Chris Harrison tends to be protective of The Bachelor franchise.
So, when he hears a former contestant bashing the show experience, he seeks to set the record straight.
To that end, the television host talked to Kelley Flanagan after she made accusations that she had been locked in a closet during filming.
She claimed that producers allegedly committed this untoward act so she would not be able to spend time with Peter Weber during The Bachelor.
Chris denies that this happened, but he was still keen to hear Kelley’s side of the story.
Chris Harrison reveals he confronted Kelley Flanagan
Harrison confronted Kelley about her comments claiming she had been locked in a closet during The Bachelor filming.
“What was that?” he asked her, as discussed during a recent interview with ET’s Lauren Zima.
He pressed on about Kelley’s confusing assertion.
“We don’t lock people in closets, so clearly you weren’t locked in a closet for three hours. What did you mean?” he asked her.
As part of her explanation, Kelley told Chris that she had made the closet comments during Peter’s interview with Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti for their Almost Famous podcast. At the time, Kelley claims she was unaware she was being recorded when she said what she did.
She also didn’t realize the pertinent comment would be part of the televised interview, let alone that what she said would air.
“You’re not in a closet. It’s in a room, and sometimes it takes hours,” he explained to ET regarding the situation.
“It depends on what’s going on at the time… I think Kelley was frustrated at the time, and that’s how she articulated that.”
His explanation helped to clarify that the contestant was not put into a closet, but rather into a small waiting room.
As Monsters & Critics reported last week, Kelley claimed that producers had been manipulative, making sure she didn’t get important time with Peter during The Bachelor.
She hinted that this was done so that Peter’s decisions would be unfairly influenced. Producers reportedly tried to make sure he would keep certain people around and not others, including Kelley.
Chris Harrison got an apology from Kelley Flanagan
Ultimately, Kelley apologized to Harrison for making it seem like she was locked in an actual closet.
“That was not what I meant to say… I’m so sorry that it came out that I was locked in a closet,” the contestant told Chris, who revealed this information during the ET interview.
“So everybody, it’s OK. Kelly was not locked in a closet, she’s safe and she’s good, and she apologized and I laughed it off. I was like, ‘I get it, I knew what you were trying to say.'”
Apparently, no bad blood remains between Kelley and The Bachelor host Chris Harrison.
In fact, Chris appears to be a big supporter of Kelley and Peter’s supposed relationship and friendship.
Chris recently spoke out about Peter and Kelley’s time spent together in quarantine, revealing that their time on The Bachelor may not have been the ideal place for them to hang out.
Harrison added that perhaps being in quarantine together was the best possible option for them, After all, in this situation, the pair were able to connect in a far different way from how that happens on the reality television show.
The Bachelor is currently on hiatus.