Chris Harrison Officially Exits "The Bachelor" Franchise

[JamesG]

"The Bachelor" Host Chris Harrison will Step Aside and Not Appear on "After The Final Rose" Recap
by Denise Petski
Feb. 13, 2021


"The Bachelor" host Chris Harrison has apologized for comments he made during a recent interview with former "Bachelorette" Rachel Lindsay, on "Extra".

In the interview, Harrison and Lindsay were discussing photos that recently emerged of Rachael Kirkconnell, the current frontrunner of this season’s "The Bachelor". The photos, for which Kirkconnell has come under scrutiny, showed the 24-year-old attending an antebellum plantation-themed fraternity formal in 2018. The photos drew a reaction on social media, due to the painful and racist history of the South before the Civil War.




Harrison defended Kirkconnell’s reputation, saying the photos were taken a long time ago and he also spoke out against cancel culture.

“I haven’t talked to Rachael about it,” Harrison told Lindsay. “We all need to have a little grace, a little understanding, a little compassion. Because I have seen some stuff online — this judge, jury, executioner thing where people are just tearing this girl’s life apart and diving into, like, her parents, her parents’ voting record. It’s unbelievably alarming to watch this. I haven’t heard Rachael speak on this yet. Until I actually hear this woman have a chance to speak, who am I to say any of this? I saw a picture of her at a sorority party five years ago and that’s it.”




Lindsay continued to press Harrison. “Well, the picture was from 2018 at an old South/Antebellum party, so that’s not a good look,” Lindsay replied.

Harrison maintained he’s “not defending it” but said people aren’t looking at the party “under the same lens” now.

“It’s not a good look ever,” Lindsay said, before emphasizing the slavery component in regards to being Black. “She’s celebrating the old South. If I went to that party, what would I represent?”




Harrison tweeted an apology following the "Extra" interview:

“To my Bachelor Nation family — I will always own a mistake when I make one, so I am here to extend a sincere apology. I have this incredible platform to speak about love, and yesterday I took a stance on topics about which I should have been better informed.

While I do not speak for Rachael Kirkconnell, my intentions were simply to ask for grace in offering her an opportunity to speak on her own behalf. What I now realize I have done is cause harm by wrongly speaking in a manner that perpetuates racism and for that I am so deeply sorry.”





UPDATE: Chris Harrison will be “stepping aside” from his role as host of "The Bachelor" for an unspecified period of time, he said today in a statement. He will not appear on the "After the Final Rose" live special after the show’s season finale.

“The 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,” Harrison wrote.

“I am dedicated to getting educated on a more profound and productive level than ever before.”

https://deadline.com/2021/02/bachelo...de-1234692173/

[Hawkee]

This has got to be the worst decision in Chris Harrison's career he has done and just as I predict he will slowly disappear out of the spotlight and not make a comeback to TV. In 2019 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire got cancelled and it hurt Chris terribly and now this had to happen to him and it will hurt Chris Harrison's career a whole lot. Why I think he did this was because he thought ABC would give him more money and to say "I'm Chris Harrison and i'm the king of The Bachelor" and it goes to show that when you're a celebrity in Hollywood the rule is to not get too starstruck too much because it can hurt you. I hope Chris Harrison realizes this before he gets into more big trouble and he will hurt his fanbase a lot
Bestie

[DadTheKing]

Originally Posted by LaBestia

This has got to be the worst decision in Chris Harrison's career he has done and just as I predict he will slowly disappear out of the spotlight and not make a comeback to TV. In 2019 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire got cancelled and it hurt Chris terribly and now this had to happen to him and it will hurt Chris Harrison's career a whole lot. Why I think he did this was because he thought ABC would give him more money and to say "I'm Chris Harrison and i'm the king of The Bachelor" and it goes to show that when you're a celebrity in Hollywood the rule is to not get too starstruck too much because it can hurt you. I hope Chris Harrison realizes this before he gets into more big trouble and he will hurt his fanbase a lot
Bestie

