Nick Lachey Reacts to Claim That 'Love Is Blind' Edits Out Black Women

Last month, the season one contestant — who became a fan favorite along with now-husband Cameron Hamilton — took to social media to make a few observations about the hit dating show, which included an observation about a lack of proper representation in the third season.

"I don't like how LIB be cutting all the Black women," Speed alleged in a tweet from October 26, in which she also asked why the five Black female contestants were "always in the trailer but not the show." And to take things a step further, the star also went on to say that while "it's slim pickings," about 85% of them couples are forced move forward for "entertainment purposes," before adding that the producers "could at least force some more sisters to move forward throughout the show."

I don’t like how LIB be cutting all the black women. How come they are always in the trailer but not the show… 👀

— Lauren Speed (@Need4LSpeed) October 24, 2022

Now though, the 98 Degrees singer — who hosts Love Is Blind alongside his wife Vanessa Lachey — has weighed in on the issue, telling Entertainment Tonight that Speed made "a fair observation" and could "understand where she’s coming from with it.”

That said, Lachey also said he was “not sure what exactly you can do about that except continue to cast with diversity, which they’ve done," while pointing out that "people gravitate to who they gravitate to" when they're getting to know each other in the pods, where they cannot see each other.

"That's not something that producers or anyone else can dictate or strip or have dictated or stripped. People make connections in the pods for whatever reason, and those connections are then followed through to the rest of the season," he continued, prior to insisting that "the casting department is casting fairly and with great diversity."

"I think that they've done a good job of trying to do that," Lachey said in reference to the second part of Speed's claim. "How it plays out, I can't really answer to that part of it other than I know it's not dictated or manipulated... who moves forward. It's really, truly the connections they make blindly in the pods."

​Netflix has yet to address Speed's critique. In the meantime though, you can read what Lachey has to say about the issue via Entertainment Tonight here.

Photo via Shutterstock / Kathy Hutchins