Rachel Lindsay stepped onto the red carpet earlier this month to attend a pre-taping for the 48th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards in Burbank, California, which airs Friday.
The 36-year-old lawyer turned media personality penned a scathing op-ed, published Monday by Vulture, about her time within Bachelor Nation, calling hateful fans ‘a Bachelor Klan’.
She said there is a dark side to Bachelor Nation, the ‘Bachelor Klan’, that is ‘hateful, racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, and homophobic’. After the piece was published, Lindsay then slammed the magazine for choosing the ‘clickbait’ headline, ‘Oops, I Blew Up The Bachelor‘.
Her story: Rachel Lindsay penned a scathing op-ed, published Monday by Vulture, about her time within Bachelor Nation, calling hateful fans ‘a Bachelor Klan’ (Pictured June 13 attending a Daytime Emmy Awards pre-taping)
‘The franchise has spent 19 years cultivating a toxic audience,’ Lindsay wrote in her latest op-ed. ‘They have constantly given it a product it wants: a midwestern/southern white, blonde, light-eyed Christian. Not all viewers are like that.’
In the wide-ranging article, Rachel opened up about the toxic environment she experienced as part of Bachelor Nation and why she decided to walk away from her popular Bachelor Happy Hour podcast following Chris Harrison’s departure.
‘My Higher Learning co-host [Van Lathan] and I have divided it – there is a Bachelor Nation, and there is a Bachelor Klan,’ she said.
‘Bachelor Klan is hateful, racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, and homophobic. They are afraid of change,’ she explained. ‘They are afraid to be uncomfortable. They are afraid when they get called out.’
‘The franchise has spent 19 years cultivating a toxic audience,’ Lindsay wrote in her latest op-ed. ‘They have constantly given it a product it wants: a midwestern/southern white, blonde, light-eyed Christian. Not all viewers are like that.’
While Lindsay knows not all of Bachelor Nation is like that, the more vicious side of the fandom was what forced her to exit her Bachelor Happy Hour podcast.
Rachel said she was ‘exhausted from defending myself against a toxic fandom’, adding that the vitriol worsened amid the Chris Harrison scandal.
Harrison was axed from the network after he came under fire in February for making racially insensitive comments during an Extra interview with Rachel.
Just last week it was reported that Harrison scored a hefty payout from ABC in order leave Bachelor Nation quietly – but not nearly as much as he originally demanded.
!['My Higher Learning co-host [Van Lathan] and I have divided it - there is a Bachelor Nation, and there is a Bachelor Klan,' she said. 'Bachelor Klan is hateful, racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, and homophobic. They are afraid of change. They are afraid to be uncomfortable. They are afraid when they get called out.' (seen in the finale of The Bachelorette)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/06/21/20/44501437-9709987-image-a-75_1624304806392.jpg)
‘My Higher Learning co-host [Van Lathan] and I have divided it – there is a Bachelor Nation, and there is a Bachelor Klan,’ she said. ‘Bachelor Klan is hateful, racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, and homophobic. They are afraid of change. They are afraid to be uncomfortable. They are afraid when they get called out.’ (seen in the finale of The Bachelorette)
The 49-year-old longtime host reportedly received $9million from the network – far less than the $25million he originally demanded – Variety reported on Friday.
‘I wouldn’t say Chris and I were friends, exactly,’ Rachel wrote in her op-ed. ‘When you’re the Bachelorette, you’re traveling with him, sitting in hotels and airports. There’s a lot of hurrying up and waiting, and he’s the one you do it with.’
‘During my season and after, he became someone who gave me advice on how to navigate the show and the celebrity of it. I called him my fairy godfather. We’d had our highs and lows, but there had been mutual respect until this interview,’ she explained.
After the scathing piece was released, Rachel went on the offensive against Vulture for choosing what she called a ‘clickbait headline’ that read ‘Oops, I Blew Up The Bachelor’.
Not so rosey: The more vicious side of Bachelor fandom forced her exit from the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast. Rachel said she was ‘exhausted from defending myself against a toxic fandom’
‘I wouldn’t say Chris and I were friends, exactly,’ Rachel wrote in her op-ed. ‘When you’re the Bachelorette, you’re traveling with him, sitting in hotels and airports. There’s a lot of hurrying up and waiting, and he’s the one you do it with.’
Lindsay said in a social media post that she had worked ‘very closely’ with New York Magazine on the piece and felt the headline ‘misrepresented’ her.’
‘Those are not my words nor are they a reflection of how I feel,’ she said.
‘It is very disappointing and disrespectful that the very notion I was trying to refute was used against me by the publication for a clickbait headline,’ Rachel went on to say.
Adding: ‘My truth and my thoughts are told on the inside of the magazine which I am very proud of and hope you all read.’
Furious: After the scathing piece was released, Rachel went on the offensive against Vulture for choosing what she called a ‘clickbait headline’ that read ‘Oops, I Blew Up The Bachelor’
Earlier this month, Lindsay sparkled on the red carpet in an emerald green strapless dress that was gathered at her slim waist as she attended a taping for the Emmys.
The column gown featured a high slit that showcased her strappy gold sandals and the neckline emphasized the beauty’s cuffed metal statement necklace.
The Extra correspondent had her long hair down in box braids that cascaded to her waist and she rocked a pop of color on her lips with burgundy lipstick.
Rachel was on hand for a pre-taping for the upcoming Daytime Emmy Awards which was filmed in the beginning of June. The telecast, hosted by CBS star Sheryl Underwood, will air on Friday June 25th.
Lindsay joined Extra for season 27 and the Billy Bush helmed program is nominated this year for Outstanding Entertainment News Program.
‘It is very disappointing and disrespectful that the very notion I was trying to refute was used against me by the publication for a clickbait headline,’ Rachel went on to say.