THE Bachelor host Chris Harrison is under fire for "defending" Rachael Kirkconnell's "racist" allegations.
Now, Bachelor fans are demanding ABC fire Harrison for his "unacceptable" comments he made while chatting about Kirkconnell's scandal with former Bachelorette, Rachel Lindsay.
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Will Chris Harrison be fired as The Bachelor host?
As of February 12, ABC has not addressed Harrison's situation, or haven't indicated whether the long time host will be fired.
Bachelor fans have launched a petition on change.com, alleging Harrison "has a history of misogyny and racist behavior and racist-sympathizing behavior".
The petition on Change has received over 30,000 signatures and counting, urging the show to drop its host of 20 years from the franchise.
In addition to his comments this week, the website notes previous interviews with Harrison – including one from 2018 when he commented on the Me Too movement.
He said: “When you walk into the room as a man, you’re always in the wrong. Especially these days.
“Men are always the a-hole in a situation, even when they have the higher moral ground — women are always in the right, men are always wrong, and we are supposed to just deal with that.”
Harrison has since apologized after he was slammed for “perpetuating racism” as he “defended” contestant Rachael Kirkconnell.
In the February 9 interview with Rachel Lindsay, Harrison said: “We all need to have a little grace, a little understanding, a little compassion.
“Because I've seen some stuff online… again, this 'judge, jury, executioner' thing where people are just tearing this girl's life apart.
“And diving into…her parents voting record…it's unbelievably alarming to watch this!
"I haven't heard Rachael speak on this yet, and until I actually hear this woman have a chance to speak, who am I to say [anything]?”
What have the contestants in the Bachelor said about Harrison's comments?
Almost all of Bachelor Matt James' contestants rallied together to slam Harrison for his "defense of racist behavior".
Twenty-five women from the current season rallied together to denounce the hosts’ stance in a joint statement.
“We are the women of Bachelor Season 25. Twenty-five women who identify as BIPOC were cast on this historic season that was meant to represent change.
“We are deeply disappointed and want to make it clear that we denounce any defense of racism.
“Any defense of racist behavior denies the lived and continued experiences of BIPOC individuals. These experiences are not to be exploited or tokenized,” the women said.
The group then praised Lindsay – the first Black lead in franchise history – for continuing to advocate for change within the series.
“Rachel Lindsay continues to advocate with ‘grace’ for individuals who identify as BIPOC within this franchise.
“Just because she is speaking the loudest, doesn’t mean she is alone. We stand with her, we hear her, and we advocate for change alongside her,” the women concluded.
What is Chris Harrison's net worth?
Harrison is reportedly worth $16million.
Rumors say that he apparently gets paid $600,000 per Bachelor episode and his salary has reached $8million on the show.
He has been the Bachelor host since 2002, as well as all its spin-offs.
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