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Chris Harrison reportedly ousted as 'The Bachelor' franchise host

By Megan Armstrong | Last updated 6/8/21

Chris Harrison had been the one to saunter in at the end of rose ceremonies and tell unselected contestants it was time to say their goodbyes since The Bachelor debuted in 2002.

Now, according to Deadline's Dominic Patten, it is Harrison's turn to say goodbye:

"Having fronted the Mike Fleiss-created The Bachelor and all its lucrative ABC spinoffs since 2002, Harrison will receive a rose of his own in the form of mid-range eight-figure payoff and promise to keep his mouth shut, I hear. The usual platitudes are expected to be exchanged for public consumption when the agreement is made public later today, but there is certainly no romance in the air behind the scenes."

Patten added that Harrison's exit from the franchise "was uncertain until early this morning," though the 49-year-old's future was made more uncertain when the announcement fell last week that this summer's Bachelor in Paradise will be guest hosted by David Spade and other comedians.

Harrison brought his own fate into question in early February, when he made racially insensitive comments while trying to defend Rachael Kirkconnell's past attendance Old South, antebellum-themed college party:

The 25th season of The Bachelor was airing at the time, with Matt James as the franchise's first-ever Black male lead. Harrison posted an apology the day after his controversial comments, and then he announced three days after that that he would be "stepping aside for a period of time." Kirkconnell issued her own apology at the end of February.

Emmanuel Acho replaced Harrison as the host of After the Final Rose, which aired immediately after the season finale in which James declared his love for Kirkconnell. However, during an especially uncomfortable ATFR, James revealed that he and Kirkconnell had split. (They may or may not be working it out.)

Most recently, The Bachelorette premiered its 17th season Monday night with former Bachelorette leads Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe assuming co-hosting duties in Harrison's place. Their involvement had been announced at the end of ATFR.

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