Why Host Chris Harrison Is Leaving The Bachelor But Not Quitting

Chris Harrison is temporarily stepping away from hosting The Bachelor, and the fans are now speculating if this means that the network will eventually fire him or if he is poised to return in the near future. This has been a rough week for Bachelor Nation, starting with an interview that Chris Harrison gave out to Rachel Lindsay on Tuesday, February 9. When confronted by Rachel about certain racist pictures featuring season 25 frontrunner Rachael Kirkconnell, a defensive Chris tried to justify it at all costs, even going as far as saying that 2018 was a completely different time.

In turn, the response from Bachelor Nation was unanimous: there isn’t an excuse for Rachael to have attended an Old South Ball event in 2018, and the pictures she took there can’t be excused, either. Consequently, many viewers and alumni are now disappointed in Chris Harrison’s ease to just dismiss this very real and very justified criticism of Rachael’s actions from merely three years ago. This prompted Rachael Kirkconnell to finally apologize on social media, and Chris Harrison followed suit. And yet, growing pressure on the host has caused him to issue a second apology, this time announcing that he’ll be temporarily stepping away from hosting the show.

The wording in Chris Harrison’s latest The Bachelor announcement is key to understanding what could be actually happening behind the scenes. In the second picture on Chris’ Instagram statement (included below), the longtime Bachelor host wrote: “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.” For context, The Bachelor franchise is produced and distributed by Warner Bros and aired by ABC (a Disney-owned network). Considering Chris’ wording, it is possible that top-level executives at Warner and/or at Disney met with the host and asked him to step aside for some time. Alas, it is also possible that Chris just had to consult with both studios prior to making a decision.

It is also noteworthy that Chris Harrison said that he is “stepping aside for a period of time” from The Bachelor, making it clear that this is supposed to be temporary and not definitive. And yet, it is also possible for this to be the first step in Chris abandoning his hosting responsibilities for good or being flat-out replaced on the show. According to production credits, Chris Harrison is a co-executive producer on Bachelor In Paradise, but he is not credited as a producer on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. As such, Chris likely doesn’t have as much power over the franchise as some fans might assume.

The story of Chris Harrison stepping away from hosting The Bachelor will surely have many other chapters. There has never been as strong of a reaction as this to call for his removal. Hopefully, the best decision will be made for Bachelor Nation in the future.

The Bachelor season 25 airs Mondays at 8 pm ET/PT on ABC.

Sources: Chris Harrison’s Instagram

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Bernardo Sim
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Bernardo Sim writes about TV shows, queer culture, & Brazilian media. Born and raised in the Amazon, he now lives in South Florida. he/him

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