Rachel Lindsay will make history as the first African-American "Bachelorette," even though she is still a contestant on the current season of "The Bachelor" with Nick Viall and has not been eliminated – yet, according to ABC News.
Lindsay, 31, an attorney from Texas, appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America" Tuesday after the official announcement that she would be the star of the next edition of reality show "The Bachelorette" was made on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Monday night.
Lindsay celebrated the moment on her Instagram page.
"I'm honored to have this opportunity to represent myself as an African-American woman," Lindsay said on "Good Morning America." "I just hope that people rally behind me like they did in Nick's season ... just realize that my journey is just trying to find love. Even though I'm an African-American woman, it's no different from any other 'Bachelorette.'"
The Wrap noted that in 2012, two Nashville men filed a class-action lawsuit charging racial discrimination after 2011's "The Bachelorette" season starring Ashley Hebert included no minorities out of 25 contestants.
That lawsuit was thrown out after ABC and the shows' producers argued their casting decisions are protected by the First Amendment. Since then, "The Bachelor" series included more minorities with one, Caila Quinn, reaching the top three during the season starring Ben Higgins, said The Wrap.
Lindsay told "Good Morning America" she had to think twice about being featured on "The Bachelorette" when the producers approached her.
"I'm a skeptical person, so I was excited that they asked me to do it but I was also equally nervous," said Lindsey, whose series will debut on May 22. "But then, when I started to weigh out the pros and the cons, I decided that this is too good of an opportunity to turn away."
Social media responses ranged widely (spoiler alert!)