‘The Bachelor’ Contestant Rachel Kirkconnell Apologizes Amid Allegations Of Racism: ‘My Ignorance Was Racist’

The Bachelor contestant Rachel Kirkconnell has released a statement via her Instagram page that many franchise fans have been anxious to see. The contestant has been under fire since Matt James’ season began airing due to what was perceived as racist or racially questionable prior actions. Now, for the first time, she’s addressing it all directly.

Rachael shared a lengthy statement via Instagram on Thursday evening. She apologized to the communities and people hurt and offended by the things she had previously done. She said she had not recognized how racist or offensive these incidents had been when they took place, but she said she made no excuses.

The 24-year-old detailed that she was ignorant, and that her ignorance was racist. She promised to work on learning how to be anti-racist and urged others to learn from her mistakes.

The Bachelor star also noted that she didn’t believe that she should be forgiven by her critics for apologizing just this one time. Rather, she explained, she hoped that her future actions would allow her the opportunity to earn forgiveness.

Rachael’s post came several days after a photo showing her at a college fraternity formal emerged. The event took place at a southern plantation, and it was the latest in a string of racially questionable choices from her past.

This post from Rachael did seem to be received fairly well. During the first couple of hours, it was liked more than 68,000 times and received 3,200 comments.

“Lots of words so we will [be] watching to see where your actions lie. The best apology is changed behavior. That’s what counts,” one person commented.

“AS SOMEONE THIS APOLOGY WAS MEANT FOR, I think this was a very well said statement. I appreciate the fact you took accountability and didn’t try to use ignorance nor age as an excuse. Thank you I felt that this was sincere,” another noted.

“keep doing the work, that’s all anyone is asking for,” a third Instagram user wrote.

There were quite a few people noting that they didn’t think Rachael had done anything wrong and had no reason to apologize.

“Caving to the cancel culture – SAD,” someone criticized.

The Bachelor host Chris Harrison addressed this topic in an interview with Extra this week, and it didn’t necessarily go well. He has since apologized for how he expressed himself. In addition, a number of former contestants have taken to social media to express their frustrations with Chris’ interview.

Will Rachael’s apology be followed up with real work to demonstrate she understands the prior criticisms? She definitely has a significant fan base rooting for her and The Bachelor spoilers suggest she’s one to keep an eye on as the rest of Matt’s season plays out.