Deadline reports he's exited the franchise.
Chris Harrison Is Officially Stepping Down as Host of ‘The Bachelor’ After 19 Years
Chris Harrison is officially out as host of The Bachelor, Deadline reports. The TV personality is reportedly exiting the role after 19 years and in wake of the racism controversy that led to his temporary leave.
For those unfamiliar with what happened, click here. But a quick boilerplate: After photos of Rachael Kirkconnell, a contestant from Matt James's season of The Bachelor, attending an "Old South" party in college went viral, a media firestorm for the show ensued. Harrison went on Extra to talk about it with Rachel Lindsay, the first Black Bachelorette, and repeatedly interrupted her and defended Kirkconnell. Harrison apologized and announced he'd temporarily be stepping down as Bachelor host. Now it appears his exit is final.
Reps for ABC and/or Harrison didn't respond to Deadline's story, but the outlet says Harrison is receiving a hefty payout for his exit. The expectation, per Deadline, is Harrison and ABC will play nice publicly, but the conversations that led to this decision were reportedly not great. Get all the interesting (reported!) details here.
When Chris Harrison first announced he was temporarily taking a break from The Bachelor, he wrote on Instagram, “This historic season of The Bachelor should not be marred or overshadowed by my mistakes or diminished by my actions…To that end, I have consulted with Warner Bros. and ABC and will be stepping aside for a period of time and will not join for the After the Final Rose special.”
He also said, “What…I have done is cause harm by wrongly speaking in a manner that perpetuates racism, and for that I am so deeply sorry. I also apologize to my friend Rachel Lindsay for not listening to her better on a topic she has firsthand understanding of.”
We'll keep you posted on this story as new details emerge.
This story originally appeared on: Glamour - Author:Christopher Rosa
