Chris Harrison’s girlfriend has taken a stand against him.
Lauren Zima, who has been in a relationship with the ‘Bachelor’ host for two years, posted a statement on her Instagram story after Harrison retired from the show this week for “ excusing ” a contestant’s racist behavior.
“What Chris said was wrong and disappointing,” Zima, an “Entertainment Tonight” correspondent, wrote Saturday. “Defending racism can never happen.”
“Accountability comes first, then learn and grow.”
Earlier on Saturday, Harrison, 49, announced that he would be moving away from the show, which he has hosted since its inception, and would not be part of the ‘After the Rose’ special at the end of the current season of ‘The Bachelor education.”
“By excusing historical racism, I have defended it. I used the term ‘police wake up’ which is unacceptable. I’m ashamed of how ignorant I was. I was wrong, ”he said.
Riot surrounded Harrison this week after he gave an interview asking fans to give current contestant Rachael Kirkconnell “a little grace, a little understanding” after it was revealed that she once attended a plantation-themed college party in 2018 and reportedly was racially insensitive. posts on social media.
Harrison made the comments during an interview for “Extra” with Rachel Lindsay, who was the first black “Bachelorette” who developed into a heated back and forth about race.
In the wake of the controversy, Lindsay, who still works for the “Bachelor” franchise, said she would cut ties with the show.
“I can’t take it anymore,” Lindsay, who has been candid about the show’s lack of diversity in the past, said on her “Higher Learning” podcast on Friday. “I am contractually bound in some way. But when it’s over, so am I. I can’t do it anymore. “
Kirkconnell, 24, also offered an apology this week, saying, “At one point I didn’t recognize how insulting and racist my actions were, but that’s no excuse for them. My age or when it happened nothing apologizes. They are in no way acceptable or okay. I was ignorant, but my ignorance was racist. “
But her fellow participants came out with their own statement saying they “denounce any defense of racism.”
The current season of ABC’s long-running show features Matt James, the first black ‘bachelor’.