Chris Harrison temporarily leaving The Bachelor after racism controversy
Aux Features Chris Harrison
A controversy over racist behavior that’s been building up momentum within The Bachelor community for weeks now has just reached an unexpected peak, as host Chris Harrison—who’s been the face of the reality dating franchise since it first began airing back in 2002—announced that he’ll be “stepping aside” from the series for a “period of time” after giving an interview in which he accused critics of contestant Rachel Kirkconnell of being in the “woke police.” Kirkconnell has been criticized, both inside and outside the franchise, for pictures taken of her in 2018, during which she participated in an “Old South” party at her college that invoked the imagery of plantation life in the Antebellum South. Kirkconnell has since apologized for the photos and her participation in the event where they were taken, re-promoting on social media a letter signed by 25 Black, Indigenous, or people of color from the show’s current group of contestants, which states, unequivocally, “We denounce any defense of racism.”
Said defense of racism was, implicitly, Harrison’s, after the host gave a controversial interview on Tuesday to Extra’s Rachel Lindsay—also, as it happens, the very first Black woman to star in a season of The Bachelorette, a mere 14 years into the show’s existence. Although Harrison framed his statements in a defense of Kirkconnell (who had yet to speak publicly on the topic at the time), he also suggested that not dressing like someone who owned slaves, just for fun, was a brand new idea invented during the #BlackLivesMatter protests in 2020, and not a long-running problem in the ongoing (and literal) white-washing of American history. “These girls got dressed up and went to a party and had a great time. They were 18 years old,” Harrison said at the time. (Per Newsday, Kirkconnell was reportedly at least 21 when the photos were taken.) “Now, does that make it OK? I don’t know, Rachel, you tell me. But where is this lens we’re holding up, and was that lens available and were we all looking through it in 2018?” Lindsay, both a fan of the franchise, and a long-time critic of its handling of BIPOC contestants and issues, immediately fired back with “It’s not a good look ever”; she also pointedly asked Harrison “If I went to that party, what would I represent?” (Harrison’s response: “You’re 100 percent right…in 2021.”)
Although pretty passionate about his views on Tuesday night, Harrison changed his tune abruptly later in the week, issuing an apology in which he apologized to “Bachelor Nation,” and Lindsay in specific:
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. 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.
Today, though, Harrison took an even further step, making an Instagram post in which he stated that “By excusing historical racism, I defended it. I invoked the term ‘woke police,’ which is unacceptable. I am ashamed over how uninformed I was. I was so wrong.”
Furthermore, he then announced that he would be leaving the series for that aforementioned “period of time,” and would not be participating in the season’s traditional After The Final Rose finale special. Of course, the devil’s in the details here: A “period of time” is a pretty vague unit, and Harrison’s comments about not wanting to “overshadow” a season of The Bachelor that’s made a point of including more BIPOC women than ever as candidates suggests that the hiatus could be as short as this single special. (The current season of The Bachelor has, obviously, already been filmed; it’s not clear if editors will try to excise Harrison from all that footage, although that sounds fairly unlikely given that Week 6 of the current run of shows airs two days from when Harrison’s announcement went live.)
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“By excusing historical racism, I defended it. I invoked the term ‘woke police,’ which is unacceptable. I am ashamed over how uninformed I was. I was so wrong.” I imagine he wrote that with a sneer and shaking his head, posted it while his agent was on the phone, laughing, “Okay, all better now? Jesus!” as anyone reasonable would.
Is 2018 racism considered “historical” now? Are our memories so short that we can look back to a time barely 2 years ago, and say to ourselves “It was OK to be racist in 2018- things were different back then.”?
Wow this is embarrassingly dumb.There’s literally nothing you can do to win with these people.
