Rachel Lindsay has shared that she supports Chris Harrison's decision to take time away from The Bachelor! On Monday, the former "Bachelorette" sat down with Extra's Billy Bush to talk about Harrison's sudden departure from the reality show, which comes shortly after he made some questionable comments in a recent interview with her.
Lindsay says that Harrison "needs time" to learn
The Bachelor's longtime host made a statement on Saturday announcing that he is leaving the show for "a period of time," and won't be hosting the After the Final Rose special this season. As Entertainment Tonight mentions, during an interview with Lindsay last week, Harrison excused the past racism of one of The Bachelor's current contestants, Rachael Kirkconnell— which both he and Kirconnell later apologized for.
"Where do we go from here as a franchise? It's hard to say," Lindsay asked Bush, saying she thinks Harrison made "the right decision" to take a temporary leave from The Bachelor. Lindsay also said that she feels the break from the show will allow Harrison to reflect on his actions. "I think he needs to understand what was done, what was wrong in that interview," she continued. "He needs time. He needs to step away to do that."
Lindsay questions the future of Bachelor franchise
Lindsay went on to explain that she finds Harrison's apology "tough" to accept, and isn't sure what the future of The Bachelor will look like after the backlash the show's host has now received. "He has taken steps to issue not one, but two apologies. Let's see what happens from there," she said. Lindsay also addressed the fact that some of the criticism Harrison has faced has come from those directly involved with the show.
"I promise to do better," she says...
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"I will say this: To see the contestants come together and speak out, and to say what they don't stand for, I don't know how we continue in this way," she admitted. "How do you [continue with him as host] when people in Bachelor Nation are upset, the contestants of this very show, the leads of the show? How does he go on to represent the franchise when people were so upset by what they saw in that interview?"
As Entertainment Tonight mentions, Lindsay also talked about the ongoing controversy when she co-hosted a Reddit AMA— short for "Ask Me Anything"— on Monday. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind, revealing that she felt current contestant Hannah Brown's response to the situation "lacked substance," and that Kirkconnell "slipped through the cracks" rather than getting carefully vetted in the casting process.
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