Now that Hannah B. has been named the next Bachelorette, fans are still wondering if Khloé Kardashian was actually ever considered for the title.
Series creator Mike Fleiss infamously began speculation of the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star’s possible casting on the ABC reality series, just a few days after Kardashian was caught in the Tristan Thompson, Jordyn Woods cheating scandal.
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“I have already been in contact with my dear friend Kris Jenner about Khloe Kardashian as The Bachelorette,” Fleiss tweeted at the time. “Stay tuned!!!”
Kardashian and some of the members of her family responded to Fleiss at the time with the newly single mom even threatening legal action.
“I’m not f—king clickbait right now. Stop or you will be hearing from my lawyers. How insensitive!!” Her sister, Kim Kardashian West, also tweeted, “Fake f—king news big time!!!!”
ABC reality chief Rob Mills recently spoke with Variety, clearing up speculation about whether Kardashian was ever really considered for The Bachelorette.
“Mike Fleiss and Kris Jenner do know each other well. They judged Miss America together, so they’ve spent some time together, and Kris is a friend to the show. It was very premature. And to be honest, Khloé’s not wrong,” Mills said at the time. “She’s going through something and she was right to be a little miffed because this is an incredibly sensitive time for her. I don’t think there was any really conversation because it’s not the right time to have that conversation.”
The ABC executive also said that Kardashian never actually served legal papers to Fleiss.
“As far as I know, that did not happen,” Mills said. “I think that was meant more for Mike Fleiss than ABC. I think Mike realized that he should back off.”
Despite the awkward way that the subject was brought up this time around, Mills did not necessarily discount the possibility of a Kardashian ever being at the center of the dating franchise.
“You never say never,” Mills told the publication. “Look, what you want is a storyline that people are invested in. With Jason Mesnick, this was a good guy, a single dad that people wanted to see happy. Ben Higgins was a guy that he felt unlovable. [With Khloé], this is a woman who just had a baby and was cheated on — that is a powerful story that I think everyone could get behind, even if you know nothing about the Kardashians.”
