Fans Respond After ‘Bachelor’ Frontrunner Speaks out About Rachel Lindsay

Rachael Kirkconnell

ABC/Craig Sjodin Rachael Kirkconnell on season 25 of 'The Bachelor.'

Bachelor frontrunner Rachael Kirkconnell has returned to Instagram to defend Rachel Lindsay, and to encourage fans to stop sending hurtful, hate-filled messages to people.

Her message received mixed reactions, but most of the people who commented showed both her and Rachel Lindsay support.

“You have the opportunity to make a positive difference, to use your energy towards change, and to come together and realize what’s right in a time like this. If you are choosing to rather spread hate, to send cruel, vicious messages, to be mad about people being hurt by racism… do better. Be better. Rachel Lindsay and other BIPOC have called for myself and others to be held accountable. This is needed, and she does not deserve the hate she is receiving,” Kirkconnell’s latest statement reads.

“Recognize that she along with every person you send hateful messages to, are human. We are real people, and she should not have to disable her account to escape this toxicity. This is not okay. She is doing the hard work that needs to be done for change, and does not deserve to be silenced or ridiculed. If you are someone that has been cruel, find what fuels this hate in your heart, and fix it,” Kirkconnell continued.

The post has received more than 14,000 likes since it was posted around 5:45 p.m. Eastern.

Here’s what you need to know:


Fans Have Responded to Rachael Kirkconnell’s Post, Many Leaving Supportive Comments

Kirkconnell’s post has received quite a few comments since it was posted. Many fans gave Kirkconnell props for showing her support to Rachel Lindsay and other BIPOC.

While other fans continued to post negative comments about Lindsay, the majority seemed to support Kirkconnell in her attempt to right her wrong — and to support someone whom she seems to respect.

“It’s good to see you standing behind your initial words. Rachel does so much good work and deserves all of our support,” one Instagram user commented.

“Respect to you Rachael for all that you’ve been doing,” added a second.

“This is accountability at its finest. Thank you Rachael,” a third wrote.

“THANK YOU FOR THIS MESSAGE! It means a lot,” echoed a fourth.

As previously reported by Heavy, Lindsay deactivated her Instagram account after receiving a ton of “hate” on the social media outlet.

“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,” Lindsay’s “Higher Learning” podcast co-host Van Lathan explained in an Instagram video of his own.

Many Bachelor franchise fans are upset with the idea that Chris Harrison may not return as the show’s host — and many seem to believe that this is Rachel Lindsay’s fault, this based on the numerous comments on social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit.

After Harrison’s interview with Lindsay on ExtraTV — in which he made some comments that many people found to be insensitive to BIPOC — the former Bachelorette spoke out about what really went down. You can read more about that here.


This Is the Third Time Rachael Kirkconnell Has Spoken out Following Her Self-Described Past ‘Racist’ Behavior

Just two days ago, Kirkconnell posted the video above to her Instagram page. She sat on the floor of a bedroom wearing a large sweatshirt and covering her bottom half with a knit blanket as she spoke to her 458,000+ Instagram followers.

She explained that she’d been getting quite a few messages since making her public apology. Many of those messages were from people claiming that they didn’t understand why her actions were considered offensive. Kirkconnell said she wanted to use her platform to share some resources to help those people better understand why so many were hurt by what she did in the past (namely attending an Old South formal).

As previously reported by Heavy, fans rallied around Kirkconnell, letting her know that she was doing the right thing. However, several fans took the opportunity to say that Kirkconnell has nothing to apologize for — and many slammed Rachel Lindsay in the process. This is more than likely what prompted Kirkconnell to speak out this evening. It’s also part of the reason that Lindsay deleted her Instagram account — she has been getting quite a few hate-filled messages over this Bachelor controversy.

On February, 11, Kirkconnell also posted an apology about her behavior, vowing to learn from her past actions and do better.

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