Bachelor: Demi Lovato Fans Mad At Chris Harrison For Asking About Love Life In Old Interview

The hits keep coming for The Bachelor host Chris Harrison, who is now under fire for an interview he conducted with Demi Lovato. He is still reeling from the fallout over his interview with Rachel Lindsey. As a result of the controversy, he was replaced on both the After the Final Rose special and the next Bachelorette season. Now, an old interview with the singer and actress is coming to light, and Lovato’s fan base is just as passionate as Bachelor Nation.

Chris appears in the third episode of the documentary series Demi Lovato: Dancing With The Devil. The YouTube original has already made headlines for its reveals and frank discussions of serious topics. The pop star has earned praise for being so open and honest about her addiction, as well as the great deal of trauma in her past. In episode 3, Demi revealed that she was raped at 15, while filming the Disney Channel movie Camp Rock. She also says it lead her to develop bulimia. After speaking about how fraught her teen years were, a clip of an uncomfortable interview with Chris Harrison from that time was shown. The clip, especially with this context, puts him in a very bad light.

Interviewing her on the red carpet, Chris asked “You write most of your songs yourself, and you’re 16, where do you get your inspiration?” Demi responded, “Believe it or not, though I am 16 I’ve been through a lot.” Laughing this off, Chris replied, “C’mon you’re 16, how much heartbreak could you really have been through?” Demi, once again, emphasized, “…a lot“. The star was visibly uncomfortable, which was not lost on viewers. The Sun found just some of the angry Twitter reactions from Lovato’s fanbase. One accused him of “gaslighting yet another woman“. Another wrote, “That clip of Chris Harrison… It pisses me off how interviewers can minimize the life experiences of women and especially young women.” In addition to fans of Demi’s, Bachelor Nation was also put off by the clip. Redditors had empathy for Demi, and chided Chris for being so inconsiderate of someone’s feelings just because they’re young.

One pointed out, “I got such weird vibes from it and felt like he was standing really close. And I feel like it’s so gross when grown men joke with children about their love lives and romantic partners.” Others argued that Chris didn’t know about her assault. While true, his patronizing attitude was still uncalled for. Already an experienced interviewer, he should’ve noticed his questions clearly bothered her. As another Redditor wrote, “It’s on Chris that she answered his question and then he laughed at her which definitely invalidates her lived experience of being assaulted, which is similar to the way he invalidated Rachel Lindsey’s experience of racism.” These interviews were 12 years apart, unfortunately showing how little has changed.

The resurfaced interview also comes at a time where media coverage of famous women in being re-examined. The catalyst for this was the New York Times Presents: Framing Britney Spears documentary on Hulu. As with the discussion of racism on The Bachelor, many would argue this conversation is long overdue. At this time, Chris Harrison’s future on The Bachelor is still uncertain. While many are angry with him, he still has loyal fans who want him back. If he does return, hopefully, he will have genuinely reflected on and learned from the mistakes in his past.

Source: The Sun, Reddit