The Golden Bachelor's Mel Owens Offers Mea Culpa for ‘Insensitive' Comments About Older Women: ‘I've Learned a Lot'
In a new interview with Glamour, Mel Owens — who is set to star in the second season of ABC's senior dating competition — confronts the backlash he received when he said in a podcast interview in June that he'd eliminate any contestants age 60 or older. (Owens is 66, for the record.)
More from TVLine
Matt Damon and Ken Jennings Risk It All on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire - But Did They Win Big?
ABC Moves Up Premiere Date for 9-1-1, 9-1-1: Nashville and Grey's Anatomy
Joshua Jackson Admits He's 'Bummed Out' by Doctor Odyssey Cancellation: 'It Was a Really Fun Show'
Owens is now backtracking on those comments, saying they 'were a mistake by me. It's unfair. It's insensitive… and I want to earn it back.' Owens is currently two weeks into shooting his season of The Golden Bachelor, and he reveals he apologized to the women as well: 'When I first walked in, I addressed it. I apologized to them. I said, 'It was unfair, insensitive. I want to earn it back. Just give me the chance.''
The women on Owens' season are in their 60s, he says, and he was 'absolutely shocked' at how 'active' and 'brilliant' they are. (ABC has not yet revealed the women competing in Mel's season.) They also got a little revenge on him, he hints: 'One of the dates was a roast. It was brutal. They were killing me… It was good because I earned that, and I took it and I deserved it, and it landed squarely on me.'
Owens blames his controversial comments on his lack of familiarity with the show: 'I didn't know the age range because I wasn't watching it. I'm thinking, to me, the age range was 45 to 60. That's my age range. I'm thinking that's the gold years for me.' He also says he preferred younger women because 'my reference… was when I was dating at 39, 40. I hadn't dated in 26 years, so I had no clue.'
He hopes fans who wrote off the show after his comments will give it another chance: 'Hopefully the show will show that the women that are in their golden years, that are doing these amazing things. It's inspirational.' The experience so far has been 'life-altering' for him, he adds: 'I've learned a lot.'
Owens' season of The Golden Bachelor premieres Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 8/7c on ABC. Will you be tuning in? Let us know in the comments.
Best of TVLine
'Missing' Shows, Found! Get the Latest on Ahsoka, Monarch, P-Valley, Sugar, Anansi Boys and 25+ Others
Yellowjackets Mysteries: An Up-to-Date List of the Series' Biggest Questions (and Answers?)
The Emmys' Most Memorable Moments: Laughter, Tears, Historical Wins, 'The Big One' and More
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Jacob Soboroff To Join MSNBC As It Builds News Division In Advance Of Comcast Split
Jacob Soboroff will be part of the MSNBC team as it splits from Comcast and sister network NBC News later this year. Soboroff will serve as senior national and political correspondent for the network. More from Deadline Charlamagne Tha God Responds To Trump, Calls Out His "Authoritarian Strategy," But Adds, "I'm Rooting For You, But I Need You Focused" Senate Confirms Jeanine Pirro To Serve As U.S. Attorney For D.C. In Reaction To Dismal Jobs Report, Donald Trump Says He's Ordered Commissioner Of Labor Statistics To Be Fired As NBC News political and national correspondent, Soboroff has covered presidential campaigns and elections, the family separation crisis of 2018, and appeared as a correspondent and fill-in anchor on Today. He covered the Los Angeles wildfires earlier this year, with personal accounts of its impact on his hometown. The fires will be the subject of an upcoming book, Firestorm, to be published on Jan. 6. Soboroff also has been reporting on the ICE raids in Los Angeles, building on his experience covering immigration. He wrote the book Separated: Inside an American Tragedy, and was executive producer of Errol Morris' documentary Separated, based on his work. Soboroff first joined MSNBC in 2015. He'll be part of the network's live event, MSNBCLIVE '25, on Oct. 11. MSNBC will be part of Versant, the newly named comoany that will include former Comcast cable channels and other assets. With NBC News no longer as a sister network, MSNBC has been building up its own news division. Best of Deadline 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Emmys, Oscars, Grammys & More