Hi, Bestie! Cancel culture strikes again! Pretty soon all we will have in show business are robots who do not do anything to offend anybody. I feel sorry for Chris. He did nothing wrong but he angered the culture Gods.
DTK

[JamesG]

Chris Harrison Won’t Host "The Bachelorette" Following Racism Controversy
by Nellie Andreeva
March 12, 2021


For the first time since the launch of "The Bachelor" franchise, an installment won’t be hosted by Chris Harrison. Amid continuing controversy, Harrison will not be hosting the upcoming season "The Bachelorette", ABC and franchise producer Warner Horizon said Friday night.

Speculation that Harrison will continue to be sidelined was further fueled when TMZ revealed Friday morning that he was not quarantining with the cast and crew of "The Bachelorette" at a resort near Albuquerque. Production is slated to begin at the end of the month.

ABC and Warner Horizon did not announce a formal host, saying instead that “former Bachelorettes Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe will support the new Bachelorette through next season.”

https://deadline.com/2021/03/chris-h...sy-1234713758/

[TMC]

Chris Harrison will reportedly receive a hefty settlement to exit The Bachelor franchise

Hours after the premiere of the first Bachelorette season without Harrison, Deadline's Dominic Patten reports that the longtime host won't be back to The Bachelor franchise following his racism controversy earlier this year. "Having fronted the Mike Fleiss-created The Bachelor and all its lucrative ABC spinoffs since 2002, Harrison will receive a rose of his own in the form of mid-range eight-figure payoff and promise to keep his mouth shut, I hear," reports Patten. "The usual platitudes are expected to be exchanged for public consumption when the agreement is made public later this week, but there is certainly no romance in the air behind the scenes. While whispers over Harrison’s permanent break-up with the Bachelorverse were all over town after it was revealed last week that Fleiss pal David Spade and others would be guest hosting the next season of Bachelor in Paradise this summer, the form of the final split itself was uncertain until early this morning. Pencilling in the Bachelorette premiere as their event horizon, Harrison’s reps have been in increasingly intense negotiations over the past few days with WBTV and, to a lesser extent, the Disney-owned ABC. After that deadline of sorts came and passed last night with the money issue resolved, it was the legal stray ends that remained. The confidential settlement with franchise producers and distributor Warner Horizon was finally reached after one more flurry of back and forth between the parties and Bachelor broadcaster ABC on Monday night." Patten adds that Harrison's lawyer promised to air The Bachelor franchise's "alleged dirty laundry" if his exit led to a lawsuit and there wasn't a hefty financial settlement. ABC and Warner Bros. TV have yet to make Harrison's exit official.

[JamesG]

Chris Harrison Says he’s “Excited To Start New Chapter”

https://deadline.com/2021/06/chris-h...on-1234771446/

[TMC]

What kind of "dirt" does Chris Harrison have on The Bachelor franchise to lead to a "mid-range eight-figure payoff"?

Harrison's exit from The Bachelor franchise after 19 seasons following his racial controversy wasn't surprising, but his reportedly rich settlement has raised eyebrows. “It begs the question, what is out there?” Josiah Graham, who appeared on Rachel Lindsay’s season of The Bachelorette, said of the pact. “From a curiosity standpoint, what the heck is going on?” Variety reported Harrison's attorney threatened to use the former host's knowledge of The Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss' 2019 domestic violence scandal as leverage. “My guess is that this came from high up,” Bachelor blogger Reality Steve said of Harrison's firing. “Because obviously ABC is under the Disney umbrella, and they don’t want any negative publicity about anything.” Meanwhile, entertainment lawyer and Sharma Law founder Anita K. Sharma was stunned that Harrison's attorney's strong-arm tactics were even leaked. “However, it got out, it’s out there and every article I’ve read is talking about this ‘Shiva of lawsuits,’” she said, noting later: “It also already throws dirt on the franchise, right? Because it’s implying there’s a lot of secrets.” But Sharma adds: "I think everybody exaggerates, and mid range sounds really good as opposed to low range. Nobody’s going to say low range.” Asked if he thinks Harrison knows a lot of dirt on the franchise, Reality Steve said: "I absolutely think it’s true. He’s been there since day one. He’s seen and heard everything that’s gone on on that set... There’s been stories for years of the amount of debauchery that goes on behind the scenes in production, the manipulation of production... the flat-out lying of production to contestants to get the end result that they want.” That said, Carbone added, it would be a pretty hypocritical threat for Harrison’s camp to make, “since he was complicit in it because he knew about it... It is kind of silly of him to be like, ‘Well, I’m gonna expose all your secrets!’ Yeah, all the secrets that you were very well aware of, that you did nothing about at the time?”

