Why ‘Bachelor’ Host Left? What Happened To Chris Harrison?
Former Bachelor host Chris Harrison is looking back on his departure from the hit reality TV franchise. Harrison, 51, had hosted the show and its spinoffs since 2002 and also served as an executive producer. However, in 2021, he left the franchise and he said he remains “heartbroken” about leaving.
Chris has a new podcast called The Most Dramatic Podcast… Ever with Chris Harrison. He spoke about his departure in the first episode. Here is what Harrison had to say about leaving The Bachelor.
Chris Harrison was removed from Bachelor after controversial statements
Chris Harrison had hosted The Bachelor and spinoffs like The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise since 2002. However, following an interview with former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay, he ended up forced off the show. The allegations included racism, and it all stemmed from comments he made that seemed to be defending Rachael Kirkconnell during the interview.
Rachel Lindsay was the first Black Bachelorette. Then, Matt James was the first Black Bachelor. However, a lot of attention went to the winner of Matt’s season of The Bachelor – Rachael Kirkconnell. The controversy arose when someone released photos of Kirkconnell while she was in college. Her sorority had a plantation-themed sorority event in 2018 where all the sorority members wore dresses from that era. This caused many fans to call out Kirkconnell as a racist for taking part in the event with her sorority sisters.
Chris Harrison chose to talk about the controversial moment in his interview with Rachel Lindsay. Kirkconnell won when Matt James chose her in the end. However, they broke up shortly after the controversy grew, but then got back together anyway and they are still together to this day.
However, it was Harrison who lost his career when he asked Rachel if the plantation-themed college party was a bad look for 2018 or just a bad look after 2021. He asked for people to give Kirkconnell “grace” and listen to her side of the story before burying her. His concern was that people were tearing Kirkconnell apart for a college party photo.
Chris Harrison looks back on leaving The Bachelor
Chris Harrison asked people to not dogpile on Rachael Kirkconnell after the photo was released. However, at the same time, many saw it as Chris offering excuses for problematic behavior. As a result, he was forced to leave his role as Bachelor host after two decades of hosting.
“I was heartbroken; I was gutted,” Chris said about leaving the show. “I was embarrassed, I was mad at myself, I was disappointed in myself. The last thing in the world I ever wanted to do was be an agent of anything negative — whether it had to do with race or anything” (via TODAY). More than his statement, this was also a chance for the production to change direction when it came to diversity on the show.
Harrison also said he suffered from depression issues after leaving the show. He said it made him sick and he lost 20 pounds. Chriss said he mentally and physically deteriorated badly after the controversy. He did admit that his timing was bad when talking about the situation, even if he meant well in a time of unfettered online bullying against contestants on the shows.
Harrison also said it put him in a bad place because politicians on both sides – left and right – used him as a talking point. This is something he plans to talk about among many other things on his new weekly podcast with his Lauren Zima.
What are your thoughts about Chris Harrison’s departure from The Bachelor? Do you listen to his new podcast? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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