Chris Harrison Is Stepping Away From ‘The Bachelor’ Over Recent Controversy
Chris Harrison has announced he is stepping down from his hosting gig on The Bachelor following the recent drama he has been involved in.
He wrote a lengthy statement on Instagram.
In it, it states, “I have spent the last few days listening to the pain my words have caused and I am deeply remorseful. My ignorance did damage to my friends, my colleagues and strangers alike. I have no one to blame but myself for what I said and the way I spoke. I set standards for myself and I have not met them. I feel that with every fiber of my being. Now, just as I taught my children to stand up, and to own their actions, I will do the same.”
“By excusing historical racism, I defended it. I invoked the term ‘woke police,’ which is unacceptable. I am ashamed over how uninformed I was. I was so wrong.”
“To the Black community: I am so sorry. My words were harmful. I am listening, and I truly apologize for my ignorance and the pain it caused you.”
In his note, he does say that he is only stepping away for a “period of time.”
Per US Magazine, Chris’s drama began after he defended The Bachelor contestant Rachael Kirkconnell after she was was outed for being racist in high school and college. The outlet states, “In addition to ‘liking’ offensive social media posts, a photo of Kirkconnell and her sorority sisters at Georgia College at a plantation-themed frat party surfaced online earlier this month.”
During an interview with Rachel Lindsay, he called the reaction to Rachael Kirkconnell’s history “unbelievably alarming.” He then defended her by saying, “We all need to have a little grace, a little understanding, a little compassion. Because I have seen some stuff online — this judge, jury, executioner thing where people are just tearing this girl’s life apart and diving into, like, her parents, her parents’ voting record. … I haven’t heard Rachael speak on this yet. 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 and that’s it.”
Afterward, when Lindsay pointed out that the photos were not a good look, Harrison said, “Is it [not] a good look in 2018 or is it not a good look in 2021? My guess? These girls got dressed up and went to a party and had a great time, they were 18 years old. Now, does that make it OK? I dont know Rachel, you tell me. Were we all looking through [that lens] in 2018?”
See this full statement below.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CLPmjrFgEv8/
13 Celebrity Couples We All Secretly Miss
