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Mike Johnson says he’s ‘disappointed’ by Chris Harrison’s comments about Rachael Kirkconnell

By Natalie Zamora

THE BACHELORETTE: THE MEN TELL - "The Men Tell All" - Luke P.'s stunning final standoff in Greece is revealed; and then, the controversial bachelor will take the hot seat opposite Chris Harrison to give his side of the story. The other men, fired up by Luke P.'s self-defense, explode into the vitriolic outburst they have been holding back all season long. The other most memorable bachelors - including Brian, Cam, Connor S., Daron, Devin, Dustin, Grant, Dylan, Garrett, John Paul Jones, Jonathan, Luke S., Matt, Matteo, Mike and Ryan -- return to confront each other and Hannah one last time to dish the dirt, tell their side of the story and share their emotional departures. Finally, as the clock ticks down on Hannah's journey to find love, a special sneak peek of her dramatic final week with Jed, Peter and Tyler C. is featured on "The Bachelorette: The Men Tell All," MONDAY, JULY 22 (8:00-10:01 p.m. EDT), on ABC. (ABC/John Fleenor)MIKE
THE BACHELORETTE: THE MEN TELL - "The Men Tell All" - Luke P.'s stunning final standoff in Greece is revealed; and then, the controversial bachelor will take the hot seat opposite Chris Harrison to give his side of the story. The other men, fired up by Luke P.'s self-defense, explode into the vitriolic outburst they have been holding back all season long. The other most memorable bachelors - including Brian, Cam, Connor S., Daron, Devin, Dustin, Grant, Dylan, Garrett, John Paul Jones, Jonathan, Luke S., Matt, Matteo, Mike and Ryan -- return to confront each other and Hannah one last time to dish the dirt, tell their side of the story and share their emotional departures. Finally, as the clock ticks down on Hannah's journey to find love, a special sneak peek of her dramatic final week with Jed, Peter and Tyler C. is featured on "The Bachelorette: The Men Tell All," MONDAY, JULY 22 (8:00-10:01 p.m. EDT), on ABC. (ABC/John Fleenor)MIKE /
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The Bachelor franchise is in hot water yet again, this time for the way host Chris Harrison discussed a controversial contestant while being interviewed by former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay.

In case you missed it, a video was published this week by Extra TV, in which Rachel asked

The Bachelor

host about the ongoing rumors swirling regarding

Rachael Kirkconnell

and her alleged racist activity. The Georgia native, who is currently competing on

The Bachelor season 25

with

Matt James

, has been accused of making racist comments in high school, attending an antebellum party in college (with

photo evidence

), and other incriminating behavior.

Instead of condemning the actions Rachael is being accused of, Chris decided to defend her. This, of course, did not sit well with many.

To watch the full video of Rachel and Chris’ conversation, you can watch below.

Mike Johnson’s response to Chris Harrison

Among the many people responding to this troublesome interview is former Bachelorette contestant Mike Johnson. The 33-year-old Bachelor in Paradise alum took to his Instagram Story this week to share his thoughts, admitting that he had a lot to say about the video when only a couple of minutes in.

After finishing the video, he stated to the camera, “Chris, you disappointed me,” as well as complimenting Rachel on how “eloquent” she sounded and how well she handled the situation. Mike went on to explain, “Chris said some things in there that were just not good—simple as that. Just not good.”

You can check out Mike Johnson’s full response in a screengrab here.

Taylor Nolan’s response to Chris Harrison

And Mike is hardly the only Bachelor Nation member who has provided their less-than-impressed feelings about Chris Harrison’s comments. Former Bachelor contestant Taylor Nolan had a particularly long and important message to share with her followers, taking to Instagram to write in part:

"If you finally became educated on the systems of white supremacy during summer 2020 then a) welcome better late than never and b) I hope that you understand that there are a lot of things that happen before 2020 that were racist and upheld white supremacy. Does that mean we just excuse them? No."

You can see her full post here. Taylor received countless comments saluting her for her post, and it seems like many other Bachelor alums are following suit with their own messages about the situation.

Chris Harrison apology

If you’ve been following along with the saga, you’ll know that Chris Harrison issued an apology to social media, writing in part:

"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 about which I should have been better informed…What I now realize I have done is cause harm by wrongly speaking in a manner that perpetuates racism, and for that I am deeply sorry."

You can see his full post here.

Of course, it’s the right thing to do on Chris Harrison’s part to apologize, but many believe the damage has already been done. Mike Johnson and Taylor Nolan are certainly not the only people “disappointed” or angered by the whole ordeal. The Bachelor franchise needs to do better.

dark. Next. Does Heather Martin stay on The Bachelor? [SPOILERS]

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