It’s so wild to me because it seems that when dumbasses say stuff like “No one cared about racism in 2018! Getting mad at white people for having antebellum themed parties or doing blackface or getting married on plantations is 2021 energy!”… they really mean it. They are so insulated from black people that they truly never had to give a fuck about what we had to say, and they think this is true for everyone. And of course, this also applies to the “Before #MeToo I didn’t know it wasn’t okay to send my subordinates dick pics!” and “What do you mean the people scraping by in a gig economy want a livable minimum wage?” crew. It’s incredible how some people can just blissfully cruise through life not acknowledging the humanity of others.
So to you having a party on a plantation is “racism” comparable to blackface? What planet do you live on? Do you have any idea how fucking dumb 99% of black people find shit like this?
You’re legitimately a bad, dumb person. This is one of the dumbest fucking things i’ve ever read in my life. So now an antebellum party “isn’t acknowledging the humanity of others”. You’re a fucking parody.
I always think of “Song of the South” when I hear these kinds of defenses. That is a film that people LOVE to jump on the “well, it wasn’t considered racist back then.” And it’s like no, it was. Read the criticism from the time. Read about what some of the people who worked on it thought. It was racist then just like it’s racist now.
What the fuck are you even talking about?
A known example of something people claim wasn’t racist when it happened when in fact people from that time period looked at it and said “That’s really, really racist” kind of like plantation weddings in the 2010s.
They let plantations get married?
I knew this would happen! First gay marriage now plantations!? What’s next auto malls?
Unless they are gay plantations, yes. Because that’s an affront to Gawd.
Ok, well that makes sense . . . HUH?!
So in your estimation attending an antebellum party in college (as an idiot from the South), is on the same level as one of the most racist movies of all time released 80 years ago? Those two things have almost nothing to do with each other. You’re making massively false equivalences. Who are these magically people you’re citing who claim Song of the South wasn’t seen as racist when it was released also? I don’t believe they exist other than as a strawman for you to knock down to show how brave and progressive you are.
Claiming something wasn’t identifiable as racism on a different date is a false narrative in both cases. I’m talking about Chris Harrison’s defense – you know, the actual thing the article was about. Claiming in 2018, we didn’t know better is equivalent to claiming that filmmakers in the 1940’s didn’t know they were making a racist film. They did.
I can’t engage in something this stupid any further. It is interesting to see your brain work in little circles though.
what are your opinions on Black people
who the fuck has an opinion about an entire race of people?
I’m sorry your reading comprehension was so far behind. We were all talking about Chris Harrison, in case you missed it.Enjoy not engaging, buddy.
I think you’re the one being dumb.
You didn’t engage at all. You dropped an arbitrary opinion about something she said and now you’re acting like you were attacked when she responded. Maybe take it back 20%, eh?
really really telling that you can’t see this person’s blingingly-obvious point.
I totally understood what you meant and you’d have to be pretty dim not to
God you’re SUCH a good person. Fuck you guys are being brave today and really moving the needle to end racism. Congratulations on all your hard work. This is some pretty impressive stuff.
Chill, you’re making a fool of yourself.
Your opinion means very little to me.
Oh, it’s not an opinion. It’s objectively clear to anyone reading your pathetically childish and thoughtless tirade.
Please refer to the definition of objective and then refer to my earlier statement about how much weight your opinion carries.
Sure, let me help you with a definition. Objectivenot influenced by personal feelings, interpretations, or prejudice; based on facts; unbiasedI don’t know you, don’t care about you, and I doubt you’ll continue to spend much time here because I’ve never seen you make a comment before. I’m simply noting the fact that you’re OBJECTIVELY making a fool of yourself. Take care dear, you’re a fool.
Lol. I have no doubt you’ll continue spending large amounts of time here. Beyond that I don’t know what to say to somebody who fundamentally misunderstands something so simple. You opinion has been noted and stored away in my “People who *objectively* don’t matter” file. If you want to access it there’s a flat fee of $7.
I will continue to spend time here. I’ve been reading the AV club for at least a decade. If you don’t like the community here, please see yourself out. Your narcissistic ranting so that you can dismiss anyone who engages with you by saying “I don’t care about your opinion” is sad and pathetic. That’s just my opinion, though. The fact that you’ve been objectively making a fool of yourself remains.
