With the announcement that former NFL star turned sports analyst and cultural commentator Emmanuel Acho will host the upcoming Bachelor special in Chris Harrison’s absence, Bachelorette star Rachel Lindsay is speaking out.
Harrison announced he’d be taking a temporary break from his hosting duties following the backlash he received regarding an interview with him and Lindsay about Rachael Kirkconnell’s past racial social media posts. During the interview, Harrison said that Kirkconnell should be given “grace” for her past mishaps. Many didn’t agree, arguing acts of racism should never be excused. He apologized and announced his leave of absence afterward.
Lindsay followed suit and declared that she would not be renewing her contract with the franchise, citing years of issues on the show with racism, diversity, and inclusion. Though Acho hosting the upcoming special appears to be a win with him being a man of color addressing such a controversial season with the show’s first Black lead, Lindsay thinks the franchise should pause for the moment.
“They’re about to go into production for The Bachelorette… [and] I think they should just stop until… they get the train back on the tracks,” Lindsay said on Tuesday’s episode of her podcast, Higher Learning. “You’re going to go another season, but you still have all of these issues. How have you fixed them coming into a new season? You really haven’t,” she explained. “I think that they need to take a beat, figure things out, regroup and then bring the product back to us in a way that we can all enjoy it like we used to.”
Lindsay has temporarily deleted her Instagram account amid online bullying from fans of the show blaming her for Harrison’s decision to step away.
