Matt James believes Chris Harrison should not be fired from his The Bachelor hosting role.

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While many The Bachelor viewers and members of Bachelor Nation have been calling for Chris to be permanently replaced as host of the franchise amid his racism controversy, Matt isn't among them.

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The Bachelor Season 25 star believes Chris is well on his way to redeeming himself and potentially returning to his job.

"Chris has outlined in his statement that he's committed to putting in the work and he's taking a step back, so I respect that," Matt said during a recent appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast.

Chris has repeatedly apologized for defending The Bachelor contestant Rachael Kirkconnell's racially-ignorant and racially-insensitive actions in her past and dismissing heavy backlash against her during an early-February Extra interview with the first Black The Bachelorette star, Rachel Lindsay.

Chris has made three public apologies since last month, one of which announced he'd be "stepping aside" from his hosting duties "for a period of time" in order to educate himself on historical racism and wokeness on a "profound" and "productive" level.

"And I hope that he does," Matt told Bill Simmons late last week.

"I don't think that anybody should be trying to cancel him. We should be calling him in to do that work that he's outlined that he wants to do. He's taking a step back and committed to doing that. So, I look forward to seeing him doing that."

During Chris' Extra interview with Rachel, who starred on The Bachelorette's thirteenth season, Chris asked for "grace" and "compassion" for Rachael and also criticized the "woke police" and the "unbelievably alarming" response of anger and frustration to the young woman's actions, which included posing in photos at an antebellum-plantation themed "Old South" fraternity party at Georgia College & State University in 2018.

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"As I watched that interview with Chris and Rachel, I thought I was in an alternate reality, like, it didn't even seem real as it was coming out," Matt admitted.

"It was sad to hear that because I had so many conversations about how I was feeling and what I was going through in that crazy [The Bachelor] process that I was in, and it's hard to imagine that [Chris] could really sympathize with what I was feeling."

ABC therefore hired sports analyst and former NFL player Emmanuel Acho to take over Chris' job on Matt's The Bachelor: After the Final Rose special, which aired on ABC earlier this month.

"I think that's why the network ultimately did a really great job in having Emmanuel Acho come in and run that After the Final Rose," Matt said.

In addition to not participating in After the Final Rose, The Bachelorette announced earlier this month Chris will not be hosting the upcoming seventeenth season of the series. Instead, former The Bachelorette stars Kaitlyn Bristowe and Tayshia Adams will guide the star, Katie Thurston, through her journey to find love.

"Miss Kaitlyn and Miss Tayshia are going to crush this season as co-hosts [of The Bachelorette]," Matt gushed.

Also during his podcast appearance, Matt confirmed he had spoken to Chris after the controversial Extra interview was published.

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"I did [talk to Chris]. He called me and he apologized. We had a really good conversation," Matt shared, "which essentially ended the way I just expressed to you."

"[Chris] knows what he has to do. He put out his statement saying that he was going to put the work in and he's obviously taken a step back."

Matt explained that Chris' leave of absence -- which the longtime host had assumed would only be temporary -- will "allow him time to do the work we keep talking about."

It's unclear whether Chris will be asked to rejoin the show when The Bachelorette films its eighteenth season starring Michelle Young later this year.

Emmanuel has also said he "[doesn't] believe in cancel culture" and recently told Extra of Chris, "People need to give him the opportunity, the grace, and the time to do the work. And then they need to receive the work that he does."

In the meantime, Chris has retained Los Angeles entertainment litigator Bryan Freedman and is "ready to tell the truth about how things really work," according to The New York Post's Page Six.

"Chris has had a spotless record for 20 years... He has always been the good company man, but, after the way he's been treated by producers and executives over the past couple of weeks, he's run out of cheeks to turn," a Chris friend told Page Six.

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Although it remains to be seen what legal action Chris may be exploring, the friend explained, "Now he's ready to tell the truth about how things really work over there -- and he has plenty of evidence to back him up."

A source previously told OK! Weekly that The Bachelor producers have been "getting clobbered with calls for Chris' removal as host and they are weighing that option."

Many The Bachelor fans, however, are still standing behind Chris and rallying for him to stay on the show, and Chris announced in early March on Good Morning America that he wants to continue being the face of the franchise.

"I plan to be back and I want to be back," Chris told GMA co-host Michael Strahan. "This interview is not the finish line. There is much more work to be done, and I am excited to be a part of that change."

Chris also insisted during that GMA interview he had made "a mistake" in trying to defend Rachael this season, which was supposed to be a turning point for the franchise considering Matt starred as the first Black Bachelor after two decades of being on the air.

"I am an imperfect man, I made a mistake, and I own that," Chris said.

"I believe that mistake doesn't reflect who I am or what I stand for. I am committed to the progress, not just for myself but also for the franchise... Racism, oppression, these are big, dynamic problems and they take serious work, and I am committed to that work."

Chris also denounced bullying and harassment directed towards Rachel in the aftermath of their Extra interview given the Season 13 The Bachelorette star felt the need to delete her Instagram account.

In addition, Chris revealed he's been working closely with "a race educator and strategist" along with faith leaders and scholars like Dr. Michael Eric Dyson.

"Dr. Dyson often talks to me about counsel, not cancel. And that is full accountability: understanding what you didn't understand, owning that, learning from that, seeking council from the community that you hurt, learning from them and listening, gaining experience and knowledge and moving forward," Chris shared.

After the segment aired, Michael vented on GMA of Chris, "His apology is his apology, but it felt like I got nothing more than a surface response on any of this. I mean obviously, he's a man who wants to clearly stay on this show."

Michael added, "But only time will tell if there is any meaning behind his words."

Rachael, whom Matt broke up with after The Bachelor wrapped filming, has also apologized for her mistakes and said her "ignorance was racist" and she's been trying to use her social-media platform to help educate others on how to be anti-racist.

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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