The Bachelor Nation star, who is currently hosting Matt James‘ historic season of The Bachelor, then directly apologized to the people his words hurt. “To the Black community, to the BIPOC community: I am so sorry,” he wrote. “My words were harmful. I am listening, and I truly apologize for my ignorance and any pain it caused you.”
He added, “I want to give my heartfelt thanks to the people from these communities who I’ve had the enlightening conversations with over the past few days, and I am so grateful to those who have reached out to help me on my path to anti-racism.”
Chris noted that after much reflection, he feels it’s best to temporarily depart from the ABC franchise.
“The historic season of The Bachelor should not be marred or overshadowed by my mistakes or diminished by my actions,” he explained. “To that end, I have consulted with Warner Bros. and ABC and will be stepping aside for a period of time and will not join for the After the Final Rose special.”
According to a source, Chris “will appear in the remaining episodes of this season, which filmed at the end of 2020.”
“He will also appear at Women Tell All episode on March 1, which was pre-taped earlier this month in Los Angeles,” notes the source, adding, “The After the Final Rose special has not yet filmed, and additional details will be shared at a later date.”
It’s unclear if Chris will be replaced for The Bachelor special and how long his exit will be for.
