Mike Johnson was the people’s choice when it came to who should have been the last Bachelor. However, when the network went with Pilot Pete, whose season ended up being one of the most poorly reviewed — fans saw that ABC didn’t have any intention of casting a black man as the lead.

Now that the industry is promising to be more inclusive, Matt James was officially named as the lucky man who is looking for love on-air. It was very off-putting since Matt was one of the contenders for the new Bachelorette — Clare Crawley.

Nevertheless, many people are excited to have Tyler Cameran’s BFF as the new hunk.

Although many are still wondering why they didn’t choose Johnson instead — he is actually happy for his friend.

Mike took to Instagram to congratulate the 28-year-old: ‘What’s up beautiful people, it’s me Mike. I just want to give a huge shout out to Matt James as the new Bachelor. Congratulations bruh. I texted him earlier and show him love and shout him out publicly as well. I also want to give a huge shout out to ABC. They listened to us…I’m giving you a shout out as the fans. Love you guys so much. They listened to you guys. Your voices are definitely being heard. Give yourself a pat on the back, seriously, that’s amazing.’

The 32-year-old went on to say: ‘Don’t feel bad for me at all. I am just so elated. I have so many things coming down the pipeline. Just quite honestly, be happy, baby. Don’t say nothing bad about my homie. Matt’s gonna do a great job… we got a black lead which is an amazing thing.’

One of the executives of the show, Rob Mills, promised that they would do better when casting contestants.

‘We are taking positive steps to expand diversity in our cast, in our staff, and most importantly, in the relationships that we show on television. We can and will do better to reflect the world around us and show all of its beautiful love stories.’

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It’s great to see that ABC has made the first step in adding more diversity. Hopefully, they stick to their promise.