The Bachelor host still appears on the season finale after fallout from defending a contestant’s racist photo

Viewers of The Bachelor were left confused last night as the show’s longtime host Chris Harrison still appeared on the series finale after his decision to step aside from the franchise in February.

Harrison had come under fire after he defended a contestant’s past racist behaviour and many were under the impression that he would be taking an extended leave of absence.

However, Harrison’s voiceovers were featured heavily throughout the dating show on Monday night and he even introduced his own After the Final Rose host replacement, Emmanuel Acho.

According to E!it appears ABC continued to work with Harrison after his controversial statements regarding Rachael Kirkconnell.

Kirkconnell, who is currently starring on the 25th season of The Bachelor with its first Black male lead Matt James, was called out after photos emerged of her attending an antebellum, plantation-themed party.

During an interview with former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsey, Harrison excused Kirkconnell’s actions but later went on to apologise for “excusing historical racism” in an Instagram post last month.

“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 on Instagram.

In the post, he also stated that, after consulting with Warner Bros and NBC, he would be “stepping aside for a period of time.”

He also added that he would “not join for the After the Rose Special”.

However, The Bachelor fans noticed that Harrison wasn’t too far from the show when it aired on Monday night ( 15 March).

As one person tweeted: “Love that the one episode where Chris Harrison is replaced actually features so much Chris Harrison.”

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