“If I went to that party, what would I represent?”Īlmost immediately, Harrison faced fierce backlash for his remarks, prompting a next-day apology on Instagram.
“It’s not a good look ever,” Lindsay said. “Is it a good look in 2018 or is it not a good look in 2021?” he asked.
Still, Harrison was adamant that times have changed. As the hosts of the “Rosecast” recap podcast pointed out, the total number of enrolled college students in America at the time was less than half that figure. He also claimed that “50 million people” participated in similar events that year. He seemed to imply that because the party was three years ago (though he falsely said it was five), Kirkconnell could not be held responsible for her actions. Many of Harrison’s most incendiary comments surrounded pictures of Kirkconnell attending a sorority party that celebrated the antebellum South. “I respect her enough to allow her the courtesy of time,” he said, even though six weeks had elapsed since the first accusations - and years had passed since the alleged behavior took place. He urged her to “have a little grace” and give Kirkconnell a chance to respond. “Who the hell are you? Who are you that you demand this?” he asked Lindsay, a Black woman who has been a outspoken advocate for her fellow BIPOC contestants in the franchise. Rather than denouncing racism and calling for a statement from Kirkconnell, he admonished “the woke police” for pressing the issue. And throughout the history of “The Bachelor,” BIPOC contestants have been tokenized, protected by the producers for a few episodes devoid of character development, and then unceremoniously dumped.īut in the wake of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, Harrison’s remarks this month pushed the anger among so-called “Bachelor Nation” to a breaking point. More recently, former Bachelorette Hannah Brown apologized after saying the N-word in an Instagram video. Lindsay became the first Black Bachelorette in 2017, and one of her most prominent suitors was later revealed to have posted racist Tweets, including one comparing the NAACP to the Ku Klux Klan. Rachel Lindsay, Harrison’s “Extra” interviewer, knows firsthand that the outrage in response to Kirkconnell’s behavior marks the latest in the franchise’s long line of race-based controversies. And with the end-of-season marriage proposal filmed in advance, rumor has it she will go on to win the competition. Before these claims gained traction, Kirkconnell was by all accounts a well-liked personality. Among the bevy of alleged offenses are liking Instagram pictures with Confederate iconography, spreading QAnon theories, wearing an appropriative Indigenous costume on Halloween, and bullying a high school classmate for dating Black men.
Harrison, who is white, appeared on “Extra” to discuss allegations against Rachael Kirkconnell, a white finalist in James’s ongoing season who has been accused of racism. 9 interview on “Extra,” Harrison announced that he will temporarily leave the series, including the remaining episodes in the current season of the franchise’s flagship show - starring Matt James, the first Black Bachelor. Now it’s his turn for an unbecoming departure.įollowing his racist comments in a Feb. For almost 20 years, Chris Harrison, longtime host of “The Bachelor” and its gargantuan franchise of reality television spinoffs, has built a career by making broken-hearted people cry in the back of company cars.
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