Former “The Bachelorette” star Rachel Lindsay has spoken out about her interview with Chris Harrison, which has sparked significant backlash this week regarding the presenter’s controversial comments about the race.
Lindsay says she won’t be renewing her contract with “The Bachelor” franchise once it’s over. She currently hosts a Bachelor Nation podcast and is part of the “The Bachelor” family with guest appearances on screen in several episodes throughout the seasons.
‘I’m fucking tired. I’m exhausted. I’m really fed up with it, ”Lindsay said on the February 12 episode of Van Lathan’s“ Higher Learning ”podcast, where she spoke extensively about the Harrison interview.
Lindsay starred as “The Bachelorette” in 2017, becoming the very first black lead in the series. This year, in 2021, Matt James became the first black ‘bachelor’. Lindsay met her now husband, Bryan Abasolo, on ABC’s reality dating show.
“My whole reason for doing ‘The Bachelorette’ – and I was lucky that it worked the best way for me in finding Bryan – is that I wanted to be a representative of this audience as a black woman. And I wanted to pave the way for more people to have this opportunity, ”Lindsay said on the podcast. “In some ways that has happened. I wanted the franchise to be better. I have a love-hate relationship with it. I am connected to it. It did things for me, and I will never forget that. “
Lindsay, a lawyer who is also a correspondent for “Extra,” said she’s not sure she wants to continue with the franchise, given this week’s controversy.
This is not the first time Lindsay has said she will cut off from “The Bachelor”. Last summer, in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement, she said she would walk away if no Black Bachelor was released. (Days after her comments, James was announced as the show’s first black star.)
On this week’s podcast, Lindsay explained, “But how much more do I want to be a part of this? How much more can I take from these things? I said I would leave if they didn’t have colored threads. Okay, they did, and they made some other changes. They hired a diversity consultant – who didn’t attend the class? Didn’t Chris Harrison endure that? I don’t know how to make whole consultants work for you, but what happened just happened “
“I can’t take it anymore,” Lindsay said. “I am contractually bound in some way. But when it’s over, so am I. I can’t do it anymore. “
Warner Bros. TV, the studio behind “The Bachelor” franchise to which Lindsay is currently under contract, did not respond Variety‘s request for comment.
A Lindsay representative did not return immediately Variety‘s request for additional comment.
“The Bachelor” is facing heavy criticism this week in the wake of host Harrison’s comments about a frontrunner, Rachael Kirkconnell, whose racist behavior has resurfaced on social media in the past. (Photos emerged of Kirkconnell attending a pre-war plantation-themed fraternity in 2018, and she reportedly liked photos on social media featuring the Confederate flag.)
Kirkconnell apologized yesterday, stating that her “ignorance was racist.”
Before Kirkconnell apologized, Harrison sat down with Lindsay for an interview on “Extra,” where he went to great lengths during the 14-minute discussion, seemingly defending Kirkconnell and speaking out strongly against the cancellation culture.
In the midst of fierce resistance, Harrison apologized. “I took a position on topics on which I should have been better informed,” he said. “What I now realize that I have done is to harm by speaking incorrectly in a way that perpetuates racism, and I am so deeply sorry for that. I also apologize to my friend Rachel Lindsay for not listening to her better on a subject she understands firsthand, and humbly thank the members of Bachelor Nation who reached out to me to hold me accountable . I promise to do better. “
Lindsay shared her thoughts on her interview with Harrison on the podcast today. She says she and Harrison had a private conversation after the interview and that she appreciates his apology, “but I’m having a really hard time, reasoning, or, like, accepting and accepting this apology.”
“During that conversation he spoke about me and during that conversation,” said Lindsay. ‘He never gave me the space to talk. And he never gave me the space to share my perspective. He tried not to hear it. He was just trying to be heard. And that’s because I felt like he had an agenda that he was trying to push. He really tried to push that forward. He expressed everything he said with passion and conviction. So to me Tuesday is what it was. And I’m not saying he can’t apologize. I’m not saying he can’t learn from it and get better from it. “
Following the controversy yesterday, women from the current season of “The Bachelor” gathered to post a joint statement speaking out against the defense of racism.
Twenty-five women who identify as BIPOC were cast in this historic season meant to represent change, the statement read. “We are deeply disappointed and want to make it clear that we denounce any defense of racism. Any defense of racist behavior denies the lived and ongoing experiences of BIPOC individuals. These experiences should not be exploited or tokenized. “