Imagine being anything other than ashamed that you hang out in an online “community”.
Imagine being so pathetic you spend your time insulting people for enjoying discussing pop culture on the internet in 2021. Clearly you have no shame, or you’d stop making a fool of yourself.
You consider this “enjoying pop culture”? Lol wow. How much insight would you say you have into how much “shame” I have? Probably a lot huh?
*sigh* you got boring quick. People with no self awareness should be more entertaining. You, however, are tedious. See ya.
That’s what I thought.
What’s it like to have absolutely no one on your side?
“absolutely nobody (in a comment section full of losers) on your side”FTFY
I’ve been on this website for many years. I’ve never seen such a cockhead. Congrats.
Imagine being anything other than ashamed that you put this much time and energy into being a cockhead.
Lol “cockhead” Sick burn bro. Preserving this for posterity. Whatever will I do after that vicious “cockhead” burn.
Oh you’re Australian that’s why you write like you have a mental disability. My bad.
Work on your punctuation, sir. Commas, get some commas. And full stops. You can get some, right here in Australia.
Will you shut up, man?
you’re a bad person and nobody will ever love you. everyone else posting here can see it clear as day, and bless the patient souls who initially tried to hold your hand through the points they were making.
nah.
You’re right: Objectivity Abuse is rampant, but speaking subjectively, you’re a dick, and objectively, making no fans, here. “Gina Carano, who was dropped from Star Wars spinoff The Mandalorian over what the studio called “abhorrent and unacceptable” social media posts, says she will make a film with conservative company The Daily Wire.”- ABC.Morgs, ‘The Daily Wire’ might listen.
Are you a paid advertisement for a YouTube debate?
You may want to do a little self reflection. I know your instinct is to be a pathetic, selfish, racist little shit, but you don’t have to be that way. Take it one day at a time.
Damn, you really can’t read, huh?
We found the asshole ladies and gentlemen. No need to keep looking.
For for those playing a logical fallacy bingo at home, this fallacy is called: argument from incredulity.
“Who are these magically people you’re citing who claim Song of the South wasn’t seen as racist when it was released also?” How about Walt Fucking Disney? And the millions of white folks who held SotS in high regard for 50 years or so as a heartwarming family film?
Or the fact that iconography from Song of the South was used for the uber-popular Splash Mountain attraction at Disney parks UP UNTIL 2020.
The NAACP literally protested at screenings of the film when it was first released. It was controversial and considered racist back then, it just was that those concerns were taken less seriously by people in power back then. It doesn’t mean that said concerns didn’t exist and weren’t expressed.
I guess the charitable reading of what they’re saying could be that racism was socially acceptable at the time and the work should be viewed thusly. Although that’s an argument for the historical preservation and criticism of the work and not one saying it should be displayed publicly or sold freely.
Agreed, but my point was more that if you do follow up on what was “socially acceptable at the time,” critics including white critics were all very vocal about how racist it was so the socially acceptable at the time narrative is false – like Chris Harrison’s assessment of the distant past of 2018.
I think the film’s financial success is perhaps a better gauge of public opinion of racism at the time than its critical reception. You may be giving the common white person of the time too much credit.Of course the same could be said about country star Morgan Wallen and his recent use of a racial slur. Despite public shaming and professional shunning his sales have increased since the incident.It seems like all the years between have changed a lot about society but that racism is both systemic and generational and takes similar time periods and scaled responses to eradicate. Hopefully with new curriculums looking honestly at all parts of American history and how they affect our world today education can help accelerate the process, leading to a generation capable of reforming those systems.
It grossed about $3 million in 1946 which is about $43 million, but it cost so much to make that it only netted a profit of about $3 million (adjusted for inflation). By comparison, previous Disney releases were closer to $122 million adjusted for inflation. The Best Years of our Lives (the highest grossing movie of that year) made the equivalent of about $100 million in 2021 dollars. The only real success of Song of the South was that it laid the groundwork for Mary Poppins in terms of the tech.Again – Not by any means whatsoever saying that racism didn’t exist in 1946. People were VERY racist. But really just trying to illustrate that there is the frequency for people to say “Oh, we didn’t know better 5, 10, 15, 20 years ago…” When history doesn’t really support that.
