Chris Harrison was paid $9 million by ABC in his exit from "The Bachelor," according to reports.
The longtime host stepped away from the franchise after defending a former contestant accused of racially insensitive past behavior. Following his exit, Harrison reportedly demanded a $25 million payout. He instead received roughly $10 million, which included the $9 million exit settlement and remaining contractual fees, Variety revealed.
Harrison took a hiatus from hosting "The Bachelor" in February amid controversy that emerged in wake of an interview during which he defended "The Bachelor" contestant Rachael Kirkconnell against what he called the "woke police" on social media. His remarks came after photos of Kirkconnell resurfaced in which she was dressed in costume as a Native American and at an antebellum plantation-themed ball.
Harrison announced in an Instagram post that he would be stepping down for "a period of time" and also apologized for the interview.
"By excusing historical racism, I defended it. I invoked the term 'woke police,' which is unacceptable. I am ashamed over how uninformed I was. I was so wrong," Harrison wrote.
"To the Black community, to the BIPOC community: I am so sorry," he continued. "My words were harmful. I am listening, and I truly apologize for my ignorance and any pain it caused you," Harrison continued. "I want to give my heartfelt thanks to the people from these communities who I’ve had 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."
In a separate post, Harrison extended an apology to Bachelor Nation.
"To my Bachelor Nation family — I will always own a mistake when I make one, so I am here to extend a sincere apology," he wrote. "I have this incredible platform to speak about love, and yesterday I took a stance on topics about which I should have been better informed."
For the past few weeks, Harrison's future with the franchise has been uncertain. Earlier this month it was reported that Harrison would not be hosting "The Bachelorette," but would instead be replaced by several celebrity hosts. Shortly after, it was revealed that he had exited the franchise for good and was threatening to spill the dirt if he did not receive a lofty payout.
"Chris Harrison’s whole life was ‘The Bachelor,’ and he didn’t want to let go," a source previously told Page Six. "He still is really sad to leave, and there have been very tough and very heated negotiations going on for weeks."
The final amount Harrison received equated to roughly the same as two years worth of work. As part of the deal, Harrison also signed a public statement about "amicable parting-of-ways," Variety further noted.
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Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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