Yahoo
6 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Jessica Biel Shares The Food She Won't Give To Her Kids, And People Aren't Lovin' It
Jessica Biel opened up about the one fast food she won't allow in her house, and we bet her kids aren't lovin' it. 'The Sinner' actor, who shares two sons with husband Justin Timberlake, told Parade in a new interview that McDonald's is totally off limits when she's in charge. 'I'm like, 'Sorry, guys, I'm not doing it.' They don't get McDonald's,' Biel said, before explaining her reasoning. 'I just feel like I don't know what's going on with [the] quality of that food. It's stuff like that that I'm like, 'No, we're not,'' she said. 'Let's go have a great burger and fries at a fancy place. I'd rather pay more for you to have something fancy than something like that.' She adds: 'I guess I'm not crazy, rigid and strict, but that would be something that, if they asked me for, I would just be like, 'Next! Next place. Next down the line!'' While Biel's take is controversial among parents, it's also slightly funny, as Timberlake is famously behind one of McDonald's most famous jingles: 2003's 'I'm lovin' it' campaign. Timberlake reportedly made around $6 million for his part in the jingle, though he would later tell British GQ in 2007 he regretted the deal. Related... Jessica Biel Keeps It Real After Justin Timberlake Says Her 'Ass Is Poppin'' Jessica Biel Reveals The Truth About Her Viral Physique In 'The Better Sister' Jessica Biel Revealed What She Does In The Shower — And Leaves Some Hosts On 'The View' Shocked
Forbes
6 minutes ago
- Forbes
‘Battlefield 6' Will Avoid Something ‘Call Of Duty' Players Hate
There is much talk about the 'Fortnite-ification' of various video games these days, where that no longer just means everyone making a battle royale, but in terms of how microtranscations for a game are conceived of and executed. Fortnite's endless string of superheroes and video game guest stars and even celebrities feels pretty standard at this point. Call of Duty has been doing something similar for years, but is now getting into fairly ridiculous territory with releases like Nicki Minaj, Seth Rogen, Beavis and Butthead and American Dad skins that frankly feel absurd in the formerly grounded world here. Now that Battlefield 6 is on the horizon this fall, DICE has commented about how they're not planning to go down this same path: 'It has to be grounded. That is what BF3 and BF4 was — it was all soldiers, on the ground,' design director Shashank Uchil told dbltap. 'I don't think it needs Nicki Minaj. Let's keep it real, keep it grounded.' If you've seen any of the footage or previews of Battlefield 6, you might imagine how absolutely absurd it might be to see Homer Simpson or Batman running around these explosive modern military arenas. I mean, you can say the same about Call of Duty, and players are saying that, but the dam has sort of burst over there. Here? DICE seems to want to nip that idea in the bud. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder However, the truth is…these skins likely wouldn't exist if they didn't sell. If goofy crossover skins weren't moving cash through Call of Duty, they likely wouldn't keep making them. Even if the consensus is that these skins are ridiculous, there is likely a contingent of quieter players who are in fact actually buying them in bulk. This is also EA we're talking about, so I do wonder that if Battlefield 6 isn't selling enough Battlefield Coins or whatever, they might be pushed closer and closer to more extreme skins. Though we do have some examples of games avoiding this like Helldivers 2, which has consistently (more or less) maintained its visual identity with its cosmetics added over time. Hopefully Battlefield 6 can do the same. As for Battlefield 6 and Black Ops 7 going head-to-head this fall, there is some sense that BF6 may have a real shot at dethroning the king at this point. It almost instantly got 500,000 wishlists on Steam, has an immense amount of social chatter, millions of trailer views, the list goes on and on. But Call of Duty is Call of Duty. It doesn't lose to any game not named Hogwarts Legacy or Grand Theft Auto. It would, however, benefit from more steep competition, which is what Battlefield 6 may give it this year. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
