Sherri Shepherd says The Bachelor needs more diversity: ‘People want to see a black man!’

For 20 seasons, eligible Bachelors have sought love on live TV (with mixed success). And for 20 seasons, those men have all been white.

That disparity inspired Sherri Shepherd to join WeTV’s dating show Match Made in Heaven — starring a black man with 18 women vying for his heart — as an executive producer and host this season, she said Tuesday on Dirty, Sexy, Funny with Jenny McCarthy.

“When I was on The View with Elisabeth Hasselback, she would always talk about The Bachelor. I love The Bachelor. The only problem I said is why is there not a man of color on The Bachelor?” said Shepherd,  49. “I just would like to see some diversity. And so I was told that people thought that nobody would want to watch a black man looking for love, and I said that’s not true. It’s like when they said nobody wants a black James Bond. Idris Elba? Have you guys seen Idris Elba naked? I haven’t and I would like to. That is on my bucket list.”

Season 2’s man of honor is retired NFL linebacker Stevie Baggs. “Does he got money? Yeah baby!” Shepherd cried.

As for the contestants, “I want to show networks that yes, people want to see a black man! And I love it because we don’t just have black girls. We have white girls, we have Spanish girls. I think the only girls we don’t have are Asian girls,” she said, “It looks like the Rainbow Coalition.”

Match Made in Heaven season 2 premieres Thursday at 10 pm WeTV. Dirty, Sexy, Funny airs weekdays from 10 am to 12 pm ET on SiriusXM Stars (Ch. 109).

For a free 30-day trial, check out http://www.siriusxm.com/freeTrial.