The Bachelorette alum Rachel Lindsay has shared her reaction to the news of Chris Harrison's voluntarily leave of absence from hosting The Bachelor franchise becoming a permanent one.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I gotta say, I am [shocked]. I wasn't expecting for it to happen, not after the announcement," Rachel, 36, said Tuesday on Extra, according to People.
RELATED LINK: MEET ALL OF KATIE THURSTON'S 'THE BACHELORETTE' SEASON 17 BACHELORS (PHOTOS)
Chris and ABC confirmed in a media statement on Tuesday that Chris will no longer host The Bachelor franchise following his recent racism controversy.
ABC said the network is "thankful" for Chris' "many contributions over the past 20 years" and they wish him well, and Chris said in a statement of his own posted on Instagram that he's had an "incredible run" as host of The Bachelor and made friendships that will "last a lifetime."
ADVERTISEMENT
Deadline reported earlier on Tuesday Chris had agreed to walk away from the franchise after several days of intense negotiations with ABC that ended with Chris receiving a huge mid-range eight-figure settlement.
But Rachel apparently wonders if Chris was forced to exit or left the show on his own terms.
"It's been 19 years and if you do watch the show, we saw less and less of Chris," Rachel noted.
"Nineteen years is a big accomplishment. Maybe that's the case. We don't know. Maybe they were ready to move on. Maybe Chris wanted to move on after all this."
Chris reportedly agreed to a payoff just hours after The Bachelorette's seventeenth season starring Katie Thurston premiered on Monday night and featured former The Bachelorette stars Kaitlyn Bristowe and Tayshia Adams filling in for Chris as co-hosts.
ADVERTISEMENT
Chris' deal was reportedly finalized, with loose ends tied, on Tuesday morning.
RELATED LINK: BACHELORETTE SPOILERS: WHO DID KATIE THURSTON PICK AND END UP WITH? WHAT HAPPENS ON THE 2021 SEASON OF 'THE BACHELORETTE' (SPOILERS)
Rachel said fans can only "speculate" why Chris is done with the franchise, for which he had served as host since The Bachelor premiered in 2002.
"I think several past contestants coming forward and saying they didn't want him to be part of Paradise[played a role]," Rachel guessed, referring to Bachelor in Paradise's upcoming seventh season, which just began filming this past weekend and is set to premiere on August 16.
"I think Katie Thurston, her very last tweet before she went to film her season was that Chris needed to step away. I think that, coupled with the interview that happened on this very stage, maybe led to him not coming back."
ADVERTISEMENT
On February 26, Katie -- who competed on Matt James' The Bachelor season -- tweeted that she "will always be a Rachel Lindsay supporter."
Chris announced in February he'd be "stepping aside" from his hosting duties with The Bachelor franchise "for a period of time" to educate himself on racism in society in a "profound" and "productive" manner after he made offensive remarks in an early-February Extra interview with Rachel, who starred as The Bachelorette's first Black leading lady on Season 13.
In the Extra interview, Chris had defended The Bachelor Season 25 contestant Rachael Kirkconnell's racially-ignorant and racially-insensitive actions in the last several years and adopted a dismissive attitude towards photos of Rachael that resurfaced from an antebellum-plantation themed "Old South" fraternity party at Georgia College & State University in 2018.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
Chris had called 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.
ADVERTISEMENT
Chris previously said he apologized to Rachel directly before issuing three public apologies for his offense, two of which were written statements posted on Instagram and one that took the form of a verbal apology during a March appearance on Good Morning America.
"Last time we sat and talked I said that I accepted Chris' apology and I still stand by that. I do, I think that's the way to move forward," Rachel said on Extra.
Los Angeles-based, high-profile entertainment litigator Bryan J. Freedman spearheaded Chris' objective and allegedly threatened a heavy lawsuit and to expose The Bachelor franchise's well-kept secrets over the last 20 years unless Chris was satisfactorily compensated.
As The New York Post reported in March, Chris was "ready to tell the truth about how things really work" behind the scenes in The Bachelor franchise and had "plenty of evidence" to back up his revelations.
As executives were reportedly weighing their options for a new host recently, a person close to Chris told Variety that his attorney was "outraged" over how the matter was being handled.
"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 at the time.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
Chris agreed to remain tight lipped and not air The Bachelor's dirty laundry once he was offered the big settlement, according to Deadline.
Although members of Bachelor Nation have expressed how they will miss Chris -- and many viewers apparently feel the same way -- Chris has already received several job offers since announcing his departure from The Bachelor franchise, according to Us Weekly.
"He's been getting all kinds of offers on projects, so he's hoping to lock something in soon," a source told the magazine.
"He has a team who has been supporting him this entire time and is working on his next move. He's hosted other shows in the past so safe to say this isn't the end of Chris Harrison hosting!"
ADVERTISEMENT
A second source added, "He's elated and relieved to be able to explore future opportunities."
Bachelor in Paradise's seventh season will reportedly be hosted by a group of celebrity guest hosts, including actor and comedian David Spade.
Reality Steve spoiler blogger Steve Carbone also reported Nick Viall and his girlfriend Natalie Joy will lend their assistance, as well as Wells Adams and fiance Sarah Hyland.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Interested in more The Bachelor news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group!