Thankfully, there haven't been a lot of issues with regards to cast member backgrounds on The Bachelor franchise, but there was a major oversight made on the most recent season of The Bachelorette. During the background check process for the recently completed season, Lincoln Adim was able to make it through, even though he was facing charges for indecent assault and battery stemming from a 2016 incident in Boston. Adim, rather understandably, did not disclose his legal issues, and the standard background check run by the show failed to reveal the charges against him. Adim was actually convicted in May 2018, right before his season of The Bachelorette began airing. Luckily, those behind the show have a plan in place to keep situations like that from arising again. Here's what ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey had to say on the matter:
Because it all goes through Warner Horizon, the studio, I can't speak specifically about the processes, but what I can say is that after these last few events we had a big meeting that involved the network, Warner Horizon, and the producers to talk about our vetting process and how we might be more diligent than we have been. I will say, given how many people have gone through the Bachelor and Bachelorette franchises, the small handful of issues that we've had is small on a percentage basis. But that said, we shouldn't have any. We should not be having these problems and we are committed to finding ways to increase our vetting so we are not having these problems in the future.
As Channing Dungey notes, the amount of missteps that have happened with regards to the background checks of contestants is very small compared with the hundreds of people who've made it onto The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, but the idea that a check would miss something as major as indecent assault charges is still shocking. It's also not something that either ABC, the producers of the franchise or the studio behind the shows want to happen again. Aside from leading to a potentially dangerous atmosphere for the contestants and bachelor/bachelorette (let's not forget that these people actually live together while filming) which could lead to physical injury, emotional trauma and lawsuits should something go wrong, it also makes the franchise, as a whole, look bad.
In her talk with TV Guide, it's clear that Channing Dungey and everyone involved with the Bachelor franchise was shocked when they found out that not only had Adim's charges not shown up on his background check, but that he was convicted of those charges. The instance showed everyone that the standard background check was lacking.
While speaking with Variety, ABC executive Rob Mills noted that they are now doing much more thorough background checks and, in that process, have found where the "loophole" was that allowed Adim's criminal charges to go unreported. He also said they believe they've now found a way to make sure nothing like that ever happens again.
Well, we certainly hope all involved have really found a way to keep anyone with a serious criminal history from getting on any of this franchise's shows. You can watch Bachelor in Paradise right now on ABC every Monday and Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST. For more on what you can watch in the coming weeks, check out our summer and fall premiere guides.
