‘Bachelor’ host backs out over comments
Following backlash for defending current “The Bachelor” contestant Rachael Kirkconnell, Chris Harrison says he will take some time away from the franchise.
“The historic season of ‘The Bachelor’ should not be marred or overshadowed by my mistakes or diminished by my actions. To that end, I have consulted with Warner Bros. and ABC and will be stepping aside for a period of time and will not join for the ‘After the Final Rose’ special,” Harrison wrote in a statement on Instagram Saturday.
His girlfriend, “Entertainment Tonight” correspondent Lauren Zima, who hosts the “Bachelor” recap show “Roses & Rosé,” condemned his controversial remarks later in the day. “What Chris said was wrong and disappointing. Defending racism can never happen,” Zima wrote on Saturday in an Instagram Story.
“Accountability comes first, what’s next is learning and growth.”
“The Bachelor” host’s comments came a day after Rachel Lindsay , the first Black bachelorette of the franchise, called out Harrison during her “Higher Learning” podcast and revealed she’s not renewing her contract because she’s “had enough.”
During a recent interview with Lindsay on “Extra,” Harrison came to Kirkconnell’s defence saying “we need to have a little grace.” Kirkconnell was facing backlash for liking Confederate flag-related TikToks and, more recently, for a resurfaced photo that appears to show her attending a plantation-themed fraternity formal in 2018.