Chris Harrison, Bachelor host has reportedly hired a high-profile Los Angeles lawyer to stand-in for him amid his racism controversy and temporary step-down as the host of the Bachelor franchise.
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A source close to the 49-year-old Chris has confirmed to Us Weekly that the former host of the show has hired Bryan J. Freedman from Freedman & Taitelman. The legal expert is the same lawyer who represented Gabrielle Union after she was asked to leave America’s Got Talent after season 1.
In the case of Gabrielle, she was then asked to leave by NBC in November 2019 after voicing out about racist incidents on the set of the show. She, in June 2020, filed an official harassment complaint against the producers of the program. In September, Gabrielle and NBC announced they had “reached an amicable resolution” over the matter.
We aren’t sure what legal actions Harrison intends to take against the show promoters, but he has since been replaced as the host of the upcoming seasons of The Bachelorette after announcing last month that he was temporarily stepping down from The Bachelor following a scandal involving contestant Rachael Kirkconnell.
Chris caused a stir when he defended Kirkconnell amid claims of past racist actions. In an interview with former Bachelorette lead Rachel Lindsay for Extra on February 9, he requested that fans give Kirkconnell “a little grace, a little understanding.”
Not too long after that, Chris shared an apology saying he was “ashamed over how uninformed I was.”
After announcing he was stepping down as the host of the show, Chris Harrison did give a hint on how long he would stay out from the show he has hosted since 2002. Meanwhile, ABC announced earlier this month that Kaitlyn Bristowe and Tayshia Adams are cohosting the next season of The Bachelorette.
The new season will have Katie Thurston and Michelle Young as the leads on back-to-back seasons when it debuts later this year. Meanwhile, ABC also didn’t give a clue as to when Chris will make come back to the show.
