#Rachel Lindsay Reacts To Chris Harrison’s Bachelor Franchise Exit!

Following news of the longtime host’s exit — and BIG payout — on Tuesday, it seemed all of Bachelor Nation was waiting for the former show lead to sound off. You know, considering it was Harrison’s controversial interview with her that led to his leave of absence from his reality TV duties and seemingly now this latest move. Well, the 36-year-old former attorney had enough to say during her Extra appearance yesterday.

Related: Rachel Lindsay Says ‘Angry Black Female’ Label ‘Still Follows’ Her

Talking to Billy Bush, Rachel confessed she was surprised by the series’ decision to axe Chris after all this time. Need we remind you, the Bachelor mainstay shared his hot takes with her in a February 9 conversation, where he strongly defended contestant Rachael Kirkconnell‘s racist past. So, what did Rachel have to say about it all now??

“I wasn’t expecting for it to happen, not after the announcement [of his leave of absence].”

She added “we can only speculate” about the reasoning behind his being let go, but explained there could have been more to the decision than fans might initially think. Referencing some drama behind the scenes with Bachelor in Paradise, the star went on:

“I think several past contestants coming forward and saying they didn’t want him to be part of Paradise. I think Katie Thurston, her very last tweet before she went to film her season was that Chris needed to step away. I think that, coupled with the interview that happened on this very stage, maybe led to him not coming back.”

Katie, who stars as the latest Bachelorette, previously tweeted how she hopes “that Chris Harrison continues to take more time to step away while sincerely educating himself & dedicating himself to the work.” That’s a big yikes if even the lead doesn’t want to work with you…

Couple that with how long Harrison has held his reign, Miz Lindsay shared:

“It’s been 19 years, and if you do watch the show, we saw less and less of Chris. Nineteen years is a big accomplishment. Maybe that’s the case. We don’t know. Maybe they were ready to move on.”

She certainly was! The lawyer-turned-entertainment correspondent previously went on the record in March to accept his public apology which aired on Good Morning America. And she still stands by it:

“I do. I think that’s the way to move forward.”

As we reported at the time, Rachel peaced out from her Bachelor contract in March following the controversy. Exiting popular Bachelor Nation podcast, Bachelor Happy Hour, which she hosted alongside Becca Kufrin, she told listeners:

“I’m going to make this short and sweet: All good things must come to an end and I feel like certain things run their course and, for me, I have run my course when it comes to the podcast. You know we started off this podcast talking about how much fun it is and the community that we’ve started and we’re already here with 100 episodes and I’m proud of it and what it’s become… But, for me, I’ve been struggling, that’s no secret and it’s been really, really hard for me lately and a lot of the things that we talk about on this podcast are also about taking care of yourself and finding your peace and protecting that peace and protecting your mental health.”

It’s wild to see how much has changed in just the span of a few months!!