The Bachelor continues to come under attack for issues regarding race and diversity. In the midst of the controversy with Rachael Kirkconnell’s controversial past resurfacing on social media, former The Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay saying she won’t renew her contract after becoming tired of the racist infrastructure and the absence of Chris Harrison, Lindsay is now speaking out over a “disturbing” scene between Matt James and his father. 

Monday night’s episode of The Bachelor showed James confronting his father about their past in an emotional sit-down chat. 

Lindsay was a guest on Monday’s episode of the Bachelor Party podcast and despite “taking a break from all Bachelor talk” to “protect [her] peace of mind,” she made an exception to give her take on racial stereotypes.

“What’s the one thing we know about [Matt’s] dad? That he wasn’t around,” Lindsay said, as reported by People. “That’s all we know which, if you know anything about stereotypes that are assigned to particular races — here, the Black race — you know that absentee fathers is a stereotype.”

She continued, “We know that Matt has not been able to open up and to fully express himself in these relationships because he still has to get over the hurdle of confronting his father about the fact that he was not around when [Matt] was growing up,” she said. “And Matt can’t get to the next level until he has this conversation. That’s how this has been presented to us.”

“What’s the one thing we know about [Matt’s] dad? That he wasn’t around,” Lindsay explained. “That’s all we know which, if you know anything about stereotypes that are assigned to particular races — here, the Black race — you know that absentee fathers is a stereotype.”

Lindsay said this was a part of the show exploiting people of color for “good TV.”

“If the Bachelor franchise has shown us anything, it is that they don’t know to protect people of color, they only know how to exploit them,” she said. “They only know how to mishandle situations when they come to race. That is what they’ve shown us time and time again. This should have never been aired for America to see — and for people who will say that we’re exaggerating or making a bigger deal of this, this is one of those times where you should just sit and listen to what people who have been stereotyped in this way have to say. This conversation may have been necessary for Matt. Maybe Matt did need this, but this was a conversation that should have been just for Matt, not for the rest of the world to see.”

James himself also tweeted about the conversation, seemingly sharing some of the feelings that Lindsay had about the scene.

“Tonight’s convo with my dad was hard to experience, and it’s just as hard to watch all this time later, especially knowing the world is watching with me,” he wrote on Twitter. He also shared a link to a resource from The Opportunity Agenda. “All I hope is that people watch that conversation with nuance, care, and also an understanding that there are real systemic issues at play,” he said. I’m so proud of myself for being vulnerable, and I’m so proud of my mother. I wouldn’t be who I am without my dad. That’s a fact.”