Rachel Lindsay has deleted her Instagram account seemingly due to relentless harassment and hate she's been receiving from Bachelor Nation.
ADVERTISEMENT
Many The Bachelor viewers are angry about Chris Harrison "stepping aside" as The Bachelor host after he defended Matt James' frontrunner Rachael Kirkconnell's racist actions in an early-February interview with Rachel on Extra.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
It appears the angry members of Bachelor Nation have blamed Rachel for Chris's leave of absence and taken out their frustrations on the Season 13 The Bachelorette star.
Rachel's "Higher Learning" podcast co-host Van Lathan posted an Instagram video on Friday to reveal some disturbing news.
ADVERTISEMENT
"My co-host on 'Higher Learning,' Rachel Lindsay, disabled her Instagram earlier today," Van Lathan said.
"She did it because that's how much hate she's getting from Bachelor fans, who are spamming her with all kinds of rude, hateful things to say. Alright, y'all have got to get a f-cking life, seriously."
Van Lathan suggested people are misdirecting their outrage because Chris had been the one to make offensive comments during the Extra interview and Rachel was simply on the receiving end of them.
"Rachel is not responsible for Chris Harrison, a 49-year-old man who can't read the room in these present 2021 times," Van Lathan explained in the video.
"She's not. She's not responsible for that. It's not her job to make excuses or provide cover for somebody who doesn't understand what the f-ck triggers people in today's world. It's not."
ADVERTISEMENT
The podcast co-host continued, "You're going after the wrong person, and just to let you guys know, I know you love the show, but it's The Bachelor. It's not worth harassing somebody over!"
"Get a f-cking life!" he concluded. "Rachel, we love you and we're with you."
In the caption to his post, Van Lathan wrote, "Leave Rachel the f-ck alone. This harassment is going too far. My co host has zero today with the words of a grown ass man who still doesn't get it."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
Van Lathan went on to tag Chris personally and wrote, "Are you okay with people getting at Rachel to the point she can't even exist on IG. Is anyone from the entire Bachelor Nation going to stand up and condemn this harassment of a Black woman?"
ADVERTISEMENT
"Yo it's just a f-cking TV SHOW, y'all need to relax for real," he added. "I love you RACH. F-ck these people."
Rachel's husband and The Bachelorette's thirteenth-season winner Bryan Abasolo commented on the Instagram post, "Appreciate you bro!"
And then on Sunday, Van Lathan shared a screenshot of someone accusing him of "injustice" since he believes Rachel being bullies by trolls is an overreaction.
"Man, F-ck these racist ass people," Van Lathan wrote in response to the critic. "I'm about to snap over my friend. It's amazing how they protect these people."
Although Chris hasn't spoken on Rachel deactivating her Instagram account yet, many of her friends in Bachelor Nation are standing by her.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I love you, I stand by you and I support you in whatever way, shape or form that's needed. We live in a world where online toxicity, racism, racial insensitivity & ignorance, bullying and cruelty have become a norm. This is simply not okay," The Bachelorette's Season 14 star Becca Kufrin wrote on Instagram.
"The fact that my friend Rachel had to deactivate her personal Instagram account due to extreme hate and harassment is so incredibly disheartening and deranged. It's a sad reality of the world we live in, and needs to change."
And Season 21 The Bachelor star Nick Viall said, "Chris Harrison is in the position he is in because of what he said, not because of anything Rachel did. If you want to support Chris while he is down, you should be able to do that without showing hate to anyone else."
Nick continued, "If you are one of the people who have sent hateful or racist comments to Rachel please take a serious look at what's in your heart. Your priorities are seriously out of whack."
And Season 12 The Bachelorette star JoJo Fletcher expressed a similar sentiment.
"If you are following me, and think it's OK to send hateful, vile and harassing comments, please take a moment of deep self reflection and understand what that says about you," JoJo shared on social media.
"Hearing that Rachel Lindsay had to deactivate her account bc of the horrible bullying taking place is awful and unacceptable. We need to come together, and be kinder to one another. Please -- if you have ever been on the wrong side of this, do better. Be better."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
The scandal that has driven Rachel to delete Instagram began when Georgia-native Rachael was accused of bullying a girl in high school for dating a Black man and recently liking offensive photos on Instagram, such as a friend standing in front of a house that was displaying the Confederate flag.
In addition to an image of Rachael dressed in Native American costume, photos also resurfaced of Rachael attending a plantation-themed "Old South" fraternity party at Georgia College & State University in 2018. (Rachel apologized on February 11 and claims to have been doing research to better herself).
In his Extra interview with Rachel, the first-ever Black The Bachelorette star, Chris tried to defend Rachael and dismiss backlash that had been aimed at her since early January.
ADVERTISEMENT
Chris called for "grace" and "compassion" for Rachael and also criticized the "woke police" and "unbelievably alarming" backlash against the young woman.
Chris' controversial comments -- which he later confessed had excused historical racism -- resulted in the longtime The Bachelor host posting two public apologies and "stepping aside" from his position "for a period of time."
Rachel, however, publicly admitted she had a tough time accepting Chris's apology, and she expressed hesitation and concern over whether Chris should ever return to his role as host of the franchise.
Rachel subsequently received an offer to host The Bachelor: After the Final Rose special for Matt's season that will air later this month, according to Us, and Rachel was accused of cancel culture and trying to steal Chris's job.
But Rachel went on to recommend Emmanuel Acho for the job, and ABC has since selected the author and sports analyst to host After the Final Rose and presumably lead a discussion about the recent racism controversies.
Matt released a statement last week on Instagram in which he said Chris and Rachael's racist actions have been "devastating" and "heartbreaking."
Click here to read spoilers on how far Rachael makes it on Matt's The Bachelor season and whether Matt is still dating or engaged to his winner.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Interested in more The Bachelor news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group.