ALSO:

• Page Six reports Chris Harrison demanded a $25 million payout
• Rachel Lindsay, whose Extra interview paved the way for Harrison's exit, is shocked: "I wasn't expecting for it to happen, not after the announcement"
• The Bachelor fans rejoice over Harrison's exit, calling it a positive development
• Is The Bachelor franchise even salvageable now? Harrison's exit doesn't fix the franchise's behind-the-scenes problems
• Bachelor Nation alums react to Harrison's exit: Kaitlyn Bristowe called him "truly irreplaceable as a host"
• Jimmy Fallon roasts Harrison on The Tonight Show: “Harrison knew there was trouble when producers brought his suitcase to a meeting,” Fallon joked. “It’s going to be awkward in the finale when the limo driver lowers the partition to reveal it’s Chris Harrison.”

How Chris Harrison was "iced out" of The Bachelor franchise: His GMA interview with Michael Strahan was the "nail in the coffin"

In March, Harrison appeared for a pre-taped interview on the seemingly "friendly confines" confines of Good Morning America in which he apologized. But Strahan wasn't buying the apology. "His apology is his apology, but it felt like I got nothing more than a surface response," said Strahan. "Only time will tell if there is any meaning behind his words.” A source close to The Bachelor production tells The Hollywood Reporter the GMA interview was "the nail in the coffin” for Harrison’s return. While Harrison was given private assurances from higher-ups that he should remain patient and that they wanted him back, the lack of public support led Harrison to hire high-powered attorney Bryan Freedman to represent him. In the days leading up to The Bachelorette premiere earlier this month, the news of David Spade and other guest-hosts filling in for Harrison on Bachelor in Paradise made the rift untenable. “Both sides had the intention of Chris returning, and he was putting in the work in order to make that happen," the source tells The Hollywood Reporter. " And then it suddenly took a turn. He was iced out." Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter's report notes that while Deadline reported Harrison received a “mid-range eight-figure payoff,” a source says that number is inflated, although the actual amount was still sizable.

[JamesG]

Chris Harrison Announces New Podcast: "I Have Not Spoken Publicly for Two Years about This"
by Kristen Baldwin
December 19, 2022


Chris Harrison is ready to let the "journey" begin... again.

Eighteen months after stepping down as host of "The Bachelor" franchise, Harrison is returning to the public eye with a new venture: The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever... with Chris Harrison.

"I have not spoken publicly for two years about this," says Harrison in the trailer for his new podcast, which debuts on January 9, 2023. "I think it will be cathartic. I'm looking forward to getting this off my shoulders and repairing this, moving forward, and letting everybody hear from me."




While the trailer implies that Harrison will include his thoughts on the circumstances surrounding his "Bachelor" exit, it should be noted that the press release from iHeartRadio does not mention the long-running ABC dating show or any of its spin-offs by name.

According to the release, the podcast will feature Harrison's take on "all things relationships," and that each week he'll discuss "dating, marriage, love, loss, and more."

https://ew.com/tv/chris-harrison-pod...-the-bachelor/

[JamesG]

Chris Harrison Explains his Silence During "The Bachelor" Firestorm and 2021 Exit
by Jackie Strause
Jan. 9, 2023


Chris Harrison is offering his side of the story surrounding his public exit from "The Bachelor" franchise.

