Bachelor fans were delighted by the controversial contestant Rachael Kirkconell’s scary landing during a skydiving encounter with Matt James.
Monday’s episode saw the pair go on a skydiving encounter while tied to individual professionals. After Matt makes his landing, his date arrives a little quick and ends up hitting the ground flat on his face. Although she was slightly injured, she did not suffer any serious injuries, despite the hard fall back to earth. The terrifying moment, however, was a small gift to Kirkconnell, as it made the Bachelor realize his affection for her.
However, after a controversy that saw Kirkconnell’s photos resurface showing his participation in a party with the theme “Old South” in 2018, which sparked allegations of racism, some viewers were not sad to see her hurt. The 24-year-old had already made a long mea culpa on social media for her “ignorance”, but viewers still found her face a bit like a dessert for the competitor.
“the skydiving instructor threw Rachel to the ground because she attended all those plantation parties. #Bachelor”, wrote a sarcastic viewer.
“I never laughed so much watching the bachelor as I laughed watching Rachel hit the sky floor #TheBachelor,” wrote another user.
‘The Bachelor’ featured a moment when controversial competitor Rachael Kirkconnell planted a face during a meeting with Matt James.
(ABC / Craig Sjodin)
“this is the most boring season for the bachelor watching Rachel fall from the sky is the most dramatic thing that has happened”, wrote a more disappointed viewer.
“Watching Rachel eat while diving skydiving was an important moment in the bachelor’s story for me,” another wrote.
The reappeared photos ended up having a much bigger impact on the “Bachelor” franchise than just Kirkconnell and James. During an interview with former “Bachelorette” star Rachel Lindsay with longtime presenter Chris Harrison of Extra, Harrison defended Kirkconnell for attending the party, saying that the photos of 2018 only look bad through the lens of 2020. The reaction which followed forced Harrison to apologize and reveal that he would be “stepping aside” as the host of the program in order to have time for personal reflection.
Although the energy landing made James fall even more in love with Kirkconnell, he talked about the controversy on social media during the episode.
In his long statement, James – who is the Bachelor’s first black star – said that “the past few weeks have been one of the most challenging of my life” and that he felt the need to address the issue now, despite his season still having several episodes to air.
Chris Harrison has revealed that he is no longer hosting the ‘The Bachelor’ franchise after the Rachael Kirkconnell controversy.
(ABC / Craig Sjodin)
He called Kirkconnell’s photos “incredibly disappointing”.
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“The reality is that I am learning about these situations in real time and it has been devastating and painful to be honest,” said James, 29. “Chris’s failure to receive and understand the emotional work that my friend Rachel Lindsay was taking on in explaining gracefully and patiently that the racist story of Antebellum South, a painful story that every American should understand intimately, was worrying and painful to watch.”
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Although filming for the current season of “The Bachelor” has ended, the public is still unsure whether James finally chose Kirkconnell as his winner.