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What is Cameo? The Bachelor's ex-host Chris Harrison fired over sending $350 fan videos after ‘racism' row

Harrison was raking in the money from Cameo and people on the Internet questioned how could this be counted as 'stepping away' if he was still making money from his association with 'The Bachelor'

Chris Harrison, the face of 'The Bachelor' franchise for two long decades recently came under fire for his casual views on Rachael Kirkconnell's racism row that has shaken the foundation of the show to a point where the future has started looking bleak. Host Harrison had to issue an apology after he was dragged into this whole mess after his comments that were mostly in defense of Rachael didn't sit down well with the fans of the show. A lot of people called for him to resign and demanded the appointment of a new host and in light of such major backlash, Harrison announced on his Instagram that he would be stepping away from the franchise for a while. However, he stayed very active on Cameo where he was charging close to $350-$500 for personalized videos. 

Harrison was raking in the money from Cameo and people on the Internet questioned how could this be counted as "stepping away" if he was still making money from his association with 'The Bachelor' and the video-sharing platform was quick to lean into the comments pouring in following which Harrison was banned from the app. 

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What is Cameo?

Cameo is a US-based platform created by Steven Galanis, Martin Blencowe and Devon Spinnler Townsend for people to connect with celebrities and public figures. It's available as a website and a mobile app for Android and iOS users. It doesn't cost anything to join the portal as a talent or as a user, however, if you want to connect with your choice of celebrity via direct message or want to request a personalized video message from them, that is where one has to pay up. An array of people are present on Cameo including athletes, musicians, actors, YouTubers, TikTokers, directors, etc and every one of them have set a different pricing. 

The 49-year-old 'Bachelor' host joined the celebrity video-sharing platform in 2018 and since then created a number of fan-requested videos over the years and he was among the highest-charging personalities on the portal. His initial price tag was $500 per minute long message. He slashed his price and set it to $350 recently and continued sending out requested videos up until February 21. While the number of videos he made cannot be determined but Harrison has received 522 five-star reviews, according to the Sun, and the most recent rating two days ago on February 21, 2021. If we do the math, Harrison has raked in over $250,000 from his Cameo account and his "Book" button is now set to "Notify when available" despite the fact that he recently uploaded a chunk of requested clips. 

What did fans say about Chris Harrison making money from Cameo? 

"The issue with Chris Harrison still using Cameo is that he said he would be removing himself from the Bachelor franchise for a period of time—he is clearly still using his association with #BachelorNation to make money during his “absence” #TheBachelor," read a comment on Twitter that contributed to Harrison's ban. "Chris Harrison has apparently been doing Cameo videos even after announcing he would “step aside” as Bachelor host. Interesting. #TheBachelor" wrote another. "#ChrisHarrison is supposed to be taking time off to learn yet he has started doing cameos again. I would hate to meet the person willing to pay $350 for a CH cameo. #FireChrisHarrison," read another comment. "Hi #ChrisHarrison was “taking time away” but also completed Cameo requests so I’m back with #FireChrisHarrison," tweeted another.

What did Harrison say in Rachael Kirkconnell's defense?

"I haven’t talked to Rachael about it, and this is where we need to have a little grace...because I have seen some stuff online—this judge, jury, executioner thing—where they’re just tearing this girl’s life apart and diving into her parents and her parents’ voting record. It’s unbelievably alarming to watch this," he told Rachel Lindsay during an interview for Extra. 

"This poor girl Rachael, who has just been thrown to the lions—I don’t how you are equipped when you have never done this before to be woke enough, to be eloquent enough, to be ready to handle this. My guess is this woman needs a little time...we don’t give people time to have some perspective, to try and drink this in for a second, see how this affects their life, and then speak on it," Harrison said further. 

Harrison's apology

“While I do not speak for Rachael Kirkconnell, my intentions were simply to ask for grace in offering her an opportunity to speak on her own behalf,” a segment of Harrison's statement uploaded to Instagram read. “What I now realize I have done is cause harm by wrongly speaking in a manner that perpetuates racism, and for that I am so deeply sorry. I also apologize to my friend Rachel Lindsay for not listening to her better on a topic she has a first-hand understanding of, and humbly thank the members of Bachelor Nation who have reached out to me to hold me accountable. I promise to do better," he added.