The former Bachelorette explained why she wants to remove herself from the narrative.
Rachel Lindsay doesn't plan to weigh in on Chris Harrison's future with The Bachelor. During the latest episode of Lindsay's Higher Learning podcast with Van Lathan, the former Bachelorette star revealed why she doesn't think her opinion about Harrison's Bachelor future is the most important viewpoint at this point in the conversation.
Lindsay's comments came after Harrison appeared on Thursday's Good Morning America to apologize for defending Bachelor contestant Rachael Kirkconnell's past racist actions, encouraging people to offer her "grace," and speaking out against the "woke police," during an interview with Lindsay last month. Both Harrison and Kirkconnell have since apologized.
While on GMA, Harrison said he "made a mistake" in his "insensitive" interview with Lindsay and expressed that he has a plan and wants to return to hosting the franchise. The host previously announced that he'd be "stepping aside" from the franchise "for a period of time."
"I'm not going to give any opinion on what I think should happen with the franchise, what I think his role should be moving forward," Lindsay said on her podcast. "I think something is getting lost here. And that is, I'm not on the show anymore."
"I've been on Bachelor, Bachelorette, I found my husband, I moved on," she continued of her husband, Bryan Abasolo, with whom she married in 2019. "I think we need to be hearing from the people who are currently in the franchise and for the future people who are coming on the show."
Lindsay explained that she wants to hear from others on the topic because "what Chris did has a trickle down effect for all people of color who were affiliated with the franchise and who will be in the future, assuming it continues."
"We need to be asking them how they feel. What they think about this. What their feelings are about how the franchise should be moving forward. And nobody is," she said. "Everybody wants to ask me. Everybody's making this Chris versus Rachel, instead of looking at what he said and the impact that it is having on people of color in this franchise and beyond. People who watch that interview and were offended by it."
"It's not, 'What does Rachel think about what Chris said?' Chris said it. What he said was problematic, which we've all recognized, so how do the people feel who were impacted by that?" she questioned. "I think that's the question we need to be asking."
Lindsay did, however, reveal that she accepts Harrison's latest apology, a sentiment she first expressed on Tuesday's episode of Extra.
"He apologized. I accept the apology. Let's move forward... I had to accept it for me. I'm stuck in a place and I just need to accept it so we can move on," she said on her podcast. "Sometimes when you forgive and you accept, it's not necessarily for the person, it's for you. And I needed that for me... I accepted so we can move on."
"We're not gonna talk about this again unless it's dealing with the franchise making a decision because we obviously have to," Lindsay added. "I cannot. I can't. And I think Chris would agree."
Following Harrison's controversial interview with Lindsay, the former Bachelorette disabled her Instagram account due to the harassment she received for speaking out against Harrison's comments.
On a previous episode of her podcast, Lindsay revealed that she was "getting threatened" on the social media platform. Both Harrison and Bachelor producers have spoken out against the harassment Lindsay's received.
"I'm still on my Instagram break. I love it," Lindsay said on the latest Higher Learning episode, before explaining why she plans to return to the social media site.
"I mean, I eventually have to come back because I'm, as I'm lovingly called here, QVC Rach. Those ads are calling!" she quipped. "So, eventually, I'll have to come back. But mentally for me, I love it. I love not being on Instagram. It's great."
"I've had to push some things back because my mental health is priceless," she added of advertisement posts she had to delay as a result of her break. "I needed this break. I needed it for me. Don't you worry, guys, I'll be back in full effect."
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