The Bachelor Mystery Solved: Here’s Why They Blurred Out the Canadian Flag

The Bachelor’s season premiere saw a lot of Canadian women vying for Joey’s heart — but for some reason, we couldn’t actually see the Canadian flag.

Viewers were puzzled when one of Joey’s ladies, Maria, got out of the limo to meet him waving a tiny Canadian flag… but the flag was blurred out, like pixelated naughty parts that don’t belong on network TV. So why is the national symbol of Canada not fit for broadcast? It turns out the explanation is not nearly as dramatic as the show’s weekly rose ceremonies.

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The Bachelor Joey Maria Canadian Flag Blurred
The Bachelor Joey Maria Canadian Flag Blurred

A source close to the show pointed TVLine to the Canadian government’s official rules and regulations regarding the commercial use of its national symbols, such as its familiar red-and-white maple leaf flag. The Canadian flag is “protected… against unauthorized use for commercial purposes,” and any such use has to first be submitted to the Canadian government and then approved. In other words, it looks like The Bachelor didn’t seek out a rose from our neighbors to the north.

Maria, however, did receive a rose from Joey, as did several other Canadian natives — check out our premiere recap for all the details — so if any of them make it all the way to hometown dates, we’ll see Joey set foot on Canadian soil… though maybe without any shots of the Canadian flag in the background. (With reporting by Matt Webb Mitovich)

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