Breaking News
Chris Harrison ‘Stepping Aside’ from ‘The Bachelor’ Amid Racism Controversy; Rachel Lindsay Says She’s Ready to Cut Ties with the Franchise
The historic season of The Bachelor is now marred in controversy. Matt James, became the reality-dating franchise’s first black lead bachelor, and his season is currently airing on ABC. Over the past few days things took a troubling turn when front-runner contestant Rachael Kirkconnell was called out for “liking” racially-insensitive social media posts, and one which saw her in costume, attending an antebellum plantation-themed ball.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, Chris Harrison addressed the situation during an interview on Extra with Rachel Lindsay, the franchise’s first black ‘Bachelorette’ back in 2017. During their conversation, Harrison expressed that that people should have “a little grace, a little understanding, a little compassion” for Kirkconnell. Lindsay did not agree with his view of Kirkconnell and the situation, nor did many fans of the show, who after Harrison’s interview aired started a petition for his removal from the show, and called him about for racist comments. The next day, Harrison apologized for his comments in a post.
On Thursday, Kirkconnell apologized for racist behavior on her Instagram here.
That brings us to Saturday, where now Harrison is stepping aside for now from his hosting duties with the show. He shared on Instagram: “I have spent the last few days listening to the pain my words have caused, and I am deeply remorseful. My ignorance did damage to my friends, colleagues and strangers alike. I have no one to blame but myself for what I said and the way I spoke. I set standards for myself, and have to meet them. I feel that with every fiber of my being. Now just as I taught my children to stand up, and to own their actions, I will do the same. By excusing historical racism, I defended it. I invoked the term ‘woke police,’ which is unacceptable. I am ashamed over how uninformed I was. I was so wrong. To the Black community, to the BIPOC community: I am so sorry. My words were harmful. I am listening, and I truly apologize for my ignorance and any pain it caused you. I want to give my heartfelt thanks to the people from these communities who I’ve had enlightening conversations with over the past few days, and I am so grateful to those who have reached out to help me on my path to anti-racism.”
He then said, “The historic season of The Bachelor should not be marred or overshadowed by my mistakes or diminished by my actions. To that end, I have consulted with Warner Bros. and ABC and will be stepping aside for a period of time and will not join for the After the Final Rose special. I want to ensure our cast and crew members, to my friends, colleagues and our fans: this is not just a moment, but a commitment to much greater understanding that I will actively make every day. From here I can only try to evolve and be a better man, and I humble myself before all of you. I hope I will again live up to the expectations you all rightfully have for me and the expectations I have for myself.”
As for Lindsay, she publicly shared she was not O.K. with her interview with Harrison, and on Friday, and on her podcast, shared: “When I finished that interview with Chris Harrison, he had no problems with it. He was fine. He texted me after. He appreciated the conversation. He was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll probably get a little flack,’ but thought it was great that we could disagree but do it in a civil way.”
Rachel added: “During that conversation, his privilege was on display. He never gave me room to talk, and he never gave me room to share my perspective. He wasn’t trying to hear it, he was just trying to be heard.”
Now, Lindsay wants nothing more to do with the franchise, sharing, “I can’t take it anymore. I’m contractually bound in some ways. But when it’s up, I am too. I can’t do it anymore.”
So, what do you think of this latest dilemma and controversy facing The Bachelor franchise? But first, watch Harrison’s interview with Lindsay on Extra, then share your comments on the situation below.
The worse thing that ever has happened to this country social media we have literally hit bottom of the pit ! Tell me when was the last time your family looked at each other in the face? Had a conversation ? Did a puzzle played scrabble said I love you said a prayer and was thankful for food on the table took a bike ride took a walk tucked your child in bed made popcorn went skating ! Just a question ? So very sad for our country ! You won’t find the answers if you become involved with tearing each other apart ! Just a thought!!! And yes my post had nothing to do with the subject just a sad day for me and hoped maybe we just all might treating each other with kindness.
@Kay slavery and the racism attached to it as a by product is a real thing for all black Americans. It’s a hurtful, hateful thing perpetuated through the years by far too many white people world wide. To consistently fob it off, tell people to get over it and deal with it is beyond the pale. Popcorn, puzzles, skating, and prayers that it will all simply just vanish in the wind shows why this is and always will be something one race of people will deal with for decades and centuries to come. That’s just sad and pathetic. You can’t swan off into an alternate bubble of reality, put your fingers in your ears and loudly shout “LA LA LA LA LA LA”. Black people certainly can’t.
ALL people have problems!
I agree, davlestev1. I have the same disagreement with someone in my book group. He even rationalized Southern house slavery with “at least they learned a trade.” Seriously? The book CASTE has really opened my eyes to some insidious, subtler forms of racism that are STILL present every day. It makes me feel quite ashamed of our nation’s apathy.
Kay, this is a good post. It does remind those who checked out, social media has taken away face to face communication, it gives power to say whatever you want, right or wrong, its out there to judge and you will always lose! If I were in the spotlight I would never speak to anyone because they will twist and turn just to make you look bad and sell their show because everyone will be talking about XYZ!
Social media isn’t the problem. It’s people trying to hide their true viewpoints And beliefs, getting caught, and getting called out. How utterly insensitive of you to say ALL people have problems. Blame it on social media. Don’t condone wrong racist behavior. End of.
Say hello to Joe!
May God grant you eyes to see, ears to hear and the wisdom to use both to ascertain the truth. Hi Joe. Thank you for replacing the sense of dread with a calming peace. So many rocks that sprang open are slowly closing downward again. Peace and Love.
