ABC / Josh Vertucci
Colton Underwood, a former lead on The old guy, came out as gay in a very public way this week in an interview with anchor Robin Roberts of Good Morning America. As the news spread, there were also reports that Netflix was working with Underwood on a reality show that would follow his life as an openly gay man. “I’m gay. And I approved and processed it earlier this year,” Underwood told Roberts on Wednesday. “I’m the happiest and healthiest I’ve ever been in my life.”
Some people face significant obstacles in the way of getting out, and Underwood shared his own. “I ran away from myself a long time ago. I hated myself a long time ago,” he told Roberts.
The reaction to Underwood’s revelation was largely supportive, and many – including Levitt’s star, openly gay Schitt’s Creek, and alumni and producers of the popular longtime reality show – praised Underwood’s 29-year-old for his honesty and sending messages of pride and solidarity.
“I am so proud of you that you can finally share and live out your truth,” Tayshia Adams tweeted, who participated in his season of the series and starred in her own season of The Bachelorette, another program in ABC’s reality dating franchise.
. @colton I am so proud of you that you can finally share and live out your truth. Send your love and support! 🤍✨
– Tayshia Adams (@tayshia) 14 April 2021
“Getting out” can be a frightening, uncomfortable and traumatic experience because we are still living in a world where we have to fear the consequences of free life. Let it sink in. So stay tuned @colton Underwood. His courage will undoubtedly save lives today. ♥ ️ https://t.co/gAaYldPD9a
– dan levy (@danjlevy) 14 April 2021
But Underwood’s alleged treatment of Cassie Randolph, the woman he chose during his Bachelor season, made the reactions difficult. After the couple broke up in 2020, Randolph, 25, obtained a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend. She said he placed a tracking device on her car, sent her harassing texts and showed up uninvited to her apartment in LA and her parental home. According to TMZ, she later rejected the restraining order and asked that the police investigation be dropped.
Following the GMA unveiling of Underwood, Variety reported that Netflix is planning a reality show that looks at Underwood’s life as an openly gay man, and is now spreading a petition from Change.org urging Netflix to make the plans to cancel. The petition has more than 10,000 signatures as of Friday morning. Online requests have no real power but serve as a barometer for public opinion.
“Regardless of his sexuality, Colton should not get a platform because of his abusive, manipulative and dangerous behavior,” says the author of the petition.
One of the signatories of the petition wrote: ‘I am a survivor of stalking, and it pushes me to see that someone like this gets a platform as if he did nothing wrong. I’ll absolutely cancel my Netflix subscription if you go through it. ‘
My thoughts on this Colton Underwood Netflix deal … entrepreneurs do not deserve the spotlight. Period. Women are not only tertiary characters in the story of a man, but also become their true selves. He deserves respect for his sexuality, but he does not deserve respect for his abusive behavior
– Hannah Claire (@_hanblackwell) 15 April 2021
The petition also links to a Reddit thread that provides a link to documents in the Randolph-Underwood case.
Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and an Underwood spokesman said the reality star did not comment.
Here’s more about Colton Underwood and the complicated reactions to his outcome and the possibility that he could get his own show.
Who’s Colton Underwood?
Colton Underwood was born in Indianapolis and grew up in Illinois, where he played college football at Illinois State University. The Bachelor considered him a professional football player, but if you have never heard of him, there is a reason. Underwood was signed by the San Diego Chargers in 2014 as an unknown free agent, but resigned before the season began. He played briefly for the training groups of the Philadelphia Eagles and Oakland Raiders, but never appeared in a real NFL game.
His dating life brought him much more notoriety than his sports career. Even before The Bachelor, Underwood went out with gymnast Aly Raisman, a gold medalist in the Olympics. The relationship also made headlines, and the couple even attended the 2017 Golden Globe Awards. They broke up later that year.
His Bachelor life
Underwood first appears as a participant in Becca Kufrin’s season of The Bachelorette in 2018. He is eventually eliminated, but reappears in the franchise’s spin-off show, Bachelor in Paradise. By this time, he had become a favorite of some fans, and the producers of the program portrayed him in the title role of The Bachelor for the 2019 season and considered him ‘the virgin bachelor’. Underwood chose California speech pathologist Cassie Randolph, but did not introduce her in the final marriage.
Show of police involvement
Underwood and Randolph dated for a year before breaking up in May 2020. She filed the diversion order in court before dismissing it and requesting that the police investigation be dropped.
“The two of us were able to reach a private agreement to address Cassie’s concerns,” Underwood told TMZ at the time. “I do not believe Cassie did anything wrong when she submitted the restraining order and I also believe that she acted in good faith.”
Come out and Cassie
Underwood told Good Morning America that Randolph did not know he was gay. He also said he wanted to apologize to his ex-girlfriend, and although he did not address the restraining order directly, he admitted: “I made mistakes at the end of the relationship.” Following the interview, many of Reddit expressed their support for Randolph and shared their own stories about being harassed by former partners.
Some also resented underwood over any connection between harassing behavior and confusion about his sexuality.
“As a gay man,” wrote a Reddit user, “I find this whole thing disgusting. I spent most of my time in the closet processing my sexuality. It’s still something I’m about to be out and proud of.
“For his behavior to be excused because he was gay is wrong. It paints this picture that gay men are somehow in the closet, unstable, but healed by coming out? That his actions were excusable because he “I was confused by the story. I’m offended by that.”
If the reality show takes place, a source told Variety that it will focus on Underwood’s encounter life and on the discovery of his sexuality as a gay man. Us magazine reported that Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy was filmed with Underwood. Kenworthy came out as gay in 2015.
Underwood’s release may even fall back on the show that made him famous. Nameless Bachelor sources told TMZ that Underwood’s outcome has sparked internal discussion among show producers about the possibility of delivering a gay season of the show.