Juan Pablo: Lost In Translation

Oh, Juan Pablo.  Over here at Sara Brady PR, we (and by “we” I mean everyone in the office who isn’t Sara) had been counting down the days until Juan-uary since Desiree dumped the Latino loverboy on last season’s snoozefest of the Bachelorette.  So you can imagine my disappointment this weekend when, not even three weeks into his 15 minutes of fame, ABC’s prince charming du jour spoke out against the idea of a homosexual Bachelor, calling the idea “too hard for TV” and pointed out that gay men are “more pervert in a sense.” According to the “apology” Juan Pablo posted on Facebook, what he meant to say is that gay men are “more affectionate and intense” and “too racy for TV.”  If you didn’t catch last week’s episode, it featured an outing where two women were asked to pose nude for Best Friend’s Animal Society campaign (not seeing the connection between nudity and saving puppies here). Taking it a step further (and a little too far), one woman took a puppy used in the shoot for a stroll around the studio—in her birthday suit.  You read that right.  JP, the single father to a four-year-old daughter, was on a nationally televised date where one of his conquests walked around in the nude in front of 10 of his 25 other girlfriends in an attempt to get his attention. But gay men vying for one another’s affections on television? That’s just inappropriate.

And since Juanie P is so concerned about keeping it classy, he took advantage of this opportunity to remind us yet again that English is not his first language.  Therefore, he cannot be held responsible for what he says as the star of an English-speaking reality show broadcast on an American TV network.

“Everyone knows English is my second language and my vocabulary is not as broad as it is in Spanish and, because of this, sometimes I use the wrong words to express myself.”

…so it’s kind of like how the British term for “cigarette” also happens to be an American slur for “gay man,” which makes the act of lighting one a potentially huge misunderstanding.  Except it’s not at all—it’s more like a reality star sticking his foot in his mouth and not taking accountability for his actions.   And kudos to ABC for immediately holding him responsible and not trying to cover for him. Juan Pablo is a temporary figure in an enormously successful franchise.  By this time next year, we’ll have a whole new Bachelor to root for—perhaps one with an eye for the guys?

In the future, JP should stick to the spiel of Bachelor’s past and just thank the world for this incredible opportunity to watch 25 reasonably attractive, allegedly educated women drive themselves to the brink of insanity for his affections.