This show must make a lot of money for ABC,beyond that I really don’t get its appeal, I mean,its kind of sleazy, cheesy, pathetic and degrading regardless if your female competing for the affection on one guy or vise versa, yet this show gets buzz, and featured on GMA weekly, only other in house show that gets that kind of attention from them is Dancing with the stars, again the buzz and money that it makes must be the reason, otherwise why we make a big deal about a “sleazy dating show”. ?.and are we really surprise that its white host step in major shit and was oblivious and didn’t understand why, I mean isn’t that what being white and entitled is all about,
I don’t think Chris said anything wrong. Ever since George Floyd, everyone who says or does one wrong thing is being hung from the nearest tree, so to speak. Was the party bad? Yes. I haven’t seen the posts she liked, but they were probably bad. But the fact is, if Rachel was such a horrid racist, how can she have fallen in love with a black man? And Chris is between a rock and a hard place, but he handled things as well as he thought he could at the time. LEAVE HIM ALONE. And, frankly, CALM DOWN. Just because you say something off color doesn’t mean you’re living under a KKK hood. STOP IT!
Breaking News
George Cheeks, CBS President & CEO, on Timeline to Launch New Daytime Drama, ‘The Gates’: “We’re So Focused on Getting it Right”
March 2024 will be remembered in the TV and soap world when the news broke that CBS is prepping a brand new daytime drama. Many had thought a major network would never bring a new daytime soap into the world, given that the last time it was attempted was 25 years ago when the now defunct Passions bowed on NBC.
However, The Gates is definitely in development and moving forward with some major players associated with it including: Michele Val Jean as The Gates writer, showrunner and one of its executive producers, and Sheila Ducksworth from NAACP Venture
Now, for the first time since its announcement, George Cheeks, the president and CEO of CBS and chief content officer for news and sports at Paramount+, spoke on the project that will feature a Black family as its central focus who live in a wealthy gated community.
Speaking with Vulture, and when asked if The Gates is really something that truly has a chance of getting on the air, Cheeks clarified, “It’s super real. And just to give you a little bit of the backstory, when we hired Sheila Ducksworth to run the NAACP Venture, she and I had multiple meetings talking about what different genres she was going to lean into, and we talked a lot about daytime.”
Cheeks added, “One of the things that the data made very clear to both of us is that daytime soap operas over index with Black women, and yet when you look at soap operas, it’s usually sort of a white-led family with supporting characters that reflect more of our society. So we just thought, wouldn’t it be interesting to flip that and make the core anchor family a Black family, and then make the other characters reflect more the broader scope of society?”
The CEO gave props to Michele Val Jean, and how Ducksworth came to the table with the former B&B and GH writer. “She found this great writer, Michele Val Jean, who’s been in the soap opera space for 30 years. She came up with a pitch, and we loved it,” shares Cheeks. “We brought Procter & Gamble into it as well, because if there were going to be (product) integrations, we could do it more holistically and organically. All of that is to say, we did a lot of work on the front end to put this together. So while yes, it’s development, it’s accelerated development.”
When prodded on the timeline of when The Gates could come to full fruition, Gates related, “The actual timeline and when we’re going to do it is still uncertain, because we want to get this right. I mean, there hasn’t been a new soap opera launch since I can’t even begin to tell you when. But we have great success with Bold and the Beautiful and Young and the Restless, and so we think we’re the right folks to be launching a new soap. I wish I could tell you more about exact timing, but we’re so focused on getting it right, and that will dictate when we’re ready to launch it.”
The CBS exec also shared that whether The Gates will wind up an hour soap or half-hour is not yet determined, but that it is being developed as an hour show.
So, after reading what George Cheeks, the CBS President & CEO had to say about ‘The Gates’, are you even more excited for what looks to the first new network soap in 25 years? Comment below.
Breaking News
Robyn Bernard, ‘General Hospital’s’ Terry Brock, Dead at 64
Breaking News
51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Announce Broadcast Date on CBS
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) revealed on Tuesday, that the 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards will be broadcast live on Friday night, June 7th (8 – 10 PM, ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+*.
This year will mark the 18th time CBS has broadcast the Daytime Emmy Awards, which is more than any other network.
The 2024 Daytime Emmys will take place at the Westin Bonaventure in downtown Los Angeles. Back in December of 2023, the delayed 50th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards were also held at that venue. The June 7th date for the upcoming ceremony will be the first time in several years that the event is scheduled a few weeks earlier than normal; excluding last year’s revised date to the actors and writers strikes.
Lifetime Achievement honoree, nominations, host, and additional information will be announced in the coming weeks.
In a statement, Adam Sharp, President and CEO of NATAS noted, “We eagerly anticipate our return in June as we once again partner with CBS to recognize the exceptional and talented individuals who make daytime television great. We’re thrilled to kick off our second half-century of the Daytime Emmys.”
The Daytime Emmy Awards have recognized outstanding achievement in television programming and crafts since 1974, honoring work in a variety of categories, including daytime dramas, talk shows, instructional programming, hosting, culinary, and legal/courtroom programs. In 2021, NATAS and the Television Academy jointly announced plans to realign the Daytime and Primetime Emmy Awards to be organized by content genre, as opposed to program airtime.
The 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards will once again be produced by NATAS and Associated Television International (ATI), which produced Daytime Emmy Award ceremonies on The CW in 2009 and on CBS in 2010, 2011, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Adam Sharp and Lisa Armstrong are executive producers from NATAS, while David McKenzie is executive producer from ATI.
So, glad to know that the 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards honoring performance and shows in the 2023 calendar year, will be held in early June this year, and once again broadcast on CBS? Comment below.
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