ABC/George Burns
This season of The Bachelor has not been at a shortage of drama on- and off-screen. Yet, Bachelor Nation producers have remained silent.
That all changed ahead of Monday’s Women Tell All special, speaking out against the harassment that drove former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay off Instagram.
“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,” they shared on the official Bachelor Nation social media accounts. “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.”
Lindsay has faced backlash after Harrison apologized for “excusing historical racism” and announced he was “stepping aside for a period of time” following their interview on Extra, at times even being accused of trying to steal his job as franchise host.
Lindsay Deactivated Her Instagram Account
When fans tried to go to Lindsay’s Instagram account on Friday, they were met with a “user not found” message.
“She did it because that’s how much hate she’s getting from Bachelor fans who are spamming her with all kinds of rude and hateful things to say,” her Higher Learning co-host, Van Lathan said in a video on his Instagram.
Lathan did not mince words, calling on these fans to “get a f****** life, seriously.”
He continued, “Rachel is not responsible for Chris Harrison, a 49-year-old man who can’t read the room in these present 2021 times,” reminding everyone it is just a show. “It’s not worth harassing somebody over.”
Lathan’s message was shared by many of Lindsay’s supporters.
Bachelor Nation Stars Called for Lindsay’s Harassers to Unfollow Them
Supporters within Bachelor Nation were soon emerging following her Instagram exit.
Obviously among them, her husband, Bryan Abasolo. He shared a photo of the pair on Instagram, writing, “I love you, I appreciate you, I believe in you and I just wanted to let you know how proud of you I am. Keep going and never stop being you and fighting for what’s right.”
Fellow Bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe was among the stars making it clear they would prefer to be unfollowed by Lindsay’s harassers.
She said in her Instagram Story, “I will happily lose so many followers if anyone on here that follows me is sending any sort of negative message to Rachel Lindsay to have her hit her wall and deactivate her account.”
Soon, former franchise contestants like Ashley Spivey, Kendall Long and Sharleen Joynt were using the hashtag #IStandwithRachel to show their support.
Joynt, who revealed she has since quit recapping the season, added, “Bachelor Nation is broken and I’ve never been more ashamed to be associated with it.”
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