Controversial “Bachelor” candidate Rachael Kirkconnell has apologized after the reality show host Chris Harrison expressed his regret that she had come to her defense earlier.
Kirkconnell, who is currently a season 25 front runner the franchise’s first black bachelor, Matt Jameshas been criticized for liking Confederate-flagged TikToks and more recently for a re-emerged photo showing her attending a plantation-themed fraternity celebration in 2018.
In a statement to her Instagram On Thursday, Kirkconnell apologized for her previous actions, which she condemned as “offensive and racist”.
“I was ignorant, but my ignorance was racist,” she wrote. “The communities and individuals are sorry that my actions have been harmed and offended. I am ashamed of my lack of education, but it is not my responsibility to educate myself.”
She urged her followers to “learn from my mistakes” and “use them as a teachable moment”. She also said that she “will continue to learn how to be anti-racist” and that “it is important to speak now, not after you’ve been called”.
“I deserve to be held accountable for my actions,” she continued. “I will never grow unless I realize what I have done is wrong. I do not believe that an apology means that I deserve your forgiveness, but I hope that through my future actions I will deserve your forgiveness can. “
After James defended Kirkconnell Media interviewsHarrison also came to her defense. But on Wednesday the “Bachelor” host, 49, gained weight Instagram apologize for his comments.
“For my Bachelor Nation family – I’ll always have a mistake if I make one, so I’m here to make my heartfelt apologies,” he said. “I have this incredible platform to talk about love, and yesterday I was talking about topics that I should have been better informed about.
He continued, “Although I am not speaking for Rachael Kirkconnell, my intention was simply to ask for mercy by giving her the opportunity to speak on her own behalf. What I am realizing now is to cause harm when I up One way of speaking wrong perpetuates racism, and I am very sorry. “
He also apologized to Rachel Lindsay of “The Bachelorette,” season 13 for “not listening better to a subject that she understands firsthand,” and thanked the members of Bachelor Nation who made an effort to “hold me accountable”. “
“I promise to do better,” he concluded.
In an interview earlier this weekHarrison said, “We all need a little grace” when asked about the Kirkconnell controversy.
“I’ve seen some stuff online – again that judge, jury, and hangman thing where people are just tearing this girl’s life apart,” he added. “Until I actually hear that this woman actually has the opportunity to speak, who should I say something about it?”
James addressed the Kirkconnell controversy in an interview Entertainment tonight In early February he said, “Rumors are dark and nasty and can ruin people’s lives. So I would give people the benefit of the doubt and hopefully they will have their time to talk about them.”
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Contributor: Charles Trepany
