Current “The Bachelor” Nation Drama: an overview

image+courtesy+of+eonline.com

image courtesy of eonline.com

Carolyn Malmahn, Co-Editor of Arts and Entertainment
March 1, 2021

By Carolyn Malman. 

 

After speculation about Rachel Kirkconnel’s potentially racist past surfaced on the internet, fans and the entirety of Bachelor nation have been searching for answers. The drama begins as pictures surface of Rachel Kirkconnel, a contestant on this year’s season of “The Bachelor”, at an Old South Antebellum themed party in college. These parties have racist connections, as they are exclusively white, and Southern plantation themed. In an interview with Rachel Lindsay(former contestant on “The Bachelor” and former bachelorette) on the extra, the host of “The Bachelor” named Chris Harrison defended Rachel Kirkconnel saying that she “got dressed and went to a party and had a great time”. Furthermore, he states that the public waits for Kirkconnels response to the issue before they make any conclusions about the situation. Following this, Rachel Kirkconnel made a public statement on her Instagram stating, “at one point, I didn’t recognize how offensive and racist my actions were, but that doesn’t excuse them”. Although fans consider this to be an effective apology, this situation has transformed into many other issues within “The Bachelor” franchise.

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With this, Rachel Lindsay addresses other possible issues within “The Bachelor” franchise. Further, she hopes that this event can act as the catalyst for change in the future. 

Following these events, contestants on this season of “The Bachelor” unanimously share their reluctance to condone racism within “The Bachelor” franchise. There was nearly universal support throughout the social media accounts of the contestants on “The Bachelor” as they posted a collective message to their thousands of followers, which read that “[they] are deeply disappointed and want to make it clear that [they] denounce any defense of racism”. Chris Harrison, host of “The Bachelor”, surprisingly resigned from his position as host due to the response to his support of Rachell Kirkconnel. Harrison claims that he was “uninformed” and “wrong” in defending historical racism. The story does not end here, however, as Rachel Lindsay responded to Chirs Harrison’s response. She states that “it was never [her] intention to see Chris Harrison step aside, but it was [her] intention to hear and see this interview”. 

Finally, in the most recent development, Rachel Lindsay deactivated her Instagram account due to the extent of criticism she was receiving for the entire situation. The Bachelor nation responded quickly to this with many former contestants sharing their support for Lindsay. This drama proves to be more intense than any of the portrayed dramas on “The Bachelor” tv show, and no one knows how this situation will continue to progress in the future.