“Bachelor” MATT JAMES spoke out yesterday about the show’s sketchy history with race . . . including host CHRIS HARRISON defending the past actions of RACHEL KIRKCONNELL . . . who’s still in the running for Matt’s hand on the show.
In a lengthy Instagram statement, Matt said seeing all of this unfold in real time has been, quote, “devastating and heartbreaking.”
He added that it’s a, quote, “clear reflection of a much larger issue that ‘The Bachelor’ franchise has fallen short on addressing adequately for years.”
And he said that it has pushed him to, quote, “reevaluate and process what my experience on ‘The Bachelor’ represents, not just for me, but for all the contestants of color . . .
“I will continue to process this experience, and you will hear more from me in the end. My greatest prayer is that this is an inflection point that results in real and institutional change for the better.”
SPOILER:
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FAIR WARNING——
Since Matt released this statement, it has come out that Matt does in fact choose Rachel Kirkconnell as his future bride at the end of the season.
BUT . . . he has BROKEN UP WITH HER because of her questionable decisions, like going to a plantation-themed fraternity party in 2018, and liking social media posts containing confederate flag imagery.
When all of that stuff came out, Rachel apologized. She said, quote, “At one point, I didn’t recognize how offensive and racist my actions were, but that doesn’t excuse them. My age or when it happened does not excuse anything.
“They are not acceptable or okay in any sense. I was ignorant, but my ignorance was racist.”
Apparently, that wasn’t enough for Matt.
There are two more episodes left, with the season finale airing on March 8th.