Bachelor Nation is promising once again to “do better” when it comes to its portrayal of race, but Twitter seems pretty much done with it, and host Chris Harrison.
Wednesday night, Harrison apologized for “wrongly speaking in a manner that perpetuates racism,” a reference to his defense of current contestant Rachael Kirkconnell to Rachel Lindsay. He told Lindsay he wanted fans to have “a little grace” with Kirkconnell as resurfaced racist comments and photos have alarmed many views of the current Bachelor, which stars Matt James, the first Black Bachelor.
He began: “To my Bachelor Nation family — I will always own a mistake when I make one, so I am here to extend a sincere apology. I have this incredible platform to speak about love, and yesterday I took a stance on topics which I should have been better informed. While I do not speak for Rachael Kirkconnell, my intentions were simply to ask for grace in offering her an opportunity to speak on her own behalf.”
He also apologized to Lindsay, who is Black: “What I now realize I have done is cause harm by wrongly speaking in a manner that perpetuates racism, and for that I am so deeply sorry. I also apologize to my friend Rachel Lindsay for not listening to her better on a topic she has a first-hand understanding of, and humbly thank the members of Bachelor Nation who have reached out to me to hold me accountable. I promise to do better.”
Users on Twitter want him out. Wrote one: “Idea — replace the ‘Women Tell All’ with Chris Harrison in the hot seat for two hours straight getting an accountability and racism lesson”.
Another tweeted: “OK SO WHEN IS RACHEL LINDSAY REPLACING CHRIS HARRISON”.
Kirkconnell has not addressed the photos or comments.