Chris Harrison is calling out the “Bachelor” franchise as “very toxic” two years after he was booted from his hosting gig over allegations of racism.
“What I went through was tumultuous. I don’t wish it on anybody,” he recalled while speaking to Bachelor Nation alum Jason Tartick on the “Trading Secrets” podcast Monday.
“It was horrifying on a lot of levels and something that I pray to God my worst enemy never goes through.”
Harrison, 52, continued, “But, with that said, I knew I had to remove myself from what became a very toxic situation.”
He even hypothesized that things could have been “figured” out between him and ABC without him exiting the show.
“But I had to remove myself from that toxic situation. And so I’m proud of that decision,” he added.
“I’m proud that I handled it the way I did and I still look at [the show] as a blessing because it changed my life on so many levels,” he went on.
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“Financially, of course. It changed my life. It changed my kids’ lives.”
He even joked that he was able to build his home on the “tears” of contestants like Tartick.
On a serious note, he added, “I hold those things dear. It was a blessing. It changed my life, but at the same time I can also be grateful that I’m gone.
“That’s a relationship I don’t need to be in anymore because it wasn’t healthy.”
Harrison, who recently married entertainment host Lauren Zima in the Austin, Texas, home he mentioned, left the “Bachelor” franchise as an executive producer and host following backlash to his February 2021 interview with former “Bachelorette” lead Rachel Lindsay.
During their interview, he defended Season 25 winner Rachael Kirkconnell after pictures surfaced of her at a plantation-themed college formal in 2018.
“We all need to have a little grace, a little understanding, a little compassion,” he told Lindsay, who became the first black lead of “The Bachelorette” in 2017.
Despite Lindsay explaining that it was “not a good look ever” to attend such a party, Harrison insisted that Kirkconnell, 27, should have a chance to defend herself.
Following the interview, Harrison apologized to Lindsay, 38, and Bachelor Nation for speaking “in a manner that perpetuates racism.”
That same week, he announced he would be taking a step back from the franchise and apologized once more for “excusing historical racism.”
He was officially removed from the popular show that he hosted for 19 years in June 2021.
Harrison later called out former Bachelor Nation contestants — including Nick Viall — for using his firing to help “with their 15 minutes of fame” during the debut episode of “The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever” in January.
“It’s the people that you would expect. I knew about certain cast members that were calling in,” he claimed. “It was hilarious.”
However, he is still close with several friends he made during his time on the show, including Wells Adams and his wife, Sarah Hyland, Sean and Catherine Lowe, Ben Higgins and his wife, Jessica, Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Lauren Burnham and more, who all attended his wedding to Zima.
Source: NewsFinale
