'Bachelor' host Chris Harrison apologizes for 'perpetuating racism' after defending controversial contestant

• Chris Harrison has apologized after defending a "Bachelor" contestant's controversial photos.
• Pictures emerged of Rachael Kirkconnell at a plantation-themed college party in 2018.
• Harrison spoke out about "the woke police" and said Kirkconnell had been "thrown to the lions."

"The Bachelor" host Chris Harrison is apologizing after speaking out in defense of a controversial contestant on Matt James' season.

Harrison took to Instagram on Wednesday night after he made headlines for his Extra interview with former "Bachelorette" star Rachel Lindsay, in which they discussed photos of Rachael Kirkconnell at a plantation-themed fraternity formal in 2018.

The longtime host said he later realized he had caused "harm by wrongly speaking in a manner that perpetuates racism."

"To my Bachelor Nation family - I will always own a mistake when I make one, so I am here to extend a sincere apology," Harrison wrote. "I have this incredible platform to speak about love, and yesterday I took a stance on topics about which I should have been better informed. While I do not speak for Rachael Kirkconnell, my intentions were simply to ask for grace in offering her an opportunity to speak on her own behalf."

Harrison also apologized to Lindsay for "not listening to her better on a topic she has a first-hand understanding of," and said he "promised to do better."

Harrison's apology came after he received swift backlash for the interview

Harrison appeared on Extra with Lindsay on Tuesday, and spoke at length about the controversy surrounding Kirkconnell.

The 24-year-old, who has been a frontrunner on James' season, first made headlines in January when a TikTok user accused the "Bachelor" contestant of bullying her for dating Black men. Another TikTok user also accused her of liking racist photos.

Then, last week, photos emerged of Kirkconnell wearing an antebellum-style plantation dress while she was a student at Georgia College & State University in 2018. Her cousin Anastasia confirmed to The Sun that the photos are authentic and said they were "hard to defend."

As his interview with Lindsay began, Harrison called for people to give Kirkconnell "a little grace, a little understanding, a little compassion."

"I've seen some stuff online where people are just tearing this girl's life apart and diving into, like, her parents and her parents' voting record," he continued. "It's unbelievably alarming to watch this. I saw a picture of her at a sorority party five years ago and that's it."

"Well the picture was from 2018 at an Old South antebellum party, so I think, you know, that's not a good look," Lindsay - who was the franchise's first Black lead - replied. "She's celebrating the Old South. If I went to that party, what would I represent at that party?"

Harrison said Lindsay was "100% right in 2021," but claimed that wouldn't have been the case in 2018.

"And again, I'm not defending Rachael. I just know that, I don't know, 50 million people did that in 2018. That was a type of party that a lot of people went to," he added. "We are not looking under the same lens."

Harrison went on to say that "the woke police is out there," and that Kirkconnell had been "thrown to the lions."

"I don't know how you are equipped when you have never done this before, to be woke enough, to be eloquent enough, to be ready to handle this," he added.

Following the interview, a petition was launched to remove Harrison from 'The Bachelor'

It wasn't long before a Change.org petition was created. So far, it's received more than 19,000 signatures by Thursday afternoon.

Harrison was also criticized on Twitter by many prominent "Bachelor" fans and writers, as well as Lindsay herself.

When Huffington Post writer Emma Gray praised Lindsay for how she handled the interview and dealt with the franchise, the "Bachelorette" star replied: "My days are numbered."

Lindsay has frequently called out 'The Bachelor' for its problematic contestants

It's not the first time Lindsay has used her platform to call out the franchise for its shortcomings on race.

As Black Lives Matters protests swept across the US in June and reignited debates about representation in Hollywood, more than 160,000 people - including many of the show's biggest stars - signed a Change.org petition demanding that a Black lead be cast in the next season of "The Bachelor."

Lindsay also spoke out and revealed she would be "disassociating" from the franchise if major changes weren't made.

Shortly thereafter, executive producers announced James would become the next star of "The Bachelor," becoming the first Black lead in the show's 18-year history. The ABC reality series also announced there would be "significant changes" coming to the franchise.

Lindsay told Insider earlier this month that she's frustrated that contestants with controversial pasts keep being casted on the reality competition series.

"It's extremely frustrating when you see somebody slip through the cracks, and it does a disservice to the lead who has no idea, because what if they pick that problematic person? It's been done before," she added while promoting new episodes of her MTV show "Ghosted."

The controversy comes just months after the franchise faced a reckoning for its diversity issue

Harrison, who is an executive producer for both shows, told Insider in October that beyond casting James he believed it was important to admit there's been an ongoing diversity issue.

"Then you can take the second step," he added, "which is, OK, what do we do about this? What action can we take?"

Still, Lindsay said that she still believes there's much work to be done.

"Until we have somebody at the top who's making decisions who's a person of color, we'll never get there, and that we haven't done yet," she told Insider. "The show has hired a diversity consultant, a team, which is a great step. But they can only do so much and make suggestions, we need people who are making decisions in the room."

Kirkconnell, Harrison, and ABC did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.