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Ivan Hallis opening up about the likelihood of his return to theBachelorfranchise ifChris Harrisonwere to remain as host.
During an interview withE!‘sDaily Popon Tuesday, the 28-year-old television personality — who made it to the final three on the most recent season ofThe Bachelorette— opened up about Harrison’s hiatus fromThe Bachelorand how he believes it was the “right step” for the host to take.
But Hall said he’s not entirely comfortable with the idea of returning to the franchise, whether it be onBachelor in Paradiseor future seasons ofThe BachelororThe Bachelorette, as the controversy surrounding Harrison, 49, has left him with uneasy feelings.
“Going forward, I honestly don’t know how this will all shake out, but for myself for example, if they have future shows and if they were to ask me to be onBachelor in Paradiseor something like that — and I’m sure a lot of other contestants feel this way as well — I wouldn’t feel comfortable if Chris is there, to be quite frank,” he said. “[I’m] not saying he can’t make a recovery, can’t learn from all of this, but, you know … it would just be too soon, really.”
Hall added of Harrison: “I think he needs to take some time really look into himself and really just have a lot of tough conversations and understand why he believes the things he believes at this point in his life.”
Chris Harrison.Eric McCandless/Getty Images
The controversy surrounding Harrison arose when Rachael Kirkconnell, a 24-year-old frontrunner onMatt James’current season ofThe Bachelor, was called out for old social media posts which saw her dressed in Native American attire in costume and attending an antebellum plantation-themed college party in 2018. She has sinceapologized.
Harrison addressed the situation during an interview with former BacheloretteRachel Lindsay— who was the franchise’s first Black lead — onExtra.
During their14-minute, unedited conversation,he said people should have “a little grace, a little understanding, a little compassion” in the wake of the resurfaced photos and questioned the “lens” of 2021 compared to 2018.
After receiving backlash for his remarks, Harrisonissued two apologiesand announced that he would bestepping away from the franchisefor an unspecified amount of time.
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Lindsay, 35, whosepublic criticism of Harrisonafter their interview prompted the recent developments, has said that it was the “right decision” for him to step aside, whileTayshia Adams, the latest Bachelorette, also called Harrison’s temporary removal “a really good thing.”
In aninterview with PEOPLEon Tuesday, Lindsay further weighed in on the controversy and revealed her top pick to host the upcomingAfter the Final Rosespecial: former NFL linebacker andUncomfortable Conversations with a Black ManhostEmmanuel Acho.
“[He’s] very outspoken about racial injustice, for social justice, and has pretty much been the person who said, ‘I can have these uncomfortable conversations, and people trust it.’ Who better to lead it?” she said of Acho. “[He’s] someone who’s not involved with the franchise, no ties, no bias — I think it’d be great.”
RELATED VIDEO: The Bachelor’s Chris Harrison Apologizes for ‘Speaking in a Manner That Perpetuates Racism’
OnDaily Pop, Hall discussed the current season ofThe Bachelor, noting how upsetting it has been to watch James’ iteration — which was supposed to groundbreaking, starring the first-ever Black male lead — be mired in controversy.
“It’s just a very unfortunate situation that out of the 35-whatever women he had there, it happens to be the one person who has kind of that racist history past, and this is the first Black Bachelor ever,” Ivan said. “It’s just — you can’t really make this stuff up.”
The Texas native also spoke candidly about his own experience being part of the franchise.
“For myself going into it … the show kind of shows like what white privilege is in America,” he said. “For example, I made it to the final three in my season, but I definitely have the least amount ofInstagramfollowers out of a lot of the guys on my show just because of the color of my skin, when, on paper, comparatively speaking, I stack up pretty well.”
Hall did add, however, that he enjoyed his time onThe Bachelorette. “The producers took care of me,” he said. “They showedmy BLM talk.They showed my brother who is a felon with teardrops. And they made my family and my story look amazing for America. So I’m very appreciative of all that.”
source: people.com
