John Parra/Getty Images for T-Mobile Rachel Lindsay at the 2017 T-Mobile Presents Derby After Dark.
Rachel Lindsay is done with The Bachelor franchise, almost.
“I can’t take it anymore,” revealed the former Bachelorette on her podcast, Higher Learning with Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay. “I’m contractually bound in some ways. But when it’s up, I am too. I can’t do it anymore.”
This revelation comes shortly after her controversial interview with Bachelor Nation host Chris Harrison, in which he was criticized for defending racism. Lindsay, who appeared on Nick Viall’s season of The Bachelor before becoming the lead, has stayed involved with the franchise and co-hosts one of its official podcasts, Bachelor Happy Hour.
The Extra host already teased a possible exit when she responded, “My days are numbered” to a Twitter thread from Huffington Post reporter Emma Gray speaking out against the interview.
In the Extra interview, Harrison was questioned about recently surfaced photos of Rachael Kirkconnell, who has faced other accusations of racism, at an “Old South” antebellum-style party. He called for her to receive “grace” until she could speak and questioned if the photos were only a bad look with a 2021 lens.
“Is it a good look in 2018, or is it not a good look in 2021? Because there’s a big difference,” Harrison asked Lindsay. She replied, “It’s not a good look ever.”
He continued, “That was not the case in 2018. I’m not defending Rachael, I just know that, I don’t know, 50 million people did that in 2018. That was a type of party that a lot of people went to. … Where is this lens we’re holding up and was this lens available, and were we all looking through it in 2018?”
Given that there were only about 20 million college students in 2018, his assertions of must be false.
Kirkconnell has since issued an apology.
Lindsay Describes Herself as ‘Exhausted’
“I’m f****** tired, I’m exhausted,” Lindsay explained to her Higher Learning co-host. “I have, I have truly had enough. My entire reason for doing The Bachelorette, and I was lucky that it worked out for me in the most beautiful way in finding Brian [Abasolo], is that I wanted to be representative as a Black woman to this audience and I wanted to pave the way for more people to have this opportunity.”
Describing her relationship with the franchise as “love-hate,” she said that after threatening to quit if leads of color were not cast, some changes were made such as hiring a diversity consultant.
She questioned, “Who didn’t attend the class? Did Chris Harrison not sit through that? I’m confused as to how you could have a whole consultant, consultants working for you yet what happens just happened. So are people going through trainings? Are they learning things? Are they just being protected from what we just saw happen this week?”
Harrison Has Temporarily Stepped Aside as Host
Amid the backlash, Harrison issued an apology on Instagram within a day as a Change.org petition calling for his resignation gained momentum.
He later issued a second apology on Instagram for “excusing historical racism” and revealed, “This historic season of The Bachelor should not be marred or overshadowed by my mistakes or diminished by my actions. To that end, I have consulted with Warner Bros. and ABC and will be stepping aside for a period of time and will not join for the After the Final Rose special.”
It is unclear at this time how long Harrison will be gone and who will replace him.
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