Mel Owens, the soon to be Golden Bachelor has reportedly said “If they’re 60 or over, I’m cutting them,” according to Deadline “This is not The Silver Bachelor, this is The Golden Bachelor.”

Well, it’s the opinion of this blog that Mr. Owens doesn’t deserve this platform. And I won’t be supporting The Golden Bachelor next season. I don’t think you should either.

Let’s begin with the decency of his comments. Owens is 66. Not exactly someone who is on the younger age of the dating spectrum. His comments demonstrate a very ugly part of relationships and whether he intended to or not, his comments will hurt a lot of fans of the show. Both men and women deal with the reality of age and romance. They understand that eventually (if we’re lucky) we all get over 60 and the thought of being disqualified regardless of our achievements and character is wrong. He should be ashamed for thinking that way.

Next, we have to talk about ABC and therefore Disney. For an organization that has tried to be inclusive at every turn, even at the expense of their financial successes, this is an incredible step back that wipes out years of work. Why should we give this product our time? The show already has a problem with sincerity, and understanding that the first thing we’re going to look at when each one of these contestants get out of the limo is the number next to their name, erases a lot of what we enjoy about this franchise so much.

There is a lot of good TV out there. There is no shortage of product. Let’s save our Bachelornation bandwidth for someone who truly deserves it.