THE Bachelor host Chris Harrison will break his silence on his racism scandal during an appearance on Good Morning America this week.
The controversial host will make his first public appearance since stepping down from The Bachelor after he was accused of defending “racism” following his defense of contestant’s Rachael Kirkconnell’s “old south” photo.
Entertainment Tonight confirmed that Chris, 49, will be interviewed by Michael Strahan on Thursday’s episode of GMA.
The popular ABC franchise has been under fire all through season 25, which is currently being led by Bachelor Matt James.
The controversy began when it was discovered that Georgia contestant Rachael K had attended an Antebellum plantation-themed party in 2018.
The 24-year-old’s past social media history was also put under scrutiny for her questionable posts.
After Rachael K received backlash, Chris defended her during an interview with former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay on Extra.
He 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.”
Chris added: “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]?”
Following backlash for his comments, including from Rachel L., Chris revealed he was ashamed of his comments and said he was stepping down as the host of the franchise.
He said: “…I also apologize to my friend Rachel Lindsay for not listening to her better on a topic she has a first-hand understanding of, and humbly thank the members of Bachelor Nation who have reached out to me to hold me accountable. I promise to do better.”
As Chris continued to be slammed for his comments, The Celeb Report revealed that Chris won’t be coming back as producers make the effort to add diversity to all levels of the show.
The insider shared: “There’s been big staffing changes on all levels. More people of color have been hired as producers, editors, sound engineering, administrative positions and everything in between.
“ABC is also implementing more diversity training for everyone involved on the show.”
Rachel L. also received pushback for speaking out against both Chris and Rachael K for perpetuating historical racism and was forced to leave Instagram after trolls made her life on social media impossible.
While she’s no longer on Instagram, Rachel L. has continued to be vocal about the situation.
During Tuesday’s episode of her podcast Higher Learning, the 35-year-old said: “I think that they should just stop until … they get the train back on the tracks.
“You’re gonna go into another season but you still have all these issues. How have you fixed them coming into a new season? You really haven’t.”
The former TV star added that producers should “take a beat” before continuing with more episodes.
