Emmanuel Acho has spoken out regarding the return of Chris Harrison as host of The Bachelor franchise.
The host of the special After the Final Rose shared his opinion on Good Morning America, where he spoke to correspondent T.J. Holmes about the long-running ABC series’s future.
“Is it in the best interest of Chris Harrison, is it in the best interest of the show, for them to continue to mutually move forward?” the author said during his talk with the television newsman.
“This is the most uncomfortable conversation in the history of The Bachelor franchise because it’s not just about relationships, but now it’s about race. We’re intertwining race with relationships on one of the greatest unscripted shows in the history of television,” he claimed.
He also said that he does not believe in cancel culture.
The former pro football star said that he believes in accountability, understanding and growth.
Emmanuel believes in a person’s intent first, then their actions
Emmanuel said he believes that if a person’s intent is malicious, then he feels they should be cancelled.
However, if a person’s intent was not malicious, but their action was, they should be educated so that the intent and act can be changed.
Emmanuel said he had spoken to Chris regarding the incident where he appeared to defend Bachelor contestant Rachael Kirkconnell over racist behavior to Rachel Lindsay on the television series Extra.
“I’ve gotten to hear his heart,” Acho said.
“He’ll admit this. He was ignorant and arrogant and you cannot be both. And when he said that to me, I was like, ‘Well, you understand what caused this dilemma,'” he said.
Emmanuel spoke his mind about Rachael Kirkconnell as well
He also spoke to T.J. Holmes about Rachael Kirkconnell’s actions and said his initial reaction was to “pump the brakes” on a rush to judgement.
“My initial reaction was, ‘Yikes. That’s not a good look,'” he said of the young woman who was accused of making racist statements and for attending a fraternity party dressed in Antebellum attire.
“My secondary reaction was, ‘Everybody pump the brakes,’ because I believe her photos were racially insensitive and racially ignorant. Racial insensitivity and racial ignorance can play itself out as racism, but it doesn’t necessarily classify someone as racist,” he claimed.
The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.