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‘The Bachelor’ Loses Its Cold, Black Heart

For two decades, Mike Fleiss was the twisted genius behind the Bachelor franchise. With his exit this week following an investigation into racial discrimination in casting, details are emerging on a consensus member of Reality TV’s All-Star Asshole team.

An HR investigation led to the departure of ‘The Bachelor’ franchise creator Mike Fleiss.
An HR investigation led to the departure of ‘The Bachelor’ franchise creator Mike Fleiss. Photo: Steven Lawton/FilmMagic
Matthew Belloni
March 31, 2023

A round of applause on the Warner Bros. lot is probably in order for Samantha Mirabello. She’s the Warners attorney and investigator who, I’m told, looked into Bachelor franchise creator Mike Fleiss’s behavior after several staffers complained about racially discriminatory casting and emotional bullying. The results of Mirabello’s probe led Warners and Disney to finally push Fleiss out this week after 21 years as a notorious figure in the unscripted television community.