The BachelorRachael Kirkconnell has apologized.
Kirkconnell, who is on the current season of the long-running reality series, has been accused of racism since last month when photos surfaced of her attending a fraternity formal in 2018 with a pre-war plantation theme. Around the same time, a TikToker made an unverified charge that Kirkconnell bullied her in high school for dating a black man.
Kirkconnell is white and she’s competing for the heart of Matt James, the show’s first-ever black bachelor.
“At one point I didn’t recognize how offensive and racist my actions were, but that’s no excuse. My age or when it happened doesn’t excuse anything,” she said in a statement Thursday afternoon. “There are no way acceptable or okay. I was ignorant, but my ignorance was racist.
The 24-year-old said she was “ashamed” of her lack of education and that she is learning. She also encouraged others to use this as a ‘learning opportunity’ to prevent someone else from making the same mistake.
She concluded by saying, “Racial progress and unity are impossible without (white) accountability, and I deserve to be held accountable for my actions.” As for forgiveness, Kirkconnell said she hopes to earn it from her actions in the future.
Just a day before, Bachelor education host Chris Harrison apologized for defending Kirkconnell during an interview with Rachel Lindsay, the first black star of The bachelorette in 2017. When asked about the photos, Harrison initially said people shouldn’t be so quick to judge Kirkconnell.
“We all need a little bit of grace, a little bit of understanding, a little bit of compassion,” he said. “Because I’ve seen some stuff online – this judge, jury, executioner thing where people just tear this girl’s life apart and, like her parents, dive into her parents’ voting record. It’s incredibly scary to see this “I haven’t heard Rachael talk about this yet. Until I really get the chance to speak to this woman, who am I to say this? I saw a picture of her at a sorority five years ago and that’s it.”
When Lindsay said the controversial footage “ didn’t look right, ” Harrison responded by asking if it looked right in 2018. Lindsay’s answer was that it was “never a good look because she celebrates the Old South.” If I went to that party, what would I represent at that party? “
Harrison stated, “50 million people did that in 2018.”
On Wednesday he said he was sorry that he “spoke inappropriately in a way that perpetuates racism.”
Read more from Yahoo Entertainment: