Wells Adams will reportedly be more than a bartender and guest host on Bachelor in Paradise's upcoming seventh season.
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Not only will Wells reprise his role behind the bar at the Bachelor in Paradise resort in Sayulita, Mexico and serve as a guest host, but he has also agreed to be the show's "master of ceremonies," according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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Wells will reportedly lead the Rose Ceremonies and prompt bachelors and bachelorettes when it's time to hand out their roses, similar to what the franchise's now-departed longtime host Chris Harrison had done for years.
In addition, Warner Bros. TV confirmed with The Reporter that Wells will be hosting one of the weeks deeper into the season as one of several rotating celebrity guest hosts.
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Other guest hosts expected to make an appearance on Bachelor in Paradise this summer are actor and comedian David Spade, former NSYNC boyband member Lance Bass, rapper Lil Jon,and actor Tituss Burgess.
Variety also previously reported Season 21 The Bachelor star Nick Viall will lend his assistance.
However, contrary to prior reports, Wells' fiancee, actress Sarah Hyland, will reportedly not be joining Wells as a guest host in Mexico.
ABC has yet to officially announce any of the Bachelor in Paradise's cast members or guest hosts, who will reportedly each preside over one week of the dating process.
Bachelor in Paradise is currently filming and scheduled to premiere Monday, August 16 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC.
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The rotating hosts were designed to be a temporary fix for the show after Chris' racism controversy, which resulted in ABC and Chris publicly declaring earlier this month that Chris' voluntary leave of absence from The Bachelor franchise has become a permanent one and he will not return as host for any future seasons.
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"I've had a truly incredible run as host of The Bachelor franchise, and now I'm excited to start a new chapter," Chris wrote in a June 8 statement posted to his Instagram account.
"I'm so grateful to Bachelor Nation for all of the memories we've made together. While my two-decade journey is wrapping up, the friendships I've made will last a lifetime."
ABC is reportedly therefore on the search for a permanent host for The Bachelor franchise, including for The Bachelorette's upcoming eighteenth season starring Michelle Young in Fall 2021.
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Kaitlyn Bristowe and Tayshia Adams are currently co-hosting The Bachelorette's seventeenth season starring Katie Thurston.
Deadline reported in early June Chris, who has hosted The Bachelor franchise since its 2002 premiere, reached a mid-range eight-figure settlement with ABC to exit The Bachelor franchise for good.
But Variety just reported Chris only received $9 million as his supposed big payout.
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 The Bachelorette's first Black leading lady, Rachel Lindsay.
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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.
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.
Chris subsequently issued three apologies for his offense, two on Instagram and one verbal apology during a March appearance on Good Morning America.
On GMA at the time, Chris said he hoped to come back to The Bachelor franchise, explaining, "This is a franchise that has been a part of my life for the better part of 20 years and I love it. I plan to be back and I want to be back."
But several sources told E! News in April that "many" The Bachelor and The Bachelorette alums from seasons past were "apprehensive" about signing up for Bachelor in Paradise 7 or even declined their invitations in the wake of Chris' racism controversy.
One insider told the website at the time, "A lot of people are removing themselves from the franchise."
The Bachelorette Season 16 bachelor, Ivan Hall, for example, told E!'s Daily Pop in February, "If they have future shows and if they were to ask me to be on Bachelor in Paradise or something like that -- and I'm sure a lot of other contestants feel this way as well -- I wouldn't feel comfortable if Chris is there, to be quite frank."
Ivan added, "[I'm] not saying he can't make a recovery, can't learn from all of this, but, you know... it would just be too soon, really."
Click here to find out which bachelors and bachelorettes are reportedly going on Bachelor in Paradise this summer.
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