BACHELORETTE Rachel Lindsay wants ABC to “stop production” as they”haven’t fixed their problems” amid racism scandal.
Previously, host Chris Harrison stepped down after he was accused of defending “racism” following his defense of contestant’s Rachael Kirkconnell’s “old south” photo.
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 TV star added that producers should “take a beat” before they continue with more episodes.
She said: “Figure things out, regroup and then bring the product back to us [in] a way that we can all enjoy it the way that we used to.”
The popular franchise has had a dark cloud over it all through season 25, which is currently being led by Bachelor Matt James.
It all kicked off after Georgia contestant Rachael K was discovered to have 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, things didn’t ease up as host Chris stood in her corner during an interview with Rachel L 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, 49, 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]?”
Chris of course received plenty of pushback for his comments, including from Rachel L, and a few days later he 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.”
Rachel L was The Bachelorette‘s first Black lead in 2017.
Following the backlash against both the contestant and the host, 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 also revealed: “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.”
However, unfortunately Rachel L also felt heat as following weeks of her speaking out against and slamming both Chris and Rachael K for perpetuating historical racism, she was forced to leave Instagram after trolls made her life on social media impossible.
Bachelor execs would soon make it clear on their Bachelor Nation account that the hate given towards the former Bachelorette due to her interview with Chris about race is “unacceptable.”
They wrote: “Rachel has received an unimaginable amount of hate and has been subjected to severe online bullying, which, more often than not, has been rooted in racism.
“That is totally unacceptable. Rachel has been an incredible advocate for our cast, and we are grateful that she has worked tirelessly toward racial equity and inclusion.”
