Bachelor Nation is calling for Rachel Lindsay to add another role to her resume, and she may be into it. On Feb. 22, Us Weekly magazine revealed that Lindsay was reportedly approached by The Bachelor production to discuss stepping in as the host for the season’s “After the Rose” special.
“ABC and Warner Bros. have spoken to Rachel about the possibility of hosting the ‘After the Final Rose’ special and they would like her to take on the role,” a source told Us Weekly. “She is still weighing the options and is pushing for ‘After the Final Rose’ to include a bigger conversation about race overall in the franchise. No final decision has been made yet.”
While nothing has been announced, Lindsay has been a popular choice for the new host following Chris Harrison’s announcement that he is temporarily stepping down from his hosting duties. The franchise’s first-ever Black lead has gone on to become a special correspondent for Extra; to host MTV’s Ghosted: Love Gone Missing and ESPN’s First Take, a radio show called Football Frenzy; and to cohost the podcast Bachelor Happy Hour with former bachelorette Becca Kufrin — so she has the skills to pull off the gig. But if there’s one thing Lindsay doesn’t need to do, it’s pose as the figurehead for the franchise after they’ve made another snafu. Lindsay has been consistently telling the Bachelor franchise to take a hard look at itself since she accepted the title of bachelorette, even calling out how poorly her finale was conducted in comparison to her predecessor’s — a predecessor whose fiancé was revealed to be liking all sorts of bigoted posts online!
I commend Lindsay for wanting to help out the franchise that led her to her husband, Bryan, but she more than deserves a break. She doesn’t need to serve as the “reminder” that the Bachelor has been “diverse” before; she’s more than their talking piece and would probably be better served if she took this as her cue to find her peace away from the franchise.