No One Wants to Watch Colton Underwood & Gus Kenworthy's Netflix Show
No One Wants to Watch Colton Underwood & Gus Kenworthy's Netflix Show

The freshly-out Bachelor star is getting his very own reality series — and there's already a petition against it.
If the news of Colton Underwood getting his very own Netflix reality series where Olympic freeskier Gus Kenworthy acts as his "guide to the gay world" made your eyes roll to the back of your head, trust us, you aren't alone. In fact, there's already a petition to get the show from even being made...
In case you missed it, 29-year-old Bachelor star and former football player Colton Underwood had a very public coming out last week after denying his sexuality when asked by various media outlets over the past few years.
\u201cJUST IN: Former \u201cBachelor\u201d star @Colton Underwood speaks his truth and comes out to @robinroberts: \u201cI\u2019m gay. And I came to terms with that earlier this year and have been processing it\u2026 I\u2019m the happiest and healthiest I\u2019ve ever been in my life.\u201d https://t.co/PoYJUAPBpA\u201d— Good Morning America (@Good Morning America) 1618400253
Shortly after coming out as gay (and we literally mean just a few hours later), Variety was reporting that Underwood was already set to film his very own reality show for popular streaming platform Netflix, described as "an unscripted series with multiple episodes, focusing on Colton living his life publicly as a gay man," with Kenworthy appearing in the show "acting as a guide, of sorts, for Underwood."
\u201cBREAKING: #ColtonUnderwood has landed his own Netflix reality show, multiple sources tell me. Netflix & Colton's rep declined to comment. \n\nThe series is currently filming. Olympian Gus Kenworthy will act as Colton's "gay guide," a source described to me. https://t.co/UXL1J5Ccgy\u201d— Elizabeth Wagmeister (@Elizabeth Wagmeister) 1618415304
The decision by Netflix to give Colton his very own reality show 0.002 seconds after his public coming out drew ire from many, and for good reason.
Besides the obvious privilege of a conventionally attractive, cis, white, male celebrity getting his own show after literally just coming out of the closet, last year Underwood's Bachelor co-star and ex-girlfriend Cassie Randolph filed a restraining order against him. In her suit, Randolph said Underwood stalked her, put a tracking device on her car, and sent her frightening text messages. Although Randolph dropped the restraining order last November, many were scratching their heads and left wondering why someone with a manipulative and abusive past was going to be getting a huge public platform via Netflix — and now, an online petition has been created to stop the whole series from happening.
"It was announced that Colton Underwood would be the focus of a Netflix documentary about being an out gay man," the description of the anonymously-created "Cancel Colton Underwood’s Netflix Documentary" petition on Change.org reads. "On Good Morning America, he came out as gay, and held an interview regarding his sexuality."
It continues:
"Colton is a former bachelor lead who stalked his final pick, Cassie Randolph. He placed a tracker on her car, sent her and her friends anonymous threatening texts, and was even seen standing outside her window extremely late in the night, resulting in her brother attempting to de-escalate the situation. Cassie is a victim of Colton’s abuse, and he does not deserve a platform in any way. Regardless of his sexuality, Colton should not be given a platform as a result of his abusive, manipulative, and dangerous behavior."
At the time of reporting, the petition has over 21,200+ signatures of a 25,000+ signature goal, and after scrolling through social media and seeing the current sentiment, it's not hard to understand why so many people don't want Underwood to get his own Netflix show.
\u201cMy thoughts on this Colton Underwood Netflix deal..abusers don\u2019t deserve the spotlight. Period. Women aren\u2019t just tertiary characters in a male\u2019s story arch in becoming their true self. He deserves respect for his sexuality but he does not deserve respect for his abusive behavior\u201d— Hannah Claire (@Hannah Claire) 1618505524
\u201c*abuser and stalker colton underwood is avoiding accountability because hollywood can\u2019t help rehabilitating white men\u201d— layla (@layla) 1618416366
\u201ceverybody deserves to live their truth, so anybody coming out is something I fully support. however, colton underwood is an abuser and should not be given a platform. there are so many deserving LGBT+ folks who should have this opportunity instead. my heart aches for cassie.\u201d— genevieve (@genevieve) 1618428317
Neither Underwood nor Netflix have yet to comment on this current backlash.