Rachel Lindsay Says She's Been Labeled An 'Angry Black Female In Bachelor Nation' After Standing Up For Herself — Watch
Rachel Lindsay is continuing to speak out about the diversity issues in the Bachelor franchise, saying she's been labeled an "angry black female" by Bachelor Nation just because she stood up for herself.
On the Friday, June 4, episode of The View, the first Black lead in Bachelor history addressed the microaggressions still seen in today's society that are placed on Black women. Watch the clip below.
Lindsay gave an example of one of her own experiences on The Bachelorette when she was sitting with her runner-up, Peter Kraus, on the After The Final Rose special. "My runner up told me I was going to live a mediocre life if I didn't choose him," she told the cohosts of their breakup conversation.
To recap, on Lindsay's season 13 finale, Kraus said he loved the bachelorette but was unwilling to propose after such a short amount of time. Once it was made clear that Lindsay wanted to leave the show engaged, Kraus bitterly made the remark about her "mediocre life" without him. In the end, she gave contestant Bryan Abasolo her final rose, and the two tied the knot in August 2019.
On the live portion of the finale, Kraus apologized for his unkind words. However, Lindsay didn't need his apology, as she was happily in love with Abasolo. "Actually, I'm living my best life," Lindsay said to her former contestant.
- Former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay Says 'The Bachelor' Franchise Spent '19 Years Cultivating A Toxic Audience'
- Rachel Lindsay Quits 'Bachelor' Podcast Following Chris Harrison Racism Scandal, Admits She's Been 'Struggling'
- Rachel Lindsay Deletes Instagram Due To 'Hate She's Getting From Bachelor Fans' As Racial Controversy Rages On
When the show returned from commercial break, host Chris Harrison told Lindsay she looked "angry" following her encounter with Kraus. "Well, that's a really strong word," Lindsay replied back to the host, who corrected himself and said: "Well, you seem upset."
Lindsay pointed out to the talk show hosts that she hadn't "raised her voice, [she] hadn't yelled, [she] hadn't said any type of curse word."
On the finale, Kraus also said: "Rachel, I feel like you attacked me." When Lindsay asked him how she did that, he couldn't provide a response. "Well, I really don't have anything to say to that," he candidly replied, according to Lindsay.
"He couldn't give me any evidence of me attacking him," she said on The View, noting that since her encounter with her runner-up four years ago, she has been "labeled an angry Black female in Bachelor Nation."
"It still follows me around to this day," the 36-year-old insisted.
Lindsay's appearance on The View comes after she found herself involved in the racism scandal that plagued Bachelor Nation earlier this year. OK! reported that Lindsay interviewed Harrison after racially charged photos of Matt James' front-runner contestant Rachael Kirkconnell re-surfaced online.
After Harrison defended Kirkconnell's troublesome photos, Lindsay slammed the embattled host and said she "had enough" of the franchise. She then found herself on the receiving end of online backlash from Bachelor Nation — the cyberbullying got so bad, she said, that she temporarily deactivated her Instagram account.