Matt James opens up about feeling 'pressure' as the first Black 'Bachelor'

James also admitted it has kept him up at night thinking about people who want him to end up with a "person of a specific race."

Video Transcript

MATT JAMES: Another thing I want to talk to you about was pressure that I put on myself just being the first black

- Bachelor Matt James made his debut as the new Bachelor on Monday night and was praised by viewers on social media for opening up to host Chris Harrison about the pressure he has put on himself for being the first black Bachelor in the history of the show.

MATT JAMES: You've got people who are cheering for you to end up with a specific person, a specific person of a specific race.

CHRIS HARRISON: [INAUDIBLE]

MATT JAMES: That's something that kept me up at night. It's like, I don't want to piss off Black people. I don't want to piss off white people, but I'm both of those. You know what I mean? It's like, how do I please everybody?

- Not only did viewers respect Matt for acknowledging the history he was making but they had even more praise for him after he led the room in prayer before starting the one on ones.

MATT JAMES: Bless this time we have together, Father. In your holy name I pray. Amen.

- Amen.

- And to top it off, Matt gave his first-impression rose to Abigail, who is also making history this season as the show's first hearing-impaired contestant. Bachelor nation fell in love with Abigail almost immediately, even stating that she must be protected at all costs. And, overall, Bachelor nation was extremely happy with Matt's decision.

One person tweeted, "A deaf woman just got the first impression rose from the first Black bachelor. This is already going to be one of the best seasons."

- The thought that he sees potential in me is just-- I don't know. It just makes me really excited. Hey, I'm just super excited just to hopefully keep it going and learn more about each other.