After Chris Harrison stepped aside as host of the hit ABC series The Bachelor last month, the executive producers of the series have issued a statement regarding the situation.
- The statement was shared on the Bachelor Nation Twitter account. The full statement is as follows:
- As Executive Producers of The Bachelor Franchise we would like to make it perfectly clear that any harassment directed towards Rachel Lindsay in the aftermath of her interview with Chris Harrison is completely inexcusable. Rachel has received an unimaginable amount of hate and has been subjected to severe online bullying, which, more often than not, has been rooted in racism. That is totally unacceptable. Rachel has been an incredible advocate for our cast, and we are grateful that she has worked tirelessly towards racial equity and inclusion.
More on Chris Harrison and The Bachelor:
- After some controversial statements made by Chris Harrison, ABC has replaced the host with former NFL player and Fox Sports 1 analyst, Emmanuel Acho.
- Acho made the announcement on Twitter saying the following: “It’s Official: I’ve accepted the Rose & am honored to be hosting the @bachelorabc After the Final Rose this year. It’s been a pivotal season & this episode will be one of the most storied shows in its history. Empathy is needed and change is coming. See y’all then!”
- The announcement was also made via The Bachelor’s official Twitter account.
- Acho will sit down with this season’s bachelor, Matt James, discussing the season, his final decision, and the current events surrounding the show.
- He is taking over after Harrison has been in the spotlight for statements he made during an interview addressing controversial photos of current front-running contestant Rachael Kirkconnell at a plantation-themed college party and other similar personal social media content, which inevitably led to him announcing an indefinite hiatus on the show.
- Harrison has been the only host for the series since it first started on ABC in 2002.
You can catch The Bachelor: After the Final Rose on ABC on Monday, March 15.