THE Bachelor’s Chris Harrison has met with “race author Michael Eric Dyson” after he was accused of “defending racism.”
The disgraced host met with the award-winning writer before he appeared on Good Morning America, his first public appearance since stepping down from the franchise, to apologize for his words and behavior.
During his interview on the show Chris Harrison, 49, apologized for defending contestant Rachael Kirkconnell’s past racist social media posts.
He admitted “it was a mistake” to defend Kirkconnell‘s “old south” photo and said he is an “imperfect man”.
During his efforts to educate himself, the longtime Bachelor host met with author Michael Eric Dyson to learn more about historical racism.
In an interview with TMZ, Dyson revealed they talked about perception of Black people in this country, and said he believes it is clear that Chris is genuinely committed in trying to grapple with race.
Dyson said, “You don’t have to spend 50 days with somebody to get whether they’re sincere or not and whether they’re willing to put in the work. He was.”
The author also went on to say he believes Chris didn’t apologize in a bid to get his job back.
Dyson went on: “[Chris] knew he had done something wrong, and he was extremely sad about that.”
Chris’s apology came after he defended Georgia contestant Rachael Kirkconnell’s “old south” photos taken at a 2018 “Antebellum plantation party.”
After her photos resurfaced, the 24-year-old’s past social media history was also put under scrutiny for her questionable posts.
As Rachael K received backlash, Chris defended her during an interview with former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay on Extra.
Chris 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 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]?”
After receiving backlash for the statement, Chris said he was ashamed of his comments and said he was temporarily 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.”
Following his appearance on TV, Rachel Lindsay said she had “accepted” Chris’s GMA apology so she could “move forward” with her life.
The former reality star told TMZ she accepted the apology so that she can move forward from the controversy.
Rachel said she has not spoken directly with Chris since the GMA interview aired, but confirmed that she did watch it.
She also told the outlet that they spoke about three weeks ago when the scandal first happened, adding that he apologized directly to her at the time.
Since the initial interview, Rachel had been forced to deactivate her Instagram account after some Bachelor Nation fans claimed she had ruined the franchise.
