Rachel Lindsay says 'Bachelor' franchise should suspend production until race, diversity issues are addressed
The first Black 'Bachelorette' was caught in the middle of the Chris Harrison drama
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former "Bachelorette" Rachel Lindsay believes the franchise needs to suspend production until it adequately addresses its current race and diversity scandal.
Lindsay found herself at the center of "Bachelor" controversy when she interviewed host Chris Harrison about resurfaced photos of current Season 25 front-runner Rachael Kirkconnell attending an Old South party and liking photos containing the Confederate flag.
Harrison’s statements during that interview led to immense backlash for the host, prompting him to announce that he’s stepping aside from his duties for a time of personal reflection. However, speaking on her "Higher Learning" podcast on Tuesday, the first Black Bachelorette noted that the franchise is rushing headlong into production on another season while the wounds are still fresh from its race controversy.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"They’re about to go into production for ‘The Bachelorette," she explained (via Variety). "I think they should just stop until … they get the train back on the tracks. You’re going to go another season, but you still have all of these issues. How have you fixed them coming into a new season? You really haven’t. I think that they need to take a beat, figure things out, regroup and then bring the product back to us in a way that we can all enjoy it like we used to."
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Rachel Lindsay called for the Bachelor franchise to suspend production until it addresses its race and diversity issue. (ABC/Mitch Haaseth)
In addition to stepping aside from hosting the "After the Final Rose" episode, turning his duties over to former NFL linebacker turned Fox Sports analyst Emmanuel Acho, Harrison issued an apology on his personal social media. Kirkconnell did the same. However, Lindsay noted that she wants to hear from ABC and Warner Bros., which produces the franchise.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"They need to come out and say something," Lindsay said on her podcast.
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"Right now, you’re letting your fans speak for you," Lindsay added. "This is an audience you have curated for 15 years until you had the first lead of color, me. You have built this. These people feel like they had their world, and now people of color are trying to mess it up. You did this! So you need to speak out, and you need to say something — you need to undo it. And at the moment, they’re silent."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}While the producers of the show have not directly addressed the Kirkconnell controversy, it did in fact release a statement condemning the online harassment Lindsay was receiving that prompted her to delete her Instagram account.
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"As Executive Producers of The Bachelor Franchise we would like to make it perfectly clear that any harassment directed toward Rachel Lindsay in the aftermath of her interview with Chris Harrison is completely inexcusable," reads a statement tweeted from the franchise’s official page. "Rachel has received an unimaginable amount of hate and has been subjected to severe online bullying, which, more often than not, has been rooted in racism. That is totally unacceptable. Rachel has been an incredible advocate for our cast, and we are grateful that she has worked tirelessly towards racial equality and inclusion."
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Variety notes that the statement was issued after the podcast was recorded, but before it was released on Tuesday.