Chris Harrison sat down with Michael Strahan of Good Morning America for his first interview since he retired as host of the The bachelor, and, in a clip released by ABC News, said that his defense of a competitor was a “mistake”.
“I made a mistake. I am an imperfect man. I made a mistake. And this is mine,” Harrison told Strahan.
TOMORROW @GMA: @chrisbharrison is manifesting for the first time since it left the hosting functions in #The bachelor last month in an exclusive interview with @michaelstrahan airing TOMORROW. https://t.co/wmtSZrBI99
– Good Morning America (@GMA) March 3, 2021
The full interview with Strahan will air on Thursday.
It was during an interview with Extra correspondent Rachel Lindsay, in which Harrison spoke about social media photos of competitor Rachael Kirkconnell, which showed the 24-year-old participating in a formal pre-war planting-themed fraternity ceremony in 2018. The photos caused a stir in the networks social.
At the Extra In the interview, Harrison said it was necessary to show “a little grace, a little understanding, a little compassion” for Kirkconnell. He said he was not defending the party before the war, but said that people were not looking at the event “under the same lens” three years ago.
“It never looks good,” said Lindsay. “She is celebrating the old south. If I went to that party, what would it represent? “
Harrison later apologized and said he would step aside as a host for The bachelor for an unspecified period of time. It will also not appear on the After the Final Rose live special after the end of the show. Instead, Emmanuel I think will host the special.
“I am dedicated to being educated on a deeper and more productive level than ever before,” he said in a statement last month.
Kirkconnell also apologized and said in a statement, “I am ashamed of my lack of education, but it is not the responsibility of anyone to educate me.”