The show also drew criticism from viewers for introducing a second female lead over on its official Instagram page.
"So a woman like Lesina, intelligent, kind and beautiful, is not enough so they have to bring in the white girl," one user commented. "Would never happen on The Bachelor."
"Bad move Bachelorette. You obviously could not keep a women of colour Bachelorette on there for long right?" another wrote. "Pretty sure you'll lose viewers."
In response to the backlash, McManus has defended the show's decision to switch up the format insisting that the women are not in competition with each other.
"When I was asked to do this show, woman empowerment was always a main priority of mine," she wrote on Instagram.
"The show had to be about two women raising each other up and supporting one another through such a wild experience. Lesina is a GREAT mate of mine and the amount of support we have been able to offer each other throughout this makes my brain melt in the best possible way. We are two very different women, who are looking for two very different things."
The male contestants later earned that they were cast with each Bachelorette in mind.
In response to fans' concerns over the new show format, Nakhid-Schuster tweeted that everything "all works out well" in the end.
We guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.
