Former The Bachelorette contestant Clay Harbor is getting slammed on social media for a recent tweet about Chris Harrison. After the indefinitely-suspended host’s controversial Extra interview with Rachel Lindsay, during which he downplayed Rachael Kirkconnell’s Antebellum-themed party attendance, very few show alums have come to Chris’ defense. Current and past Bachelor cast members released formal statements, all condemning racism and praising Lindsay’s advocacy for the BIPOC population. Regardless, Clay expressed his opinion that After The Final Rose wasn’t the same without Chris. His followers, including several Bachelor In Paradise friends, were not pleased.
Clay, a 33-year-old NFL player, appeared on Becca Kufrin’s season of The Bachelorette, as well as Bachelor In Paradise season six. Though Clay thought he found love on the beach with Nicole Lopez-Alvar, they got into a nasty Twitter feud soon after the finale. He also went on a virtual date with Fernanda Flores on an episode of 90 Day Fiancé: Self-Quarantined. Despite his somewhat reserved demeanor on TV, this wasn’t the first time things got heated for Clay on the internet. Throughout The Bachelor season 25, several of his posts received backlash, including a tweet from early February that said, “Cancel the rest of the season and give Chris Harrison a vacation. Rachel is the winner.” Assuming he was referring to Kirkconnell, fans accused him of liking the “racist.”
Now, Clay is under fire once again on Twitter. Following After The Final Rose, he tweeted, “Watching ATFR without Chris Harrison is like watching Judge Judy with no Judy.” A second tweet read, “Simply stating that after 20 years of the same host that it felt different without him. That being said I thought my former teammate @EmmanuelAcho did an absolutely amazing job of hosting.” While Clay said his comments weren’t meant to be “suggestive or political,” many – including Emmanuel – thought otherwise. Paradise star Dylan Barbour said, “Too late you’re canceled.” Chris Randone simply said, “Clay…….” to which Clay responded, “Yes Chris?” As for the fill-in host, Emmanuel replied with the monocle emoji, which means he was skeptical about Clay’s compliment. See Clay’s tweet below:
A number of fans also slammed Clay, telling him he was “sending out the wrong sentiment” and to just admit he likes his shows “white white.” But not everyone was so quick to judge. Fellow football player Joe Jones said, “Bro, ignore the ignorance coming your way. Those attempting to find some deeper underlying meaning in your statement other than what you LITERALLY said, are not worth the time and effort.” Joe has a point. Clay never praised Chris Harrison for his commentary on the racist fraternity party. He only said it was weird to not see the long-time host on his screen.
There’s a difference between Clay’s tweets and those of Paradise alum Jordan Kimball, who said he’ll “raise absolute hell” if Chris is removed from the show permanently. Jordan also denounced “cancel culture” because it doesn’t allow for forgiveness. For now, Jordan can rest easy because it seems Chris isn’t gone for good. As former Bachelorette leads Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe prepare to co-host the upcoming season featuring Katie Thurston, Chris refuses to submit his resignation. He wants the chance to learn from his mistakes and return to the franchise in the future.
Next: Bachelor: Chris Harrison Not Resigning After Rachel Lindsay Controversy
