Colton Underwood, a former NFL practice team player, became a reality TV personality in 2018. He was a candidate for the 14^e season of “The Bachelorette” and was eliminated in week 8. Colton was subsequently cast in season 5 of “Bachelor in Paradise” but he left the series in week four. Then in September 2018, Colton starred in the 23^e season of “The Bachelor” as a star. During the show, he met Cassie Randolph and they started a relationship in November of the same year. It continued until May 2020.

That’s when things started to get out of hand for Colton. Randolph filed a restraining order against Colton in September 2020 for stalking, sending harassing text messages and installing a tracking device on his car.

Netflix announced on April 14, 2021 that it was in production for a limited series called “Coming Out Colton”. The announcement was made the same day Colton revealed his homosexuality during an interview with Robin Roberts on ABC’s Good Morning America. The documentary series was scheduled to cover these moments in Colton’s life, so it must have been in the works for some time. The six-part series began airing on December 3.

The Bachelor / Bachelorette TV franchise isn’t one of my favorites, although I watched the first season of each. I’m not a football fan, so I was also unaware of Underwood’s brief career, or his legal issues after his stint on The Bachelor. In April, I was staying with a family who gave up TV for online streaming a few years ago, so I didn’t hear the news of Colton coming out. Still, I was careful when a publicist asked me to watch “Coming Out Colton” for a review because it is the story of a man who would reveal his true humanity to the world.

The best things first. It’s a highly scripted documentary (it’s written unscripted but serious? Someone wrote it, plotted and directed it) and tightly choreographed, dressed like a reality TV series. “Coming Out Colton” begins when Colton, who was raised in the Catholic faith, tells his divorced parents Donna and Scott one on one that he is gay and knows he is different since he was very. young. It doesn’t seem like the parents know what Colton is going to tell them. But they realize that they are in front of the camera, so their responses are conscious and controlled but positive. Neither parent expects this news and it is to their credit that they promise their love for their son no matter what.

If this parental promise of love for their gay son is the only message viewers receive from the show, enough is enough. As Pope Francis told parents of LGBT children on September 16, 2020, “God loves your children as they are” and “the church loves your children as they are because they are children of God “. . In 2018, Pope Francis advised parents in Ireland “Don’t Condemn. Dialogue. Understand, give the child space so that he can express himself. While I am not sure if Donna and Scott were aware of Pope Francis’ words, they are living his advice.

Colton visits a former high school football coach and shares with him how the macho language of the coach’s locker room made Colton feel; it was a moment of truth and it must have taken a lot of courage from Colton. What the mentors say matters. I think what this segment is saying is that coaches who poke fun at gays don’t make teens on the football team more masculine or manly; kindness and respect towards his neighbor, without distinction, makes a man more masculine.

From this point on, the series explains why Colton fell apart after breaking up with Cassie and knows he can’t justify what he did to her and her family. He said, however, that he knew that if he broke up with Cassie, he would have to admit the truth of his own sexuality to himself and that he was reluctant to do so. One can only imagine the inner conflict he was going through – the tension between the expectations of this handsome young man by football culture and the availability of media stardom. The series helps us viewers understand why he did what he did regarding his former girlfriend, but, of course, doesn’t excuse her. He takes a beating from social media about his treatment of Cassie and his friends are also very blunt in their criticism of his behavior.

He seems monotonous throughout the series and so his apologies or regrets to Cassie and her family seem superficial, albeit heartfelt. Either way, he knows he has to take ownership of his past to move forward. Going public about her behavior towards Cassie may be a means of restitution although Cassie does not appear on the show, so we do not know. This period in Colton’s life is so emphasized that she often feels it is more about her well-being than that of Cassie.

As he begins to come to terms with his reality, he visits the famous Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village with new friends, where gay and lesbian patrons hang out and where spontaneous protests and riots against NYPD harassment have taken place. Took place in 1969. The current owner tells Colton that he needs to learn this story from the gay community he is a part of so that the harassment and persecution does not repeat itself.

However, the way he moves forward in the series is patchy in my opinion. A gay friend introduces him to the world of gay sex toys by visiting a store that caters to gay customers. I wish they had forgotten this part.

One of the most significant episodes comes at the end. Colton realizes he needs spiritual guidance. He learns he won’t find him in the Catholic Church (at least not the kind of support he’s looking for) and meets Reverend Nicole Garcia, who is a transgender Lutheran pastor. She’s very strong, straightforward and truthful in her advice to him in episode 6: “The best thing you can do is work on yourself and face what you’ve been up to before you jump into your next relationship.” … Before you go in and screw someone else’s life up, take responsibility for what you have done and then work to stop doing it. Who are you called to be? What’s in your heart? “

Even though this meeting was a “set-up,” what Rev. Garcia has to say is relevant.

Colton Underwood is the first man to declare himself gay after appearing on “The Bachelor”. He chose to tell his story through Netflix and stepped out of the world on Network News. It’s unclear if all of this exposure has been a good idea for Colton in the long run, even though he was paid a handsome sum for the series. Sometimes TMI (Too Much Info) can work against anyone who becomes public to that degree. He being a rich white man seems to exude privilege, although he appears to be a kind and calm guy who has gravely mistaken his way to embrace his truth. On the other hand, Colton’s honesty about his sexuality, and the mistakes he made in the process of taking ownership of who he is, can help others get to know, love, and care for themselves. ‘accept for who they are so that they can have the freedom to be at peace – as their family members, friends and colleagues can be too.

The world needs to be a place where suicide is not an option for LGBT people, where parents don’t kick their children out of the house but love them. What I take away from the series is working to create a world where everyone can live in harmony, built on respect, regardless of race, age, gender, sexual orientation, nationality or location. social status.

If we can learn this message of hope from “Coming Out Colton” then that is really a very good thing.