That’s interesting to know, thanks. I seem to recall Fantasia also wasn’t very profitable even if it represented advances in animation and the stories told through the medium. I guess those were the prestige films of their times. One of which holds up, I think. It’s been years since I’ve seen Fantasia.
Funnily enough, Fantasia was also controversial for some moments in the Pastoral Symphony segment where they showed pretty racist depictions of black centaurs serving white centaurs. They edited out the black centaurs in most rereleases since then, but Fantasia was also controversial for being racist. Still a great movie, and there’s nothing objectionable in the edited rereleases at least.I believe that you can see side by side comparison of the edited shots versus the originals on Youtube if anyone is curious. They’re pretty bad.
YUP.
Wasn’t the old southern butter cooking lady briefly cancelled for this exact same bullshit before 2018?Seriously, people have known better for decades. It’s just that the racists surround themselves with racists so they get away with it until they leave their racist bubble. That’s when the excuses start, and it baffles white people like me who were actually taught since childhood (mine occurred in the 80s – getting so old) that racism was real, harmful, and not a festive, joking matter – certainly not for privileged white folks.I dread living another 20 years and inevitably hearing racists say that “things were just different in 2020.”
God you’re such a good moral person. Not like all those other people right? Unlike them you were actually raised right. It’s so important and good you took the time to let us all know this.
It’s part of the “White, privileged, afraid of the world, AND PROUD” package after all. Our very American culture is based on willful ignorance and fear of what they don’t need to interact with.
I think it also about the ability to constantly move the goalposts on bad behavior. They need to claim that 2018 is ancient history so that in 3 years they can claim 2021 is ancient history too. Continue to get away with everything with zero atonement.
You guys did it! You solved racism by attacking someone for using the phrase “woke police”. God what important activism. What a happy world you’ve created. Brave….soooooo brave.
The flabbergasting part is the way he keeps saying 2018 like it was 1902. As if 2018 was so far in the past that we didn’t know what was wrong with plantation weddings and parties. Aside from the fact many of us had known that for a long, long time, there had also already been widespread attention on the problems with that back in 2013 when Paula Deen got in trouble for pretty much the same thing.
You’re so brave and you’re suchhhhh a good person. You totally knew. I guess you’re just a better person then huh? So brave. Sooooo fucking brave.
No, everyone knew except for racists. That’s the point. I’m not better – She’s just worse for thinking this was okay after the conversation had already been have. But it’s good that you like to show your racist colors bright and bold.
Your opinion means literally nothing to anyone. You reason and write like a 14 year old who thinks they’re smart. Hint: You aren’t. It’s not “racist” to not give a fuck about Chris Harrison using the term woke police.
You seem to care a whole lot about me, Chris Harrison, the woke police, and the AV Club. But nice try.
I have no idea who you are beyond someone who says dumb things.
Yet, you’re making a point of saying a whole lot to me. It’s very telling.
Please go into detail about what it’s “telling” of? It’s kind of your thing to take big swings about stuff you don’t really understand huh?
You’ve given me tremendous insight into your maturity for a starter. Basic conversation and discussion is not a big swing for most of us.
Ok. You don’t matter so that’s fine.
Is this how you define “not engaging further?” Well done.
no u dont
I care what Lindsay thinks. But I’m no one.*Written and authorised by a spambot*
agreed
Eh. Morgan’s opinion means something to me. Whereas, yours comes off as an old man yelling at a cloud.
Your opinion means literally nothing to anyone.
You reason and write like a 14 year old who thinks they’re smart. Hint: You aren’t.You should change your name to IMAX with that projection.
Chris isn’t gonna let you be on The Bachelor now, Morgan.
Goddamn Chris. Put down the bottle and step away from the keyboard.
