India, June 27 -- Mel Owens, the newly announced lead of The Golden Bachelor Season 2, is under fire for controversial remarks about the age of women he's willing to date. Speaking on the In the Trenches podcast earlier this month, the 66-year-old said bluntly, "If they're 60 or over, I'm cutting them."

The retired NFL player-turned-lawyer added that he had been "honest" with the ABC producers about his preferences. "I only wanted women aged 45 to 60 . just being honest," he said on the podcast.

"This is not The Silver Bachelor, this is The Golden Bachelor. They've got to be fit, because I stay in shape and work out and stuff. And I told producers to try to stay away from the artificial hips and the wigs," Owens added, stating that fitn...