‘The Bachelor’: Rachael Kirkconnell Slams Fans and Defends Rachel Lindsay After She Leaves Social Media
Bachelor Nation is an unforgiving place, but fans of The Bachelor seem to pick and choose who they want to extend their grace to. Over the past few weeks, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding contestant Rachael Kirkconnell and some photos that surfaced of her attending an Old South party. Things got worse when host Chris Harrison defended the photos in an interview with Rachel Lindsay. Since then, instead of placing the blame on someone who actually made a mistake, fans have been harassing Lindsay to the point where she deleted her social media. Now, Kirkconnell is defending Lindsay.
Chris Harrison’s interview led to him stepping down
In an interview with Extra, Harrison went on a 12-minute spiel about how fans should give Kirkconnell grace for attending the plantation party. He even went as far as to say that attending racist parties like that was not as bad in 2018 as it is now. Throughout the conversation, Lindsay kept her composure and reminded Harrison that racist acts were never OK in any year.
After the interview, Harrison and the franchise received so much backlash that Harrison announced that he would be stepping back from the show and not hosting the After the Final Rose ceremony.
Rachel Lindsay was nervous about the hate after Chris Harrison interview
After being the first Black Bachelorette, Lindsay has constantly been the one at the forefront of the fight for social justice in the Bachelor world. But she has admitted that she has gotten tired of how toxic the franchise can be. When asked if she would consider replacing Harrison, Lindsay shied away from the topic.
“Honestly, I can’t even go there,” she said on the Black Girls Texting podcast. “Because one, Chris has only said that he’s stepping aside, and that’s all that I know, that he’s not doing the finale. It’s hard for me to even think about being the host, because in a lot of ways, Bachelor Nation has changed my life in the best way possible. But at the same time, it’s really toxic. … And I don’t know if I want to subject myself to that.”
Rachael Kirkconnell defends Rachel Lindsay
Some fans have blamed Lindsay for the predicament that Harrison is in. Their constant harassment led Lindsay to deactivate her Instagram account. On Saturday, Kirkconnell defended Lindsay against all the haters
“You have the opportunity to make a positive difference, to use your energy towards change, and to come together and realize what’s right in a time like this,” she wrote on Instagram. “If you are choosing to rather spread hate, to send cruel, vicious messages, to be mad about people being hurt by racism…do better. Be better.
“Rachel Lindsay and other BIPOC have called for myself and others to be held accountable. This is needed, and she does not deserve the hate she is receiving,” she continued. “Recognize that she along with every person you send hateful messages to, are human. We are real people, and she should not have to disable her account to escape this toxicity. This is not okay. She is doing the hard work that needs to be done for change, and does not deserve to be silenced or ridiculed. If you are someone that has been cruel, find what fuels this hate in your heart, and fix it.”
