`Please stop'
Rachael Kirkconnell speaks out amid racism controversy engulfing The Bachelor
Rachael Kirkconnell has a message for members of Bachelor Nation who are trying to defend her past racist behaviour: “please stop.”
Earlier this month, the 24-year-old graphic designer issued an apology for what she calls her past “offensive” actions.
This came after old photos of Kirkconnell surfaced on Reddit, including one in which she dressed up as a Native American and another showing her attending an antebellum plantation-themed ball.
The Bachelor contestant, who is one of the women vying for Matt James' heart on this season of the hit reality show, was also hit with allegations that she “bullied” a former classmate for “liking Black guys.”
“I was ignorant, but my ignorance was racist,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “I am sorry to the communities and individuals that my actions harmed and offended. I am ashamed about my lack of education, but it is no one's responsibility to educate me.”
Now, after issuing her apology, Kirkconnell has returned to social media asking fans to stop defending her.
“There's also people messaging me saying `You know, you've done nothing wrong, don't listen to people,' ” Kirkconnell said in a video posted to her
Instagram page.
“I think that the first big step in all of this is white people stepping up and taking accountability ... If you are in my comments or defending me anywhere telling people that I did nothing wrong, that there's nothing to be hurt about, there's nothing to be angry about or offended about, please stop ... (it's) not our place to tell people what they can and can't be offended about. That's wrong and that's part of the problem.”
Elsewhere in her post, Kirkconnell said she plans to utilize her platform to promote anti-racism initiatives and “amplify voices that are extremely knowledgeable in these subjects.”
Her latest statement comes after James, the show's first Black leading man, weighed in on “the incredibly disappointing photos of Rachael” and Bachelor host Chris Harrison's decision to step aside after accusing the “woke police” of trying to ruin Kirkconnell.
“Chris's failure to receive and understand the emotional labour that my friend Rachel Lindsay was taking on by graciously and patiently explaining the racist history of the Antebellum South, a painful history that every American should understand intimately, was troubling and painful to watch,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “As Black people and allies immediately knew and understood, it was a clear reflection of a much larger issue that The Bachelor franchise has fallen short on addressing adequately for years.”
James's turn as Bachelor continues tonight, with Kirkconnell one of just three contestants still remaining.