Bachelor Host Chris Harrison (right) starring current star Matt James.
ABC
Not everything comes up for Chris Harrison. The longtime host of ABC’s Bachelor franchise is still being beaten back after apologizing for comments about photos a current contestant attends The Bachelor during an antebellum plantation-themed party.
The controversial photos ushered in a painful period in American history before the end of the civil war, ensuing serious, psychological scrutiny among Bachelor supporters and former contestants about race, representation, and accountability. A change.org petition calling for Harrison to be removed as host of the popular dating reality series and its spinoffs received more than 37,000 signatures on Saturday morning. And Rachel Lindsay, the first Black Bachelorette star, says she’s done with the franchise.
Here is the whole brouhaha, broken down.
What did Chris Harrison say (or not say)?
During an extra interview this week with former Bachelorette star and current TV presenter Rachel Lindsay, Lindsay flipped through photos that appeared of Rachael Kirkconnell, a contestant on season 25 of The Bachelor, which is now airing. The images show how she is attending a college fraternity party in 2018 with antebellum plantation.
The photos sparked strong reaction on social media as it evokes the racist history of the South before the civil war. Matt James, star of the current season, is the first black star of the show, and Kirkconnell, a 24-year-old graphic designer from Cumming, Georgia, is rumored to be the one he chooses to marry / date / appear on the cover of People magazine with after conquering his field of love interests. Kirkconnell is also accused of liking racist social media messages, including some showing flagpoles from Confederate countries.
Rachael Kirkconnell, who appears on a date with Matt James in The Bachelor, is reportedly his forerunner.
ABC
“We all need to have a little bit of grace, a little bit of understanding, a little bit of compassion,” Harrison, 49, said during the interview with Lindsay. “Because I’ve seen a few things online – this judge, jury, executioner where people just tear the girl’s life apart and dive into, like her parents, her parents’ voting record. It’s incredibly worrying to watch this. I I have not yet heard Rachael talk about this. Until I really hear that this woman has a chance to talk, who am I to say this? I saw a picture of her at a women’s party five years ago and that’s it. ‘
Harrison, host of The Bachelor since 2002, said that although he did not defend the party, people would not have investigated an Old South party “under the same lens” in 2018 as in 2021, given the heightened awareness of racial inequality in the midst of Black Lives Matter movement. Lindsay, an outspoken advocate of diversity in the franchise, disagrees.
“It never looks pretty,” Lindsay said, emphasizing the photos’ implicit connection to slavery and decline. ‘She celebrates the old South. What would I represent if I went to the party? ‘ Lindsay, who hosts a Bachelor Nation podcast and occasionally makes comos in the program, has since said she will not renew her contract with the franchise. “I’m exhausted. I’ve really had enough,” Lindsay said on Friday’s episode of her Spotify Original Podcast Higher Learning.
How did the public react to Rachel Lindsay’s interview?
Harrison loyal supporters have who stands behind him and deceives the ‘awake police’ and ‘cancels culture’: ‘People, lighten up a bit’, wrote one Twitter supporter. Another wrote: “So sorry you had to apologize. I can not believe that everyone has become so sensitive.” Yet criticism has continued to grow, including on Twitter and the bachelor subreddit, where discussion of the controversy has overshadowed all the other Bachelor buzz for days.
Chris Harrison said we should not judge her for going to a party-themed party because “we were not as awake then as we are now.” Pic is from 2018.
I graduated in 2009. When I notice that one of my friends went to a party like that, I knock the shit out of their sight.
– Diggy Moreland (@diggymoreland) 11 February 2021
A number of high-profile contestants, including Mike Johnson, Taylor Nolan and former Bachelorette stars Tayshia Adams, Kaitlyn Bristowe and Jillian Harris, have expressed disappointment with Harrison and his word choice and called on series producers to vet contestants more closely. Matt James, the star of the season’s show, on Friday expressed his gratitude to Lindsay for continuing to shine a spotlight on representation and responsibility in the franchise, which has criticized fans for their lack of diversity.
“I’m very grateful to have Rachel as a mentor during this season,” James wrote on Instagram. “Your advocacy for BIPOC people in the franchise is invaluable. I stand with you and the rest of the women who are campaigning for change and accountability.”
The previous day, nearly every contestant from The Bachelor Season 25, including Kirkconnell, posted the same message on social media in which he rejected a defense of racism.
“Any defense of racist behavior denies the lived and ongoing experiences of BIPOC individuals,” the statement said. “These experiences should not be exploited or recorded.”
“Rachel Lindsay continues to plead with ‘mercy’ for individuals who identify themselves as BIPOC in this franchise,” the statement concluded. “Just because she’s talking the loudest does not mean she’s alone. We stand with her, we hear her and plead for change next to her. ‘
The men of season 16 of The Bachelorette, who preceded Matt James’ season of The Bachelor and contained two consecutive appearances, including Adams, who is black, also issued a statement denouncing racist behavior and any defense thereof . ”
“We had the opportunity to be part of one of the most diverse roles in the history of the franchise,” the statement said. “The addition of more people identifying themselves as BIPOC has opened up the conversation about race, community and who we are as human beings. A conversation that has long since ceased to be necessary.”
Did Chris Harrison apologize?
He has. On Wednesday, he posted an apology on social media.
“To my Bachelor Nation family – I will always make a mistake when I make one, and that’s why I’m here to make a sincere apology,” it reads. “I have this amazing platform to talk about love, and yesterday I took a stand on topics I should have been better informed about.”
“Although I did not speak to Rachael Kirkconnell, my intention was merely to ask for mercy to give her the opportunity to speak on her behalf,” he continued. “What I now realize I did is do harm by speaking wrong in a way that perpetuates racism, and I’m so deeply sorry about that. I’m also apologizing to my friend Rachel Lindsay for not being better at it. “listened to her on a subject she did not have. first-hand understanding of, and humbly thanked the members of the Bachelor Nation for holding me accountable. I promise to do better.”
Bachelor Nation, for those who do not follow the reality TV franchise, refers to fans and former contestants of the long-running romance. You do not need a visa to visit Bachelor Nation, just a TV or computer. Bachelor Nation is known for its pronounced presence on social media, where weekly deliveries trigger an amusing series of memes and jokes that can deliver thousands of likes and comments. Reactions to the drama and fast-paced relationships are often funny and poignant, and this show seeped into Harrison’s public outcry this week. However, most discussions have a gloomy tone.
Kirkconnell, in turn, apologized, saying, “I was ignorant, but my ignorance was racist. I feel sorry for the communities and individuals who have harmed and insulted my actions. I am ashamed of my lack of training, but it is is nobody’s responsibility to educate me. ‘
“I deserve to be held accountable for my actions,” she concluded. “I will never grow unless I realize what is wrong. I do not think one excuse means that I deserve your forgiveness, but hope that I can earn your forgiveness through my future actions.”