Before Jesse Palmer won the job as host of The Bachelor franchise and after Chris Harrison had been removed from his duties, Bachelor In Paradise had a decision to make. The host of the previous season of The Bachelorette had been Kaitlyn Bristowe and Tayshia Adams, and the favorite to take over hosting duties in Paradise from Chris was former contestant and current Paradise bartender Wells Adams. But Wells only hosted part of the season. Who else flew down to Mexico to lead the show?
Around this exact time last year, Jesse was named host of the upcoming season of The Bachelor. It had been previously reported that the show was looking for a permanent host for the franchise after trying out several celebrities and former contestants in the role. The first guest host was former NFL player and sports talk show personality Emmanuel Acho, who hosted the After The Final Rose segment on Matt James' season while Chris took time away from the show. Next, Kaitlyn and Tayshia stepped in to host Katie Thurston's season of The Bachelorette. They were so strong in their roles that they were invited back to co-host Michelle Young's season later that year. Instead of sending them to Mexico to host Bachelor In Paradise, however, the franchise did something different.
Last season, in 2021, Bachelor In Paradise brought in a rotating cast of celebrities to fill in. First was comedian David Spade, who brought some levity to counteract many years of Chris's self-seriousness as host. Other hosts were Lil Jon, Lance Bass and Tituss Burgess, in addition to the previously mentioned Wells. It was an odd choice for the show to choose a group of hosts rather than settle on one person, but it ended up working out.
Jesse Palmer hosts his first season of Bachelor In Paradise
Since taking over as sole host, Jesse has been both celebrated and criticized. Many fans believe he's been better than Chris, but Jesse has not been able to shake many of the deeply engrained issues from the show he inherited. Most recently, Jesse was unwilling to discuss Erich Schwer wearing Blackface in a high school yearbook photo on After the Final Rose and instead inexplicably punted responsibility to other members of Bachelor Nation to address it with Gabby Windey on a podcast.
Jesse will add some stability to what at times felt like a hectic and uneven season last year. It's nice that the show finally moved forward and settled on one host to take over. But it's still concerning to know that Jesse is not going to be able to address sensitive issues, like racism, in a thoughtful way should they arise.
Bachelor In Paradise premieres Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 8pm EST on ABC.