Jesse Palmer Under Fire After Disastrous College Football Commentary
Should Jesse Palmer stick to hosting The Bachelor franchise and leave the football commentary to someone else? Keep reading to find out why some college football viewers think so.
Jesse Palmer Wasn’t Chris Harrison’s Pick to Replace Him
ABC’s Bachelor franchise suffered a huge upheaval in 2020 when longtime host Chris Harrison announced his departure. The move came amid fan uproar over his defense of Season 25 contestant Rachael Kirkconnell’s alleged racist behavior.
After a year of temporary guest hosts, the network finally announced who would replace Harrison. Season 5 Bachelor Jesse Palmer was named the new host of all the shows within the franchise.
Chris Harrison started a podcast earlier this year. During a recent episode of The Most Dramatic Podcast… Ever, Harrison revealed which Bachelor Nation alums were angling for his job. According to the former host, Wells Adams and Nick Viall wanted the cushy hosting job. The Bachelor In Paradise bartender, Wells Adams, was Harrison’s choice.
But he clearly had no input, as the network went with someone else within the franchise instead of Adams.
Bond With The Golden Bachelor‘s Gerry Turner
Harrison’s departure wasn’t the only shakeup in Bachelor Nation in 2020. That same year, the network teased a senior dating show spinoff featuring a cast over the age of 60+.
The spinoff finally premiered in late September 2023, and fans are absolutely loving it. As host extraordinaire, Jesse Palmer also hosts The Golden Bachelor.
As empathetic as Palmer is to leads on the other shows in the franchise, he takes extra care when it comes to Gerry Turner. During one recent rose ceremony, the host checked on a tearful Turner, asking if he was okay.
Jesse Palmer Under Fire After Disastrous College Football Commentary
Before he was part of Bachelor Nation, Jesse Palmer was a college football star at the University of Florida and briefly in the NFL. During Season 5 of The Bachelor, Palmer found love with Jessica Bowlin, though the season didn’t end in an engagement, and they broke up a few weeks later.
Jesse Palmer parlayed his reality show fame into a sports analyst job with ESPN, which he still does today in between his hosting duties.
Over the weekend, he was among the broadcasters for the Auburn at LSU college football game. Many viewers weren’t happy with Palmer’s commentary, taking to social media to vent.
At one point, the former football player seemingly called an impossible catch as one that the receiver needed to make, per Saturday Day South.
<Ball on a fishing line dangling over a pool of piranhas>
Jesse Palmer: “Look, that’s a ball the receiver has to go get.”
— BH (@6pintsofkramer) October 15, 2023
The outlet notes that football fans found Palmer’s analysis either “boring or annoying,” and that sentiment was reflected in social media posts.
“Hard to listen to jesse Palmer call games after he became the bachelor franchise host,” one annoyed fan wrote on Twitter.
Another suggested Palmer stick to his other job.
Jesse Palmer needs to stick to The Bachelor. #GeauxTigers
— BrAnonymousOminous (@brianjruiz) October 14, 2023
Did you watch the Auburn vs. LSU game on ESPN? What did you think of Jesse Palmer’s commentary? Let us know in the comments.
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