THE Bachelorette cast is now “quarantining in New Mexico,” however, disgraced host Chris Harrison has not been seen on set.
The 49-year-old, who recently stepped down from his position, could be replaced by former linebacker Emmanuel Acho.
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According to TMZ, the cast and crew for the upcoming season of The Bachelorette are currently at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa — outside Albuquerque – in preparation for the program.
Although, longtime host Chris isn’t a part of that quarantine bubble, as an insider told the outlet that “pre-production has already begun,” with the plan to “begin shooting in late March.”
However, it seems like there has been no confirmation to who will be hosting the show as of yet.
For now, ex NFL star Emmanuel took over for Chris to present After The Final Rose segment – all this comes amid the show’s racism scandal.
Emmanuel previously told Good Morning America of Chris: “I’ve gotten to hear his heart. He’ll admit this. He was ignorant and arrogant and you cannot be both. And when he said that to me, I was like, ‘Well, you understand what caused this dilemma.’”
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 Kirkconnell 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 received backlash, things didn’t ease up as host Chris stood in her corner during an interview with former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay on Extra.
Chris, 49, said at the time: “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…”
He would soon receive 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.
Chris would then apologize, in what people called “insincere” after viewers heard him speak to Good Morning America in his interview with Michael Strahan.
Meanwhile, The Celeb Report previously exclusively revealed that Katie Thurston will be announced as the next Bachelorette.
The insider revealed: “Production was divided on selecting Katie as The Bachelorette, it was not unanimous.
“Some producers realize the show needs a strong, sexually confident woman who will put a man in his place if he needs to be, similar to Hannah Brown.
“And that’s who Katie has appeared to be. They want another Hannah Brown and Katie ticks the boxes and then some…”
The source added that Katie is “great, she’s confident but she’s a wildcard…”
