Former “The Bachelorette” star Rachel Lindsay has weighed in on “The Bachelor” contestant Rachael Kirkconnell’s eyebrow-raising Instagram post following her apology over her past racist behavior on Instagram. During the Tuesday, February 24 episode of “Bachelor Party”, Lindsay talked about Kirkconnell sharing a picture of copy of “Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man” that she thought was meticulously staged.
“You almost feel like you know everything you need to know about her in that picture,” Lindsay shared in the episode. “The fact that that’s what she decided to do. Several people sent me that Story.”
She went on to say of the presumed winner of Matt James’ “The Bachelor” season, “Her apology was well-written, it was pretty, and it was sincere. I’m not going to knock anyone’s apology.” However, Lindsay noted that “the next step is to take action. Taking action to me isn’t showing everybody that you’re reading the book.”
“You have such a big platform. There’s a lot of people who don’t necessarily understand what Chris said in the interview or why people are so upset, so this is an opportunity for you to explain that,” she argued. Describing the post, Lindsay continued, “Vapid is the word that comes to mind. I don’t think it could get any worse, unless he chooses Rachael,” referring to Matt.
Kirkconnell landed in hot water after it was revealed that she attended a plantation-themed party when she was in high school. Admitting her mistake, Rachael wrote in a statement on February 11, “At one point, I didn’t recognize how offensive and racist my actions were, but that doesn’t excuse them. My age or when it happened does not excuse anything. They are not acceptable or okay in any sense. I was ignorant, but my ignorance was racist.”
“I am sorry to the communities and individuals that my actions harmed and offended. I am ashamed about my lack of education, but it is no one’s responsibility to educate me. I am learning and will continue to learn how to be antiracist, because it’s important to speak up in the moment and not after you’re called out. If you are a person who doesn’t understand the offense in question, I urge you to learn from my mistakes and encourage you to use them as a teachable moment,” she added.
Concluding her statement, she wrote, “I will never grow unless I recognize what I have done is wrong. I don’t think one apology means that I deserve your forgiveness, but rather I hope I can earn your forgiveness through my future actions.”