With the launch of his new iHeart podcast The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever … with Chris Harrison, the TV personality speaks for the first time about his split from the show. The first two episodes of the podcast, released on Jan. 9, also mark his return to media.




Harrison, who took an unplanned hiatus in the middle of "The Bachelor‘s" 25th season and never returned to the ABC reality dating juggernaut, explains his silence amid the firestorm that ultimately led to his departure in early 2021.

He tracks how the events unfolded behind the scenes, and how he was “counseled” to stay silent in the press and on social media.



“The playbook had been thrown out the window,” he says of responding to the snowballing backlash after an "Extra" interview with former "Bachelorette" star Rachel Lindsay nearly two years ago, on Feb. 9, 2021. “The toughest thing for me was where to turn, what to do,” he says. “I was heartbroken. I was gutted. I was embarrassed. I was mad at myself. I was disappointed in myself.”

Adding, “I was sick to my stomach. I lost 20 pounds, I didn’t sleep. I didn’t eat.”

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv...st-1235293449/

[JamesG]

Chris Harrison Calls his Exit from "The Bachelor" Franchise “A Very Toxic Situation”
by Katie Campione
December 28, 2023


Chris Harrison is reflecting on his tumultuous exit from "The Bachelor" franchise with a bit of gratitude.

More than two years ago, Harrison stepped away from the franchise following backlash for defending Season 25 contestant Rachael Kirkconnell, who had received her own share of criticism for attending an antebellum-themed party in college.




Now, during an interview on "Bachelorette" alum Jason Tartick’s podcast, he said he still views the show as “a blessing,” though he also admits it was a “toxic situation” toward the end.

“I still look at this as a blessing in my life. It was hard at first. Obviously, it wasn’t immediate that I felt great about everything, because what I went through was tumultuous,” Harrison said. “I don’t wish it on anybody. It was horrifying on a lot of levels and something that I pray to God my worst enemy never goes through. But, with that said, I knew I had to remove myself from what became a very toxic situation.”




Harrison also speculated that, had he been given the chance, he probably could have weathered the storm and “figured it out.”

“We all could have figured it out, but I had to remove myself from that toxic situation,” he continued. “And so I’m proud of that decision. I’m proud that I handled it the way I did and I still look at [the show] as a blessing because it changed my life on so many levels.”




Harrison also reflected on the positive aspects of hosting the franchise for nearly 20 years, including the friends (and money) he’d made.

He added: “Financially, of course. It changed my life. It changed my kids’ lives…but at the same time I can also be grateful that I’m gone. That’s a relationship I don’t need to be in anymore because it wasn’t healthy.”




Still, leaving the show when he did forced him to “mourn the loss of something that I didn’t intend to exit then.”

“I would have probably soon, but not then, like that,” he said, explaining that he’d been approached to host other reality series since his exit, but he’d refrained from accepting. “And so there was mourning a loss there and I had to realize, like when I left my marriage, take your time and don’t just jump back into the next relationship. That’s not the bandaid that’s gonna heal that wound.”




Harrison concluded by telling Tartick that he isn’t open to hosting "The Bachelor" anymore.

He also suggested that the series has begun “going downhill” since he left, and it will face an uphill battle trying to hold onto its crown among the slew of dating series that have tried to take its place in the cultural zeitgeist over the past few years.

“Once I left, people started taking their shots at the champ and they’ve succeeded and now there’s competition and now there’s shows [that] are in the zeitgeist, they’re being talked about, they’re getting press that we used to get,” he said. “Again, it’s hard to survive when when you don’t have those eyeballs anymore, because people will talk about another show.”

https://deadline.com/2023/12/chris-h...ic-1235682963/

[TMC]

Chris Harrison to make his TV comeback on Dr. Phil's network as host of a new dating reality show and a morning show