Former “Bachelor” host Chris Harrison announced he’s launching a new podcast that will address his controversial 2021 departure from the famous ABC reality series.
“I’m a little nervous. I have not spoken publicly for two years about this,” Harrison said in a trailer for the show, aptly titled, “The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever… With Chris Harrison.”
“I think about this every day, truly every day of my life,” Harrison, 51, stated. “I think about this and what I want to say and how important it is that I speak to everyone for the first time.”
Harrison, the long-time host of the dating show and its spinoffs since 2002, explained that the podcast is going to be “really heavy.”
“We’ll see how it goes. I think it will be cathartic. I’m looking forward to getting this off my shoulders and repairing this, moving forward, and letting everybody hear from me,” he said.
According to an iHeartRadio press release, the podcast will include Harrison’s candid opinions on “all things relationships,” including “dating, marriage, love, loss, and more.”
“For the first time ever, Chris will discuss everything, and there’s no telling what he will have to say,” stated the press release.
Harrison left the ABC series in June 2021, when in an interview with Rachel Lindsay, Harrison defended Season 25 contestant Rachael Kirkconnell for her past racist behavior in college.
“The picture was from 2018 at an Old South antebellum party. That’s not a good look,” former “Bachelorette” Rachel Lindsay told Harrison during an “Extra” interview.
“Is it not a good look in 2018, or is it not a good look in 2021?” Harrison shot back, with Lindsay responding that it’s not a good look “ever.”
“My guess, is these girls got dressed up and went to a party and had a great time, they were 18 years old,” Harrison said. “Now does it make it OK? I don’t know, Rachel, you tell me, but where is this lens we’re holding up, and was that lens available, and were we all looking through it in 2018? I don’t know. I don’t have these answers.”
Harrison quickly apologized for “perpetuating racism,” and soon after, Harrison announced he was “stepping away” from hosting duties and eventually the series altogether.
In September 2021, Season 5 “Bachelor” Jesse Palmer announced that he would be the new host of the famed reality show.
Harrison’s podcast debuts on Jan. 9, 2023.