You should just dismiss the person they’re just a sealioning troll.
And you’re a loser who’s spent years of your worthless life commenting on this website because you can’t convince anyone to have anything to do with you in person.
Lol. Yeah all the most intelligent people I know use gifs to communicate. You have very strong 14 year old girl energy.
You’ve somehow picked up a personalized troll it appears… The WORST. Hopefully they don’t follow you too far around the comment section
whats your deal?
Stop commenting a billion times you pathetic racist.
Nah i’m good.
No, Morgue. Stay. Everyone misses you. We want to give you the love and support you’ve been denied. There is a beautiful flower in you, aching to grow …
Reply Guy replies!!!!!!!!
I have items in my fridge from 2018, so their argument really doesn’t fly with me.
(It’s a bottle of soy sauce, if anybody’s curious)
I’ll give you five bucks if you chug the whole bottle.
Bet he gets a quick buzz. Then barfs.
Huh…This reminds me I probably need a new baking soda for the fridge. I have no idea how old that is. I definitely haven’t replaced it in a while.
What do you think the oldest thing in your fridge is? I recently found 2 seahorse-shaped popsicles in the freezer from my stepmom’s trip to Thailand in 2013! And we’ve moved twice with these buggers!
I think I may still have an old popsicle in there. The fridge I’m pretty good about, but I do have to check my condiments. I have definitely had one in there that was like 4+ years old once. If it’s one you rarely use it gets forgotten and sorta blends into the scenery.
Is this The Takeout?
How did she get them back from Thailand?
They were liquid syrup form in plastic. Like ice pops, but aquatic animal shaped.
Or you could stop believing the advertising hype that convinced you to put baking soda in your fridge.
Current price on baking soda 89¢ if I was on top of replacing it every 3 months which I’m really not, at best yearly, that’s $3.56. Also fridges can definitely get odors and glimpsing quickly this is considered actually helpful. So yeah I’ll keep doing it now and again for 89¢ just in case.It’s not a conspiracy, such a weird thing to say.
Kikkoman? Low sodium or gusto?
Store brand, low sodium.
Lol. Though as an Asian person, I’m offended that the soy sauce bottle was shockingly underused.
I could never keep a bottle of soy sauce that long. Three months top. Liquid salt goodness
Soy sauce in the fridge? I don’t think that’s necessary.(Refrigerating soy sauce, I mean, it’s a totally necessary condiment to have.)
Soy sauce is actually supposed to be refrigerated! It will last a pretty long time but the expiry date is usually only about a year (yes I know expiration dates are largely liability coverage) but yeah, fridge is the way.
That might as well COULD be from 1902, and still probably usable.
It is difficult to put in to words how utterly insane that Harrison interview was so I can only recommend watching it. Also the Higher Learning podcast, which is cohosted by Rachel Lindsay who did the interview in question, does a good job in explaining certain decisions and context of it.While Harrison’s befuddlement of judging things what happened in the distant past of 2018 through the lens of 2021 is absolutely bonkers, to me the most staggering moment was when he starts asking Lindsey, an African-American woman, who is she to judge Rachael for going to an Old South party that glorifies slave owners. Or how clearly Harrison hates being woke, although to him it seems to mean something very basic.
I mean, the racisim has always been there in Bachelor, just how long it took for them to cast an African-American man as the Bachelor, but just seeing Harrison lay it out like that and seemingly be really happy about what he put out there publicly is something to witness.
It is difficult to put in to words how utterly insane that Harrison interview was so I can only recommend watching it.Agreed. What he says is terrible, but actually listening to how angry and defensive he gets is really something. And then to launch into a black woman with a “who are you?” I’m not normally shocked by white people saying racist things, but I actually was surprised by how completely open and blatant he was with his ignorance and racism. Like, dude just laid it all out on the table.
In the Higher Learning podcast, Lindsay actually refers to Harrison’s comment about the discussions they’ve had and said that it wasn’t a surprise to her that he thought like this, but that he would put it out there for all to see like this.
