Entertainment
Rachel Lindsay rips into The Bachelor franchise as she calls out ‘toxic’ fandom: ‘I had to hire people to protect me’
Rachel Lindsay is finally speaking her truth about her time as The Bachelorette in a revealing new essay.
Just months after she officially cut ties with ABC reality dating show and ended her contract with The Bachelor franchise, the 36-year-old has spoken out against the behavior of the producers, and the show’s ‘toxic audience.
Rachel found herself in the middle of season 16’s Bachelor racism scandal after then-host Chris Harrison did an ill-fated interview with her in which he passionately defended contestant Rachael Kirkconnell for her past racially insensitive actions.
The backlash from the interview eventually led Chris to leave his role of host, while Rachel also chose to cut ties.
In a new op-ed for Vulture, the season 13 Bachelorette got candid about all aspects of her experience about her experience as the first African-American female lead.
Taking time to call out producers for casting a racist man on her series, and for the way they failed to follow up her season with another Black lead until the announcement of Matt James last year, the Texas lawyer also spoke out about the show’s fans.
She explained: ‘The fandom had always had a complicated relationship with me. But it really started to turn against me after that interview [with Chris Harrison].
‘The franchise has spent 19 years cultivating a toxic audience. They have constantly given it a product it wants: a midwestern/southern white, blonde, light-eyed Christian. Not all viewers are like that.’
Rachel continued: ‘My Higher Learning co-host [Van Lathan] and I have divided it — there is a Bachelor Nation, and there is a Bachelor Klan. Bachelor Klan is hateful, racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, and homophobic.
‘They are afraid of change. They are afraid to be uncomfortable. They are afraid when they get called out. Some fans on social media started trying to dig up dirt on me. I received death threats and personal attacks.’
The reality star added: ‘I had to hire people to protect me. I couldn’t even pretend to want to be involved anymore.
‘I didn’t want to give people a reason to talk about me because everything I was saying was becoming a headline. And so I decided to remove myself from it all.’
Indeed, the lawyer turned TV personality faced so much harassment from angry Bachelor Nation – and Chris Harrison fans – that she was forced to delete her Instagram page in February.
Things got so bad that The Bachelor’s executive producers released a statement condemning harassment of the former lead.
Rachel met her husband Bryan Abasolo on the show, and the couple tied the knot in August of 2019.
The Bachelor airs Mondays on ABC in the US, and is available to stream on hayu in the UK.
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