Harrison spoke on behalf of Rachael Kirkconnell, who was reportedly photographed at a formal pre-war plantation-themed fraternity party in 2018.
Kirkconnell has not yet commented on the photos.
Earlier this week, Harrison told “Extra” correspondent and former “The Bachelorette” star Rachel Lindsay that the photos were from a long time ago and were against culture cancellation.
“I saw a picture of her at a fraternity party five years ago and that’s it. Like, boom,” said Harrison, adding, “I’m like, ‘Really?'”
Lindsay replied, “The photo was from 2018 at a pre-South War party. It’s not a good look.”
Harrison replied, “Well, is Rachel looking good in 2018? Or isn’t she looking good in 2021? Because there’s a big difference.”
“He never looks good,” said Lindsay. “If I went to that party, what would I represent at that party?”
“You are 100% right in 2021,” said Harrison. “It wasn’t the case in 2018. And again, I’m not defending Rachael. I just know that, I don’t know, 50 million people did it in 2018. It was a type of party that a lot of people went to. And, again, I didn’t I’m defending this. I didn’t go for it. “
Harrison has since apologized for his original defense of Kirkconnell, writing on social media:
“For my Single Nation family – I will always recognize a mistake when I make one, so I am here to sincerely apologize. I have this incredible platform to talk about love and yesterday I took a position on topics I should have been better informed about. “
“Although I don’t speak for Rachael Kirkconnell, my intentions were simply to ask for grace in offering her an opportunity to speak on her own behalf,” he continued. “What I now realize that I did was to cause harm by speaking incorrectly in a way that perpetuates racism, and for that I deeply apologize. I also apologize to my friend Rachel Lindsay for not hearing her better about a subject that she has an understanding of at first. hand and humbly thank the members of the Bachelor Nation who came to me to take responsibility. I promise to do better. “
He added that he wants the public to give Kirkconnell a chance to speak for itself.