ABC/Craig Sjodin
‘Queen’ Victoria Larson speaks with Matt James during a ‘Bachelor’ group date.
“Queen” Victoria Larson has been causing quite a stir on the current season of The Bachelor, and while many fans are convinced that she was cast on the show for the sole purpose of causing drama, that may not actually be the case.
ABC executive Rob Mills chatted with Variety about this season’s most controversial cast member, and he maintains that Larson is on the show for the right reasons. Mills even went so far as to suggest that Matt James was looking for a woman who is “strong-willed” — just like Larson.
“You can’t have people who are not going to do really anything and will just be wallflowers. I’m not saying the show is made purely to stir up drama, but certainly a strong personality like [Victoria] is good. And look, Matt has said that is something that he is attracted to — a woman who is her own woman and who is strong-willed — so you can’t argue that Victoria is not that,” Mills told Variety in an interview that ran last week.
While Mills didn’t confirm nor deny whether Larson was truly cast
Here’s what you need to know:
Rob Mills Said That Victoria Larson Is a ‘Contender’ on This Season
Despite just about everyone convinced that Larson is on The Bachelor for all the wrong reasons, Mills believes that Larson could go all the way. When he was asked how much longer Larson would stick around, Mills played coy.
“I can’t tell you. But she is still a contender,” he told Variety.
Mills went on to say that Larson was cast because producers felt that she might be a good fit for James.
“We cast this solely for Matt and she applied, and she is somebody who was great in casting and certainly had a point of view that was interesting. Obviously nobody is mad that Matt is keeping her around, but at a certain point, if he really doesn’t see a future with her, he will send her home,” he explained.
Former ‘Bachelorette’ Ali Fedotowsky Manno Said That Larson Is Still on ‘The Bachelor’ Because of the Show’s Producers
It’s no secret that drama on reality television shows helps lead to ratings, so could James be keeping Larson week after week because he’s being asked to do so by the show’s producers? It’s very possible.
In fact, former Bachelorette star Ali Fedotowsky Manno was asked about this in a recent Q&A on Instagram, and she believes that Larson is still on the show by design.
“Did they make you keep people you didn’t like for drama?” one Instagram user asked.
“I wouldn’t say they make you keep anybody. Do they ask you to keep people? Yes! And that is definitely what’s going on with Victoria this season,” Fedotowsky Manno responded.
Fedotowsky Manno isn’t the only former cast member that has spoken out about Larson, either. Bachelorette winner J.P. Rosenbaum previously tweeted that Larson was cast on the show as a plant, as opposed to a true contender.
“The more I think about it, the more I believe that Victoria was planted by the show/producers. She just doesn’t seem to fit the mold. Her ‘villain’ traits don’t seemed authentic. Her presence, attitude, etc were so forced. No way she’s just a random contestant,” Rosenbaum tweeted last month.
READ NEXT: Former ‘Bachelorette’ Winner Says Victoria Larson Is a Plant
