of the petition’s signers, “I’m a survivor of stalking, and it repulses me to see someone like this given a platform as though he’s done nothing wrong. I will absolutely cancel my Netflix subscription if you go through with this.”

The petition also links to a Reddit thread offering a link to documents in the Randolph-Underwood case.

Netflix didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, and a representative for Underwood said the reality star had no comment.  

Here’s more on Colton Underwood and the complex reactions to his coming out and the possibility of him getting his own show.    

Who’s Colton Underwood?

Colton Underwood was born in Indianapolis and raised in Illinois, where he played college football at Illinois State University. The Bachelor hyped him as a pro football player, but if you never heard of him, there’s a reason. Underwood was signed as an undrafted free agent by the San Diego Chargers in 2014 but waived before the season…