For those who are watching this season of The Bachelor, you know that in the past two weeks the drama off-screen has been way more entertaining (and important!) than the drama on screen.
This season stars Matt James as the bachelor, the show’s first Black male lead in its 25-season history. After a year where the murder of George Floyd sparked a resurgence in the civil rights and racial justice movement in our country, The Bachelor franchise did not escape calls from fans to diversify its casting and play a more active role in the fight for equality. Matt James was the producer’s solution to this outcry.
As the season progresses, it is clear that Rachael Kirkconnell, a graphic designer from Georgia, is one of the frontrunners. On the show, she is one of the quieter girls. On social media, however, rumors started circulating right as the season started to air about her past racist behavior.
The first thing I saw on my TikTok feed was a video a user had made where she was recording her TV screen during a date between Rachael and Matt. The caption read, “Girllll remember when you bullied me in high school for liking Black guys?” Allegedly, the user then received dozens of DMs alleging that Rachael had done the same to them. The irony can’t be missed of her now dating Matt James, the first Black bachelor, on national television. After this video, reports of more allegations started circulating. These include pictures of Rachael in Halloween costumes that appropriate different cultures, as well as her liking Instagram pictures of girls posing in front of Confederate flags, and girls dressed in offensive costumes. Old racist tweets of her and her friends were found, and her parents seem to be very involved in right-wing politics. Finally, in the most recent couple of weeks, a photo went around of her in 2018 at an Old South/Antebellum-themed party. In short, Rachael Kirkconnell is not someone I personally would want to be friends with, but I mean that’s just me.
After all of this information came to light, the host of the show, Chris Harrison, was interviewed by former Bachelorette’s Rachel Lindsay (the first Black bachelorette). When asked what he thought about Rachael Kirkconnell’s allegations, Chris went on a rant that was truly shocking to watch. If someone had to make a guidebook for white men about how NOT to talk about race, they should just show this video. Like, so bad. I would say to go watch it (it’s on Extra’s Youtube channel), but it’s painful.
Let’s discuss point by point. When Rachel Lindsay mentioned going to an Old South party is “Not a good look,” Chris was very quick to respond “Well Rachel, is it a good look in 2018, or is it not a good look in 2021?” The fraternity that held these themed parties actually banned them back in 2016 because of the racism attached to celebrating the pre-Civil War South. That means that everyone who threw and attended that party clearly was aware that this was an outlawed party, and it was outlawed because it is racist. Trying to justify going to these types of parties by saying, as Chris does, that “50 million people did that,” or that it was just a harmless college party, diminishes the horrors that went on in the Old South and makes it that much harder to denounce the racist actions of our country’s past. It’s not about being woke, it’s about being decent.
Chris Harrison also used the term “woke police” a lot while speaking to Rachel Lindsay. Now, Rachel Lindsay is a Black woman who has spent a huge part of her career advocating for racial justice, especially when it relates to The Bachelor franchise. Chris Harrison ranting about how terrible the “woke police” is for calling out racism while speaking to her is extremely disrespectful to her as a Black woman and is insulting to Rachel Lindsay’s entire career.
Chris’s outrage towards fans digging into Rachael Kirkconnell’s past brings to light that The Bachelor producers need to do a little better in casting. Aren’t they internet-stalking everyone before they’re cast? It isn’t surprising that fans found old photos. What is surprising is that the producers didn’t catch it earlier. This season was too important to screw up by casting Rachael Kirkconnell. Matt James deserved to have a season where diversity was celebrated, not clouded by all of this.
Chris Harrison, after a mediocre apology post on Instagram, has stated that he is stepping down from the franchise “for a period of time.” To me, he is in a different situation. Perhaps the reason why his actions seem more irredeemable is what Rachel Lindsay said three days after the interview, on her podcast: “It was as if Chris Harrison woke up and decided, I’m going to be myself today! … [I] wasn’t shocked at what he said, I’m just shocked he said it on camera.” Chris Harrison is a 50-year-old powerful, rich, white man who knew better. While I don’t support “canceling” him and hate the idea of him losing his job because of one interview, I know he will be fine, and as a viewer, I’m honestly so over him. The Bachelor clearly needs a shake-up, and maybe this is it.
Throughout the last week, the women of Matt’s season have posted a statement condemning racism and standing with Rachel Lindsay. Other POC stars of the franchise have also spoken out, and it seems as though a large part of the Bachelor Nation community wants change, so I hope we start to see it.
After talking to other college students on this, I was surprised by how many people are standing firmly on the side of “this is just cancel culture and annoying drama.” I’m going to have to disagree. There is a clear pattern throughout this franchise. Ignoring the fact that The Bachelor has a race problem invalidates the experiences of BIPOC who watch and have been on the show. It seems as though too many white women are okay with justifying this incident, just so that they can go back to watching some reality TV and disregard the issues in the world around them. Yes, Rachael Kirkconnell posted an apology on her Instagram, and as cancellation apologies go, it was very well written. But it was also six weeks late, and until we see change, it doesn’t mean much. It is not a white woman’s place to accept Rachael or Chris’s apology, or to argue for patience and compassion, because racist actions (even unintended) have very real consequences. Where is the compassion for the BIPOC who were offended? Personally, as someone who would like to believe in the best in people, I am not going to try and “cancel” Rachael Kirkconnell. People can change, and while I hope she does, I cannot go around saying “It’s okay guys, she says she isn’t racist anymore!” It doesn’t work that way. By saying that, you are diminishing the effects of racist behavior, and thus invalidating the lived experiences of POC.
As of right now, Matt is at his final four. Out of the four women left, Rachael is the only white woman. This is honestly just really sad, and also strikes me as some kind of metaphor for race in this country. When all is said and done, I am fully convinced that Chris would not have defended her to the death (literally) if she wasn’t the winner. For The Bachelor to work, people will need to be rooting for the main couple, and I don’t know if Bachelor Nation will be able to do that. If Rachael does win, there will be even more questions. Are they together now, after all this? Can any relationship withstand something like this? What does Matt think? Is Rachael truly changed or trying to change? I feel like there is so much I, as a fan, need to know. For now though, let’s continue to call out racism when we see it and keep growing ourselves.
