Following Chris Harrison's mean and insensitive comments, fans want Rachel Lindsay to replace Harrison as host of The Bachelor. Lindsay, a season 21 contestant on the show and the season 13 Bachelorette, has not yet responded. Harrison has recently been in serious hot water following his interview with Lindsay on Extra.
If you're a fan of The Bachelor, there's no doubt that you've been keeping up with the developments surrounding front-runner Rachael Kirkconnell's racist past. As the series has played out, fans have done deep dives into her social media accounts and found lots of evidence that she has engaged in and condoned problematic behavior and rhetoric surrounding race time and time again. Following all of this proof coming to light, Bachelor host Chris Harrison responded publicly in an interview conducted by Rachel Lindsay on Extra. Rather than criticizing Kirkconnell's actions outright, Harrison defended her, which led many fans to call for his dismissal from his longtime role at the forefront of Bachelor Nation.
Following this interview, fans went so far as to put together an online campaign to get Harrison fired. The signatures have flowed in, including some notable contributions from Bachelor alumni. Now that many fans are hell-bent on getting rid of Harrison, they've also proposed that a suitable replacement would be none other than the woman who spoke with him in this controversial interview, Rachel Lindsay. The idea for this switch first came from a graphic posted on Instagram by Chatty Broads, a podcast hosted by Bekah Martinez and Jess Ambrose.
Support for Lindsay as the new host poured in in the comments and also on r/thebachelor, the dedicated Reddit page for Bachelor fans. "👏👏👏 let’s make it happen," said one fan. "Rachel replacing Chris Harrison is what 2021 NEEDS," chimed in another. A user on Reddit added that it may also be time to reconsider the age and background of contestants who are being cast. "I'm here for it. Maybe they could also FINALLY cast mature adults instead of 21-25 year old problematic southern white girl wannabe influencers."
While there was lots of support for the idea of Lindsay replacing Harrison, there were many others who said they thought Lindsay shouldn't host The Bachelor because she was above it. One commenter said that they "...would LOVE if Rachel would replace him but let’s be real - she deserves way better than this franchise, a franchise that has put so much emotional labor on her." Another fan pointed out that "the show doesn’t deserve her. it’ll open her to MORE racist attacks and for what?" As the first Black Bachelorette, Lindsay has certainly dealt with plenty of backlash and hate through the years. Check out this post that Lindsay shared after her dicey interview with Harrison:
Though fans may want it, if Chris Harrison really is booted out, there's no telling if Rachel Lindsay would be considered for the job or would even be interested. Still, it's clear that Bachelor fans are calling for more diversity and equality and a shift in the conversations being had in the franchise overall.
The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8pm EST on ABC.
Source: Chatty Broads, Reddit, Rachel Lindsay