Back off! Kaitlyn Bristowe hit back at trolls who weren’t happy after she and Tayshia Adams were named as Chris Harrison‘s replacements as hosts of the new season of The Bachelorette.
The Canada native, 35, posted the exciting news via Instagram on Friday, March 13, and received a ton of backlash. She responded to several comments.
“Love you Kaitlyn but no, just no,” one Instagram user wrote.
The reality TV personality clapped back, “Do you though?”
Another social media commenter joked, “Bachelor ratings are gonna be so low,” with three laughing while crying emojis.
“Ehh such a supportive female, we love to see it!” the Bachelor alum replied.
A third Instagram commenter wrote, “Horrible to celebrate Chris Harrison being involved in Cancel Culture…. Bachelor Nation is over.”
Bristowe disagreed and held nothing back in making that clear. “I’m celebrating a friendship here to be honest,” she wrote.
It wasn’t all negative, however. Some fans were genuinely happy to see the “Off the Vine” podcast cohost and Adams, 30, step in to fill Harrison’s shoes after he revealed on February 13 that he would be stepping away from Bachelor Nation temporarily. His announcement came four days after his controversial interview with former Bachelorette Rachel Linsday for Extra about season 25 contestant Rachael Kirkconnell‘s racism scandal.
“YAS QUEENS 🙌 😍,” a supporter wrote.
Bristowe responded with a simple, “❤️.”
Us Weekly confirmed on Friday that Harrison, 49, would not return to The Bachelorette as host for season 17. ABC released a statement addressing the decision and announcing his replacements.
“Chris Harrison will not be hosting the next season of The Bachelorette. We support Chris in the work that he is committed to doing. In his absence, former Bachelorettes Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe will support the new Bachelorette through next season,” the statement began. “As we continue the dialogue around achieving greater equity and inclusion within The Bachelor franchise, we are dedicated to improving the BIPOC representation of our crew, including among the executive producer ranks. These are important steps in effecting fundamental change so that our franchise is a celebration of love that is reflective of our world.”
Adams appeared on the second half of The Bachelorette season 16 after Clare Crawley chose to leave the show to pursue a relationship with then-fiancé Dale Moss after two weeks of filming. Bristowe was The Bachelorette in season 11.
Harrison announced that he would be “stepping aside” from The Bachelor franchise after apologizing for asking fans to have a little “grace” for Kirkconnell when a 2018 Instagram photo of her at an Old South party resurfaced online along with other offensive posts she “liked.” In addition, he sais he would not be hosting the After the Final Rose special for Matt James‘ historic season of The Bachelor.
Earlier this month, the Texas native gave his first interview on Good Morning America about the controversy and said he is “an imperfect man” and apologized for his mistakes. “I believe that mistake doesn’t reflect who I am or what I stand for. I am committed to progress, not just for myself, also for the franchise. And this is a franchise that has been a part of my life for the better part of 20 years and I love it,” he said.
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Retired NFL player Emmanuel Acho stepped in to helm the post-season special. He recently revealed that he has been in touch with the former Who Wants to Be a Millionaire host. “Chris and I have spoken at length over the last two weeks,” Emmanuel, 30, told Lindsay, 35, in an interview with Extra.
He noted that they had “very helpful, very good conversations.”
