After slamming 'The Bachelorette' as 'romance porn,' Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shoots hoops with Rachel Lindsay

For the first time in several seasons, The Bachelorette is beginning to feel less like self-inflicted torture and more like serious entertainment. We're only two weeks into Dallasite Rachel Lindsay's journey to find love and already the adventure has been peppered with celebrity cameos, poopy diapers and plenty of drama.

On Monday night, Lindsay hosted two group dates and one solo date with the majority of the remaining 20-plus men. The first group date put the guys to a "husband material" test, where they were tasked to change a baby's diaper and do certain household chores as quickly as possible. Actors Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis were on hand to laugh as the men dropped babies, tripped over vacuum chords and ultimately give viewers little reassurance that this clan of suitors has what it takes.

For the second date, The Bachelorette enlisted NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to run drills with the men before they competed in a basketball game. While his guest appearance was not a secret, it was still something of a surprise. In January, Abdul-Jabbar took time out of his busy life to share his important opinions on The Bachelor franchise, which he said harbors "an insidious darkness beneath the fairy tale."

"What's so wrong with a little harmless entertainment of watching people scramble for 'love' like ravenous crabs on a washed up seal corpse? In the short term, nothing. Just good, clean fun," Abdul-Jabbar wrote on Hollywood Reporter. "But the long-term effects of their choices -- from the types of people selected to be on the show to the promotion of a subversive, childish concept of love -- is like smoking or listening to Kenny G: it can have serious consequences."

Serious consequences, y'all. Like promoting unrealistic "romance porn," as Abdul-Jabbar put it, or helping a basketball legend stay relevant to pop culture.

According to a new column he penned for HR, Abdul-Jabbar says the show's producers contacted him after they decided on Lindsay as the next Bachelorette. Apparently that (and we're guessing a nice little paycheck) was all he needed to change his tune. Because hooray for diversity!

"Critics always like to complain that 'reality' shows like this aren't reality. That throwing a bunch of people together to compete for love is more game show than real life. That the cloistered but competitive environment creates a false perception that skews emotions in a mild version of brainwashing akin to Stockholm Syndrome," he wrote. "In other words, it's just like high school. Or an office workplace. Or a pick-up bar. So, yeah, like real life."

Sounds like someone drank the Kool Aid.

As if all of this excitement weren't enough, one of the contestants was sent home Monday night for being on the show for "the wrong reasons." (Drink.) DeMario, a 30-year-old executive recruiter, was confronted by an ex- or possibly current girlfriend after the basketball game, which didn't sit well with the bachelorette. In a moment of overwhelming emotion, she told him to "get the [expletive] out now." Oooooh girl!

The good news: This case is not yet closed. During the cocktail party pre-rose ceremony, DeMario showed up to talk to Lindsay. What could he possibly have to say? We'll find out next week when The Bachelorette concludes this dramatic episode, possibly with an aggro beat down. Stay tuned!