IVAN Hall has revealed he has no plans to return to The Bachelor franchise while Chris Harrison remains as host, and will not do so until the disgraced star has the necessary “tough conversations.”
Many previous contestants have shared their opinions on Chris’s future with the brand, and several are uncertain about returning under the current circumstances.
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Ivan, 28, spoke about the host’s hiatus, and how many might feel “uncomfortable” to be working with him at this point in time.
In an interview with E!’s Daily Pop, The Bachelorette season 16 contestant explained how Chris’s choice to withdraw was the “right step” personally and for the show.
“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 on Bachelor in Paradise or 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 revealed.
“[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.”
Speaking specifically on the controversial host, he added: “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.”
The current season of The Bachelor features the franchise’s first black male lead, Matt James, and once the season concludes, Chris Harrison will not be asked to host the After The Final Rose ceremony, it was recently revealed.
Ivan also issued his opinion on the controversy surrounding this season, which intended to break barriers, and called the situation “unfortunate.”
“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,” he insisted.
“It’s just — you can’t really make this stuff up.”
In speaking of his own personal experience while a contestant on The Bachelorette, he added: “For myself going into it … the show kind of shows like what white privilege is in America.
“For example, I made it to the final three in my season, but I definitely have the least amount of Instagram followers 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.”
The scientist did share some positivity about the show’s creators, admitting: “The producers took care of me.
“They showed my 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.”
The ABC show has been under scrutiny after photos surfaced of current contestant Rachael Kirkconnell attending an Old South Antebellum party in 2018.
Chris spoke about the images during an interview with previous Bachelorette lead Rachel Lindsay.
The host’s remarks were labeled as “perpetuating racism” and he has since apologized and stepped back from the role.
The reality star has even been deemed the “male Ellen Degeneres” as some have come forward to speak on his “rude” demeanor.
Sources recently disclosed that Chris’s replacement will come from “outside of the franchise” though several members of the Bachelor Nation have been considered previously.