“I didn’t need to be thsi woke in 2018, and now it’s all I need to be. Is that fair to me? Maybe all this wokeatude is hard on me. Me, the trash fire needle dick host of a degrading and useless reality show. I think I’m the victim, really.”
Hahahahahaha
I mean, the racisim has always been there in Bachelor, just how long it took for them to cast an African-American man as the Bachelor Amazing to me they had to find one with a white mother. Me thinks they might be a tad bit intimidated by a 100% Black man! I wonder how he survived Rachel. How dare he even come close to thinking he knows more than her about the topic of racism. Is he insane? Well, no, just racist which they’d love to deem insane so they could use it in a court of law. SMFH
I think the real problem is the guy just isn’t very bright.
He’s ok to look at on the TV, appears personable and has a talent for hosting a dating show for ten minutes an episode. After that the well dries up pretty quick.His answer to the question isn’t very surprising.
He sounds like a guy that had it beaten into him by management, agents and publicists to keep his gob shut (because he’s dumb) on non-bachelor related topics; then got thrown this curve ball. It’s bachelor related, but is really a serious question.Even someone on the low side of average intelligence could have spit out “I don’t know enough about it really, but it does sound bad”. Only a real dummy would trot out this rambling mess.I think the more interesting question about it is did Ms. Lindsay think she was throwing him a softball (which is what it was for most people) or did she have a pretty good idea he was going to shit the bed?Which to be clear, him being stupid doesn’t excuse him from what he said; there should be consequences. Some unpaid time off sounds like a good start, give him some time to hopefully learn a thing or two.
I don’t know about you all, but I would like to see a world where nobody, regardless of race, has to ever see or hear about The Bachelor ever again.
Add Dancing with the Stars to that list
Reality shows were the death of broadcast TV.
I’ve found Harrison an annoying smarmy fuck for ages, who I keep wanting to never accidentally come across on TV (let along watch anything with him in it deliberately), so even if I thought this was unfair the schadenfreude I’m feeling would totally override that.
Seriously. I was shocked to see how many comments this title attracted. Anyone who supports this kind of ‘entertainment’ is part of the problem, imo.
Please don’t respond the Lizardo. It’s the phony troll account. Thx.
I preferred it when The Bachelor was a mediocre Chris O’Donnell film
I have a dream where we don’t have to see white and black people desperately vying for the affections of a douchebag/bimbo.
Didn’t hear the initial interview, so I thought this was overblown at first. I…was mistaken. This is so bad and so dumb. Rachael’s behavior was also bad, and he just made it worse.
I still stand by that this is a trashy, horrible show and if you are getting your morals from the Bachelor or the Bachelorette, you need to re-think your life decisions! I’ve seen maybe 3 episodes, what is Chris’ function other than to tell the lead they have one rose left?
He should of got his government issued N-Word license.
Why didn’t he use an ignorance stone to get a pass in situations like this? Or is that a different show?
Harry Potter and the Ignorance Stone
is this show still popular? i’ve never watched it.
It’s popular, cheap, and can be produced in a pandemic (and because of the pandemic, it’s even CHEAPER to produce). It’s not going anywhere.
Nuke the site from orbit, only way to be sure, etc., etc.
It’s almost like the dude hired to host a show where people pretend to “date” a harem of women in order to propose marriage to someone that more than likely won’t happen isn’t on the cutting edge of racial discourse. Shocking. Guess they’ll need to hire Ibram X. Kendi to host next season.
Dammit! I really liked Rachel.I hope Serena P doesn’t have any skeletons in her closet.
Maybe it will kill this stupid show. I always find it funny that people unfamiliar with how arranged marriage actually work in the vast majority of cases will say how “evil” it is but will happily watch this show which is essential the same thing.
As a white guy it’s my opinion that I don’t get to decide what’s racist and what isn’t. I’ll ask questions if I’m unsure why, but I personally don’t go around saying that things are or aren’t racist…unless, you know, blatantly so 🙂
What metrics are you using to decide you don’t have the cognitive skills to assess whether something meets a definition.
