Former The Bachelorette lead Andi Dorfman has spoken out about the racism scandal involving Rachael Kirkconnell, Chris Harrison, Rachel Lindsay, and The Bachelor franchise.
Andi is best known for telling off and leaving Juan Pablo Galavis after making it to the final three and becoming The Bachelorette the following season.
Andi has always been known for being strong-willed and speaking her mind, and she continues to do so amid the current controversy involving the franchise.
Andi tells ET that she feels The Bachelor has “dropped the ball” and doesn’t appreciate the franchise’s silence surrounding the issue, saying she feels its biggest shortcoming is failing to defend Rachel Lindsay.
“I don’t know how you let somebody like Rachel Lindsay get bullied off her own social media account without stepping in and saying things earlier,” Andi tells the outlet. “I don’t know how you kind of hide behind all of that. [When] your cast and your contestants are the ones that are having to come together without you, where is the franchise in all of this?”
She believes that fear has held back the franchise from speaking out.
“You are seeing the cast and the contestants all come together on social media and support one another, but you are not seeing ABC, Bachelor, or Bachelorette support anybody,” she continued. “I think they’re scared. I think the franchise is scared.”
Andi adds that she has seen The Bachelor improve in regards to diversity over the years — especially since she appeared on the show in 2014. However, she feels they are missing a big opportunity to step up to the plate and make some positive changes.
Rachel Lindsay left social media over death threats
Even though Rachel hasn’t appeared on TV as The Bachelorette since 2017, she has become extremely relevant in Bachelor Nation after interviewing Chris Harrison about Rachael Kirkconnell’s racist social media activity.
Following the interview, both Chris and Rachel received their fair share of hate.
However, the backlash intensified after Chris temporarily stepped down from the franchise. Rachel deactivated her Instagram and explained soon after that she made the decision to honor her mental health after receiving numerous death threats.
Bachelor producers hesitate to come to Rachel’s defense
As Andi mentioned, several members of Bachelor nation came to Rachel’s defense after she left social media.
Her supporters included her husband, Bryan Abasolo, Becca Kufrin, Nick Viall, Caeylin Miller-Keyes, and even Rachael Kirkconnell herself.
Even though changes have been reportedly going on behind the scenes of The Bachelor, many noticed that production wasn’t publicly addressing the issue.
Eventually, The Bachelor producers did upload a social media statement defending Rachel. Andi and many other members of Bachelor Nation felt their statement was too little too late.
While many outsiders have weighed in on the controversy, Bachelor producers, Rachael, and current Bachelor lead Matt James will have to publicly address this issue during the After The Final Rose finale special.
The Bachelor airs on Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.