Is Matt James trying to protect Rachael Kirkconnell? 'The Bachelor' star slammed for blaming Chris Harrison
‘The Bachelor’ Season 25 has been entangled in controversy since its inception. The latest issue surrounding one of its contestants, Rachel Kirkconnell’s racist past led to the host Chris Harrison stepping down from ‘The Bachelor’ nation, as he received major backlash for his response to Rachael Lindsay during an interview. And now, the star of ‘The Bachelor, Matt James himself spoken out on the much-discussed scandal that’s put the dating reality show in the spotlight. However, his statement on Twitter, weighing in on the ongoing controversy has earned him criticism as people are of the opinion that he is “trying to protect Rachel Kirconnell”.
Matt’s latest post on Twitter touches upon the media’s portrayal of Rachel using her decade-old pictures and how Harrison has “failed” to acknowledge the “emotional labor” it has placed on his good friend Rachael. It reads, “The past few weeks have been some of the most challenging of my life, and while there are several episodes left of the season.”
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It further reads, “It is important that I take the time to address the troubling information that has come to light since we wrapped filming, including the incredibly disappointing photos of Rachael Kirkconnell and the interview between Rachel Lindsay and Chris Harrison.”
Calling out Harrison for his response to Lindsay’s interview and the subsequent matter he wrote, “The reality is that I’m learning about these situations in real-time, and it has been devastating and heartbreaking, to put it bluntly. Chris’ failure to receive and understand the emotional labor that my friend Rachel Lindsay was taking on by graciously and patiently explaining the racist history of the Antebellum South, a painful history that every American should understand intimately, was troubling and painful to watch.”
The rest of the statement tries to draw attention to the much prevailing issues of racism associated with ‘The Bachelor’ franchise and how the latest sandal is sidelining a “much larger issue.” He wrote, “Black people and allies immediately knew and understood, it was a clear reflection of a much larger issue that The Bachelor Franchise has fallen short on addressing adequately for years.”
Matt’s post has garnered a lot of attention, including criticism for “protecting” Rachel’s image while trying to place all the blame on Harrison.
A user tweeted, "I feel like this post goes easy on Rachael and places 99% of the blame on Chris and the “bachelor franchise”. And another added, "Sound like the producers telling him what to say because it reeks of PR-speak. Hoping that Matt can analyze this situation for himself and decide what he thinks about it and make a decision from there, rather than give in to pressure." A viewer tweeted, "Mighty late statement...feels like he was trying to figure out how to keep his relationship with racist Rachel and denounce racism at the same time..toughie! #TheBachelor"
I feel like this post goes easy on Rachael and places 99% of the blame on Chris and the “bachelor franchise”
— Emma O'Connor (@Emma_1114) February 23, 2021
Sound like the producers telling him what to say because it reeks of PR-speak.
— Jerome Lilliesworth (@JaredBlm) February 23, 2021
Hoping that Matt can analyze this situation for himself and decide what he thinks about it and make a decision from there, rather than give in to pressure.
Mighty late statement...feels like he was trying to figure out how to keep his relationship with racist Rachel and denounce racism at the same time..toughie! #TheBachelor
— Blue State Blues (@ArbsGotTheBlues) February 23, 2021
'The Bachelor' airs on Mondays at 8 pm ET on ABC.