It’s been a while since Chris Harrison has been in the news. After defending Season 25 of The Bachelor winner Rachel Kirkconnell following the resurfacing of her questionable history of racial consciousness (including the pictures from an antebellum-themed party), Harrison was fired. S
Some folks blamed former Bachelorette lead and the first Black Bachelorette, Rachel Lindsay, after her interview with him.
Harrison was interviewed by Lindsay on Extra during the height of the controversy.
“I am not the ‘woke police,'” Harrison told Lindsay in regards to how Kirkconnell should be treated. He also told Lindsay that Kirkconnell should be given “grave” for her past “mistake.”
The backlash was swift. He was placed on leave. Guest hosts filled in for Harrison. Eventually, he was fired.
Linsday says social media users bullied her and even sent death threats
After Harrison’s firing, Bachelor fans turned their anger toward Lindsay. “I’m used to being misunderstood,” the 36-year-old host told People magazine. “But people who didn’t even watch the show were saying, ‘That woman got that man canceled.’ I had commenters saying they hoped I was infertile. That ripped me up inside,” adding that she received death threats.
She says the bullying is ongoing but has calmed in recent months. “I still get messages blaming me for the show not being the way it used to be. But I think that’s a good thing,” adding that Harrison being fired from his hosting duties was “never part of some master plan.”
Her relationship with Harrison however has been tarnished. “We haven’t spoken,” she said. “He unfollowed me. That tells me everything I need to know.”
She also revealed she no longer feels “connected” to the show.
“I’m so glad I did the show and had the opportunity to represent myself,” she added. “There were benefits I got from it, obviously, but I didn’t have a Black consultant. I was teaching them about the Black experience and trying to find love at the same time, something no other lead had to do.”
