If you are like me, then for the past week, your news app on your phone has been blowing your feed with the words correlating to Chris Harrison, The Bachelor, Rachel Lindsay, and Rachel Kirkconnell. You may also be very confused when your friends that are obsessed with The Bachelor, gasped when they heard that Chris Harrison was “stepping aside for a period of time”. Well, friend, I am here to explain everything to you, so you don’t have to watch this season and get all the details yourself. Your welcome.Â
So, we start all the way back to June 2020, when it was announced that the upcoming bachelor for the 25th season was Matt James. This caused a lot of buzzes because he is the first Black bachelor on the show. People were excited for this moment, a moment that was LONG overdue. So the season starts, and of course, drama quickly ensues. A TikTok goes viral showing a frontrunner contestant- Rachael Kirkconnell- liking pictures that include confederate flags and other racist meanings. Then not long after, a Reddit user releases photos from 2018 showing said contestant attending an “Old South” plantation-themed college party. Considering the contestant is now 24, it’s safe to assume that she was around 21 or 20 years old when the photos were taken, more than well aware of the racial insensitivity that was carried with the theme of the party.
A few days later Kirkconell posts on Instagram that she is “very sorry”. Saying in a statement, “I’m here to say I was wrong”. The 24-year-old then continues to state, “I was ignorant, but my ignorance was racist.” Following this, Chris Harrison, The Bachelor, and The Bachelorette’s host went on Extra to be interviewed by Rachel Linsday. Rachel Linsday is a former The Bachelorette contestant, who was the 21st season’s first Black Bachelorette in 2017. She has since worked at the show Extra. As stated by Lindsay, when she was interviewing Harrison he apparently “gave (her) no time to talk”, “His privilege was on display…He wasn’t trying to hear, he was just trying to be heard.” And don’t just take her word for it, go take a look for yourself at the interview that you can watch on Youtube. You can see how Harrison gave Linsday no time to speak on the touchy subject that is racism. He said that people should give Kirkconnell, “A little grace, a little understanding, a little compassion.” Oh, and he basically called the internet the “woke police”. Yeah. Not a good look Harrison.
Since the interview, Linsday has spoken out on her podcast “Higher Learning”, with fellow former Bachelorette, Becca Kufrin. Lindsay has since revealed plans to quit the franchise, stating that the franchise has no diversity. This isn’t the first time Linsday has publicly criticized The Bachelor franchise. She stated back when Matt James has first announced The Bachelor, “It does seem like a reaction to what’s happening in our country. Did a man have to die in such a public way, on a national stage, for you to say, ‘Now is the time for us to have a black ‘Bachelor?'” Lindsay questioned. “That’s what I hate. It’s taking away from this moment.” She has no problem with James being the new Bachelor, she just criticized the timing, since he was picked after the nationwide outrage of the death of George Floyd on May 25th, 2020. Matt has announced the Bachelor on June 6, 2020.
Since then, a lot of The Bachelors and The Bachelorette, current and former contestants, have spoken out against racism, and have come in support of Linsday. As of this writing, there has been no word if Harrison is really just taking a “break”, or if there is a word that he will be fired.