A 'Bachelorette' Premiere Photo Is Getting Dragged By The Internet

The new “Bachelorette” promo photo is garnering criticism from the internet

After weeks of big Bachelorette Season 16 updates, from the network bringing in fan favorite Tayshia Adams to round out the season (apparently, Clare Crawley fell in love two weeks in?) to temporarily replacing beloved long-time host Chris Harrison with Bachelorette alumna JoJo Fletcher (it’s only for a few episodes, guys; you can breathe), ABC has finally announced the premiere date — Oct. 13 — but the accompanying promo photo is kinda awful.

The new promo photo posted on the Bachelorette‘s Instagram today shows Crawley, wearing a crushed velvet blazer and holding a long-stemmed rose in one hand, leaning up against a wall. Above Crawley are the words “It’s about time,” and in the foreground, we see a man putting on a sock. It’s clearly a nod to the movie poster for the 1967 Dustin Hoffman film, The Graduate. And as many, many fans of the show pointed out, it’s a lazy comparison literally no one wanted nor asked for. You see, the poster is just a tacky reminder of Crawley’s age (she was 39 when she filmed the season) — and that she’s older than the typical Bachelorette (last season’s star, Hannah Brown, was in her early 20s).

“By referencing the poster of The Graduate, they are, once again, shoving it down our throats that Clare is, in fact, an older woman,” said Cosmopolitan‘s resident film expert Emma Baty.

When ABC announced Crawley, a previous contestant on Juan Pablo’s season in 2014, as our Season 16 Bachelorette, reactions were decidedly mixed. Some loved it: Finally, a confident woman in her 30s who knows what she wants and is truly ready and willing to commit and settle down — at least, more likely than a woman in her early 20s. It was a huge move for the franchise that, more often than not, casts Bachelor male stars in their 30s or even 40s.

Others, however, didn’t love Crawley as the Bachelorette, with many finding the casting lazy and, well, random: Crawley had been on the show a handful of times prior to getting cast as the Bachelorette. ABC really couldn’t find another star?

In the end, though, we have not one but two bachelorettes this season — and we won’t lie, we’re still eagerly awaiting the premiere.

“Clare had women across America cheering from their living rooms when she famously stood up to controversial Bachelor Juan Pablo [Galavis] during the memorable 18th season finale of The Bachelor,” ABC’s press release states, per Us Weekly. “Clare left the season with a new sense of self-worth and a determination to never settle for anything less than the unconditional love and respect that she deserved. Follow her passionate, wild ride to find her soul mate and the explosive turn of events that will have all of Bachelor Nation talking.”

The Bachelorette debuts with a two-hour premiere at 8/7c on Oct. 13 on ABC.