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Former “The Bachelorette” star Rachel Lindsay has opened up about her interview with Chris Harrison, which led to considerable backlash this week, regarding the host’s controversial commentary on the race.
Lindsay says she won’t be renewing her contract with “The Bachelor” franchise when it’s completed. She currently hosts a Bachelor Nation podcast and is part of “The Bachelor” family with onscreen appearances in various episodes throughout the seasons.
“I’m fucking tired. I’m exhausted. I’m really tired of it, ”Lindsay said on the Feb. 12 episode of Van Lathan’s“ Higher Learning ”podcast where she spoke at length about the Harrison interview.
Lindsay starred as “The Bachelorette” in 2017, becoming the series’ first-ever black star. This year, in 2021, Matt James became the first black “Bachelor”. Lindsay met her husband, Bryan Abasolo, on the ABC reality show.
“The reason I did ‘The Bachelorette’ – and I was lucky it worked for me in the most beautiful way finding Bryan – is that I wanted to be representative as a black woman to this. public. And I wanted to open the way for more people to have this opportunity, ”Lindsay said on the podcast. “In some ways it has happened. I wanted the franchise to be better. I have a love-hate relationship with him. I am connected to it. It did things for me, and I’ll never forget it.
Lindsay, an attorney who is also a correspondent on “Extra,” said she was unsure whether she wanted to continue with the franchise, given this week’s controversy.
This isn’t the first time Lindsay has said she’s going to sever ties with “The Bachelor.” Last summer, in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement, she said she would leave, if a Black Bachelor wasn’t chosen. (Days after his comments, James was announced as the show’s first black star.)
In this week’s podcast, Lindsay explained, “But how much do I want to be affiliated with this? How much can I take of things like this? I said I was going to leave if they didn’t have any colored leads. Okay, they did and they made other changes. They hired a diversity consultant – who didn’t attend the class? Didn’t Chris Harrison go through this? I don’t know how you could have entire consultants working for you, but what happened just happened “
“I can’t take it anymore,” Lindsay said. “I am contractually bound in certain respects. But when it’s over, so am I. I can not do this anymore.
Warner Bros. TV, the studio behind the “The Bachelor” franchise which currently has Lindsay under contract, did not respond to Varietyrequest for comment from.
A representative for Lindsay did not immediately return to Varietyrequest for additional comment from.
“The Bachelor” faces heavy criticism this week, following comments from host Harrison regarding a favorite candidate, Rachael Kirkconnell, whose past racist behavior has resurfaced on social media. (Photos emerged of Kirkconnell attending a pre-war plantation-themed fraternity in 2018, and she would have liked the social media photos containing the Confederate flag.)
Kirkconnell apologized yesterday, saying his “ignorance was racist”.
Before Kirkconnell’s apology, Harrison sat down with Lindsay for an interview on ‘Extra’ where he went to great lengths during the 14 minute chat, apparently defending Kirkconnell and speaking out strongly against the cancellation culture. .
Amidst backlash, Harrison apologized. “I took a stand on subjects on which I should have been better informed,” he says. “What I realize now is causing harm by speaking wrongly in a way that perpetuates racism, and I am deeply sorry for that. I also apologize to my friend Rachel Lindsay for not listening to her better on a subject that she has a firsthand understanding of, and I humbly thank the members of Bachelor Nation who contacted me to hold me accountable. I promise to do better. “
Lindsay, on the podcast released today, shared her thoughts on her interview with Harrison. She says she and Harrison spoke privately after the interview, and said she appreciated his apologies, “but I’m really, really having a hard time reasoning or, like, really accepting and accepting these. apologies. ”
“During this conversation he talked about me and me, during this conversation,” Lindsay said. “He never gave me a place to speak. And he never gave me room to share my point of view. He wasn’t trying to hear her. He was just trying to be heard. And that’s because I felt like he had an agenda that he was trying to push forward. He was really trying to move this forward. He expressed everything he said, with passion and conviction. So for me, Tuesday is what it was. And I’m not saying he can’t apologize. I’m not saying he can’t learn and do better.
Following the controversy yesterday, the women of the current season of “The Bachelor” gathered to issue a joint statement denouncing the defense of racism.
“Twenty-five women who identify as BIPOC were chosen for this historic season which was meant to represent change,” the statement said. “We are deeply disappointed and would like to point out that we denounce any defense of racism. Any defense of racist behavior denies the lived and continuing experiences of the individuals of BIPOC. These experiences should not be exploited or symbolized. “
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