The Bachelor

With Chris Harrison stepping aside for Matt James' "After the Final Rose" ceremony, it's up in the air who will fill his shoes -- but we've learned it might be someone outside the franchise.

Sources directly familiar with the production tell TMZ ... ABC appears to be seeking someone who's not part of 'Bachelor' nation to replace Harrison for the swiftly-approaching shoot. That means no former bachelors, bachelorettes or their suitors ... no matter how popular they are.

Essentially, our sources say producers now seem to have their sights set on someone without ties to the series -- but who's still part of ABC's talent pool. That said, they did make a run at one alum.

We're told Rachel Lindsay -- the first Black 'Bachelorette' -- was asked to take up the mantle, but she declined. She's publicly suggested they consider FS1 sports analyst Emmanuel Acho -- who's not only Black, but also outspoken on issues of race. Let's face it, that's going to be a major topic when cameras roll for 'ATFR.'

Despite Rachel's endorsement, Emmanuel's rep tells us no one's reached out to them yet.

Fans have also been clamoring for Tayshia Adams -- the second-ever Black 'Bachelorette' -- to step up in Harrison's place. She's been vocal about the show's racism controversy lately, but producers have not tapped her

It's unclear if ABC's specifically looking for a POC for this gig -- but all signs seem to point to that being highly considered. It's gonna be a sensitive episode ... not just because of the Harrison fallout, but a potential faceoff between Matt and Rachael Kirkconnell, who's rumored to be the winner.

'Bachelor' Matt James is finally opening up about Chris Harrison excusing historical racism and Rachael Kirkconnell's racist behavior ... calling it incredibly disappointing and devastating.

Matt didn't mince words expressing his disappointment in Harrison over how he conducted himself in an interview with Rachel Lindsay -- the first black 'Bachelorette' -- as they discussed photos showing Kirkconnell attending a 2018 antebellum south party.

The 'Bachelor' said, "Watching Chris's failure to receive and understand the emotional labor that my friend Rachel Lindsay was taking on by graciously and patiently explaining the racist history of the Antebellum South, a painful history that every American should understand intimately, was troubling and painful to watch."

Matt said he's glad the controversy has, at least, sparked critical conversations and raised important questions ... but he's still in the middle of processing all of this as a few more episodes remain on his season of "The Bachelor." He also thanked 'Bachelor Nation' for their solidarity on an issue that has left former black contestants divided on how to proceed with the host's future.

Demi Burnett -- a 'Bachelor' alum who appeared on Colton Underwood's season -- is saying she's sorry for wearing a controversial Yeezy jacket ... with a symbol of hate plastered on it.

Demi posted an apology video Tuesday night, in which she claims she just thought she was wearing a cool jacket made by Kanye West ... and didn't even think about the Confederate flag emblazoned on the arm.

She says ... "I just wore it for that one night, it was a Yeezy jacket, I thought it was so cool, I was like, 'yeah, Yeezy!' And, I didn't even like, pay attention to that. That's ignorance."

Demi adds she didn't realize how harmful the symbol is to people, and says ... "I am so f***ing sorry. Like, I'm disgusted with myself. I'm embarrassed. It doesn't even matter how I feel. I'm just so f***ing sorry because that is not what I stand for, that is not what I'm about. And, I'm really mad that I ever wore it."

She claims the jacket was a gift from the father of her ex -- musician Slater Davis -- and he shared the pic on his Instagram story ... so it seems it was taken last year before they split.

Demi's jacket scandal comes amid a much larger race-related controversy in 'Bachelor' nation ... as host Chris Harrison's stepped away from the show for allegedly excusing historical racism -- and specifically for defending the past of current 'Bachelor' contestant, Rachael Kirkconnell.

Monday night's 'Bachelor' had all the usual stuff -- cocktail party, a group date, and a couple rose ceremonies -- but there was NO reference to the fact host Chris Harrison is stepping away.

'Bachelor' Matt James went about his reality dating show biz as usual, and there was no statement -- from producers, ABC or Harrison -- addressing Harrison's alleged excusing of historical racism.

As we've reported ... Harrison has stepped away from his 'Bachelor' duties amid the backlash he's received since his Extra interview last week with former 'Bachelorette' Rachel Lindsay, during which many people believe he downplayed current contestant Rachael Kirkconnell's past. She was photographed at a southern plantation-themed party in 2018.

Now, most of Matt's season has already been filmed -- so Harrison's absence won't be felt on camera until the 'After the Final Rose' episode. Still, many fans expected a statement added either before or after last night's episode.

