Chris Harrison weighs in on Rachael Kirkconnell racism accusations while being interviewed by Rachel Lindsay
By FS staff
The story following the controversy around Rachael Kirkconnell from The Bachelor season 25 continues.
is still facing
for her alleged
. While the 24-year-old contestant isn’t speaking up just yet, more familiar faces from Bachelor Nation are chiming in, including former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay.
Rachel, who competed on Nick Viall’s season of
The Bachelor
, recently told
that while we don’t officially know Rachael’s fate on
just yet, we
do
know that “Matt [James] really is into her.” And so, whether these racism accusations are true or not, they need to be “addressed for Matt’s sake,” says Rachel. And she’s not wrong about that.
Chris Harrison and Rachel Lindsay interview
Most recently, the 35-year-old TV personality interviewed Chris Harrison to address the good, the bad, and the very ugly rumors coming out during Matt James‘ season. Obviously, Rachael Kirkconnell’s alleged racist past came up, and for the first time Chris weighed in.
When asked about the recent controversy, Chris told Rachel (per Us Weekly):
"First and foremost, I don’t know. I haven’t talked to Rachael about it, we all need to have a little grace, a little understanding, a little compassion. I have seen some stuff online, again, this judge, jury, executioner thing where people are just tearing this girl’s life apart. Until I actually hear this woman have a chance to speak, who am I to say any of this…I saw a picture of her at a sorority party five years ago that’s it."
Rachel Lindsay responded by correcting Chris, telling him the picture he’s seemingly referring to “was from 2018 at an old south antebellum party,” adding that it’s “not a good look.” The Bachelor franchise host replied, “Is it a good look in 2018, or is it not a good look in 2021? There’s a big difference.” Rachel quickly let him know that it’s never a good look, no matter how far in the past.
Check out the video of Rachel and Chris’ discussion below.
Is Chris Harrison being cancelled?
As Heavy reports, many people online aren’t too happy with Chris Harrison’s response. On Reddit, a heated discussion is brewing about the host’s stance on these rumors, or lack thereof for the time being. Those coming to Chris’ defense say that he’s wise to remain neutral for now without having all the facts, and especially while Rachael can’t defend herself.
In stark contrast, others claim that what Chris told Rachel was a “slap in the face” to women of color, seeing his unwillingness to hold the season’s frontrunner accountable for her alleged actions as counterproductive to The Bachelor‘s recent progress and overall aim for greater inclusivity.
According to Heavy, some are even calling for Chris Harrison to be “cancelled” right now, alleging that his seemingly unapologetic response undercuts the significance of selecting Matt James as the first Black Bachelor lead.
We’ll be keeping a close watch to see if and when Rachael Kirkconnell speaks up on all the rumors.
Next. The Bachelor Season 25, Episode 6: Best and worst moments. dark