The writing was on the wall the moment Chris Harrison issued his first Instagram apology.
The cancel crowd absurdly smeared him for racism in February when he politely requested grace for “Bachelor” contestant Rachael Kirkconnell as woke critics came after her for attending an antebellum-themed party in college. After a fleeting moment of heroic resistance, Harrison flopped himself down prostrate in the dirt with pathetic social media apologies and commitments to antiracism.
So when news broke on Tuesday that Harrison was done with Bachelor Nation for good, it was about as predictable as a “Bachelor” promo promise that the current installment would be “the most dramatic season yet.”
“Chris Harrison is stepping aside as host of The Bachelor franchise,” Warner Horizon and ABC Entertainment said in a statement on Tuesday, pretending this “stepping aside” wasn’t the result of being hip-checked. “We are thankful for his many contributions over the past 20 years and wish him all the best on his new journey.”
Harrison adopted the same rosy tone in his announcement. “I’ve had a truly incredible run as host of The Bachelor franchise and now I’m excited to start a new chapter,” Harrison wrote. “I’m so grateful to Bachelor Nation for all of the memories we’ve made together. While my two-decade journey is wrapping up, the friendships I’ve made will last a lifetime.”
None of this PR-speak can mask what really transpired. When the longtime host was dragged unfairly for talking back to cancel culture, he relented to that very culture, and the ensuing Chris Harrison apology tour was quite a pitiful spectacle.
After an Instagram post that might as well have been lifted from “White Fragility,” he entered into a disturbing struggle session with Michael Strahan on “Good Morning America,” complete with all the Marxist buzzwords and many utterances of “sorry” to drive home his performative white guilt.
The sad truth is that this all could have been avoided if Harrison had demonstrated an ounce of conviction in the face of criticism. If the host had possessed thick enough skin to endure just one unflattering news cycle, he’d likely still be the face of the popular franchise. When presented with an opportunity to join the ranks of J.K. Rowling, Brett Kavanaugh, and Dave Chappelle, who each outlasted cancel culture by scoffing at it, Harrison instead chose the path of Drew Brees and Sarah Silverman.
Harrison did nothing wrong until he pretended he did, until he legitimized the bad-faith claims of those who sought to punish him. Here’s what the former “Bachelor” host, and all the other celebrities who fall for the self-flagellation schtick, don’t understand: The left doesn’t actually want dissenters to be allies; it wants them to be examples. To capitulate to their demands is to be gibbeted.
Cancel culture thrives on apologies, which is why Harrison’s fate was sealed the moment he backtracked. The only way not to be victimized by it is to resist, and Harrison couldn’t do it. He cozied up to the wrong people, and they oh-so-predictably ruined him.