I get the feeling you don’t actually want an answer, and you’re attempting to insult me…am I correct?
That definition is so convoluted, deeply embedded, and easily covert, many people GET IT WRONG ALL THE TIME! Did you see how many people said the asshole that got smashed in the face by a tea can wasn’t being racist? Goes to show you many don’t have cognitive skills … at all.Oh, how about the bitch that called the pohleece on the teenage boy for not stealing her phone? FOH with that mess. I even venture to say that there’s not one white person on the planet that even understands what “blatantly racist” even means, let alone “covertly racist” like Harrison. The microaggressive manner in which folks deny being so are in the millions!
You would think famous, well paid, easily replaceable, unimportant white dudes would be more cautious these days.
Hey!!! Be nice to Morgan Harpster!!!! He’s just misunderstood!!!!! Regardless of his questionable grammar!!!!!!
You guys, Morgan Harpster wants you to know she doesn’t think this is racist and anyone who does is dumb. Can you go make a parlor account now Morgan?
You give off a strong “I’m 15 and I know things” vibe. Congrats on that. Go play WOW or something else that if I was into I would straight up put a bullet in my head.
It’s plain and simple. Things that people find offensive now, were things people always found offensive.Now, more people have a voice. More people are able to be heard.This isn’t new.It’s like people saying how timely certain movies are because of what’s going today. Wow, we are dealing with racism and bigotry now just like in this movie. Perfect timing!It’s always perfect timing because these issues never stopped.
Correct. The people who were offended weren’t consulted.
Damn, say it again for the ones in the back whose reading comprehension is grade-school level.
By the numbers reporting here at AV. Imma go to The Root where they’ll call this out properly. With lots of biting humor.
And with 100% more references to potato salad and unseasoned chickem.
I know 2020 felt like it was a couple of decades long, but if you’re seriously trying to play the “it was a different time!” card about almost anything that happened 26 months ago at most you’re taking the piss. With the possible exception of touching other people’s faces in public.
Back in college circa 2000 I remember the racist frats held these racist parties and everyone knew it was a racist frat holding a racist party and you should generally not attend unless you want to be known to associate with racists. It wasn’t a new progressive thought at the time then either…
Mixed feelings. On the one hand it’s one of the better apologies and instead of the “sorry if you were offended” or “this doesn’t represent me” borderlines he went with a candid-sounding “I was wrong” and “it’s not you, it’s me being ignorant”. On the other: him calling back to 2018 as if 3 years ago was some widely different landscape is some really dumb shit.So what I gather from it: he has a good enough publicist to advice him on how to apologize, but not a good enough publicist to tell him to shut the fuck up.
where are all the dating shows centering BIPOC people first and foremost? Black, Latinx, Indigenous, MENA, East/South Asian, etc.? It’s annoying that the white-centered shows still dominate the networks.I don’t watch the Bachelor so I’m not hung up on whether he actively hosts the show or not. I also doubt his sincerity on the apology. He had to have known for years about the blindspot when it comes to hiring black contestants in particular, but I’m sure his attitude was “I’m not the boss, them’s the breaks, why complain, try B.E.T.?”
She attended an “Old South” party in 2018? Seriously, 2018? People in my generation (Gen-X) are rightfully embarrassed that they did this shit in, say, 1985.
Host of arguably the most morally reprehensible reality television show turns out to be racist.
All he wanted to do was keep the usual bloodthirsty mob from ruining a poor girl’s life. A bit too much to ask in this day and age, I guess.
Do you know what we need? A timeline of white folks publicly claiming people didn’t know X was racist back in *year*. Because the excuse resurfaces again and again so consistently that you could probably literally create a timeline of white people saying in 2020 that no one knew blackface was racist in 2010, white people saying in 2010 that no one knew blackface was racist in 2000, white people saying in 2000 that no one knew blackface was racist in 1990. etc. etc. etc.