Bachelor Nation students ask Chris Harrison to permanently leave the ABC romance franchise

Several black bachelor program alumni from Bachelor Nation spoke out after host Chris Harrison said he was ‘walking away for a period of time’ after making headlines for his controversial reaction to a competitor’s racism scandal.

Season 13’s DeMario Jackson and Season 20’s Jubilee Sharpe were among the reality stars who spoke to TMZ, saying that Harrison’s vacation on the show should be permanent.

“I really don’t think he should be allowed to return, but it’s not up to me,” said Jackson. “My season was one of the most visible black seasons when it came to representing African American men and women.”

He continued: ‘It sucked because, yes, we had each other, but there was no one we could relate to because it was an all white production, all white cast, all white show … which is great, but it is 2021 now.

“If they want to move on and have more black fans, I would say that everything starts inside us. Like, do you really want to have black fans or do you want to put a band-aid on a gunshot wound? ‘

Sharpe said the show’s producers seemed to be more attentive to white competitors in their time on the show.

Marshana Ritchie from season 12 and Leslie Hughes from season 17 told the newspaper that Harrison should reminisce about black history and undergo sensitivity training to regain his place on the network’s show. Bachelorette season 10 star Marquel Martin and Robyn Jedkins of The Bachelor’s told TMZ that Harrison should get back to work, but he needs to focus on understanding the black issues before commenting further.

The controversy came after Harrison, speaking with Rachel Lindsay of Extra (formerly The Bachelorette), suggested ‘a little understanding’ with competitor Rachael Kirkconnell while discussing their participation in a 2018 party – described as’ antebellum plantation themed ball. ‘- in images that appeared on Reddit.

In the segment, Harrison initially asked for ‘a little understanding’ of Kirkconnell, when Lindsay said the scandal was ‘not looking good’ for the competitor.

Harrison replied, ‘Yeah [not] a good look in 2018? Or is it not looking good in 2021? Because there is a big difference. ‘

He continued: ‘The police are awake outside. And this poor girl, Rachael, who has just been thrown to the lions, I don’t know how equipped you are if you’ve never done this before, to be awake enough, to be eloquent enough, to be ready to deal with it.

Harrison on Saturday took a contrite message to social media, saying that ‘excusing historical racism, [he] defended.

‘For the black community, for the BIPOC community: I’m sorry. My words were damaging, ‘said the Texas native. ‘I am listening and I really apologize for my ignorance and for any pain this has caused you … for that purpose, I consulted Warner Bros. and ABC and I will be away for a period of time and I will not be joining for the After the Final Rose special. ‘