Many fans and even its current cast have vowed to not watch the rest of this season in solidarity with the perceived mistreatment of cast members of color. Then again, the presence of Kirkconnell -- who advanced to next week's hometown visits -- might attract more viewers.

Chris Harrison excusing historical racism has left former Black contestants from the franchise divided on how to proceed with the host's future -- some say he needs teaching, others want him gone for good.

We spoke to several Black 'Bachelor' and 'Bachelorette' alums from recent years, and the consensus is they're disappointed with the longtime host's downplaying of Rachael Kirkconnell's past ... which many have called straight up racist.

We're told Chris' apparent lack of interest in understanding why Rachael's prior actions were upsetting ... came off as him talking down to the Black community.

So, what does that mean for his future on the shows? Well, Marshana Ritchie ('Bachelor,' Season 12) and Leslie Hughes ('Bachelor,' Season 17) tell us Harrison needs a long break, and a lot education on Black history ... plus, sensitivity training before he returns.

Marquel Martin ('Bachelorette,' Season 10) and Robyn Jedkins ('Bachelor,' Season 17) both think Chris should be given a second chance -- and probably shouldn't be burned at the stake, but they add ... he needs to do better at understanding the Black perspective before speaking on these issues again.

Fan fave Mike Johnson ('Bachelorette,' Season 15) says he wants to see Chris do work in the African-American community before coming back, while genuinely attempting to connect to Black viewers ... who might see the show as skewed toward white audiences.

Now for some of the harsher takes, courtesy of DeMario Jackson ('Bachelorette,' Season 13) and Jubilee Sharpe ('Bachelor,' Season 20) ... they both want Chris gone permanently.

DeMario and Jubilee tell us they don't think Chris should be allowed to return as host, and that 'Bachelor' execs should turn the page entirely ... both in a new host, and a new environment within the franchise that's more inclusive of POC, from the top-down.

Jubilee says she sensed producers tended to focus more on the white, blue-eyed/blonde contestants more than anyone else. DeMario echoed that to us, and went on to say it was time 'Bachelor' producers truly cater to Black people if they really want to make them part of the fan base. Up to now, he feels it's been a lot of pandering.

Chris Harrison is stepping away from 'Bachelor' duties -- including moderating the 'After the Final Rose' ceremony -- and is once again apologizing for defending a contestant's alleged racist past.

The longtime 'Bachelor' host issued a new, lengthier apology Saturday ... this after he posted a quick one on Instagram a couple days ago that many felt was not up to par in addressing his recent remarks. Some said he was dismissive and excusing of racist behavior alleged against Rachael Kirkconnell -- one of the final few women vying for Matt James' heart.

Chris' statement is much more heartfelt than perhaps his initial remarks. He says ... "I have spent the last few days listening to the pain my words have caused, and I am deeply remorseful. My ignorance did damage to my friends, colleagues and strangers alike."

He goes on to say by excusing historical racism, he defended it ... and now realizes that was wrong, especially doing so in an interview with none other than Rachel Lindsay, the franchise's first Black 'Bachelorette.' He says he's been educated and open to being taught more about this topic, and promises to be more mindful about these issues in the future.

That said, Chris also broke some news about his time on camera ... saying, after consulting with ABC execs, he's decided it's best if he skips the 'After the Final Rose' ceremony, where the lead man/woman gets to reflect in front of a live studio audience.

It's unclear how long Chris plans to be absent from the series -- usually, 'The Bachelorette' starts taping immediately after 'The Bachelor' wraps. In any case, he's taking some time off.

Now, as for what the heck this is really all about ... Chris basically stepped up to defend Kirkconnell after old photos of her at a college antebellum party surfaced -- which many say celebrates the South's racist past, and is part of Confederate culture. It's a bad look.

There's also a TikTok video out there that chronicled Kirkconnell's social media history -- including stuff she'd posted and liked in recent years ... and there appears to be a lot of pro-Trump stuff, Confederate flag backdrops, MAGA shots and Blue Lives Matter posts.

She's also alleged to have made fun of white friends of hers in high school for dating Black guys -- but the evidence for that seems to be a little thin and less documented.

She'd been mostly silent over all the outrage that had been building, until Friday ... when she issued this statement and an apology -- copping to some of the social media activity, but not all of it.

Kirkconnell says a lot of the posts and behavior she engaged in occurred when she was young, and says she's a different person now ... realizing the hurt she inflicted. She notes her apology doesn't mean she's deserving of forgiveness, but she's asking for it anyway.

A friend of 'Bachelor' Matt James body-shamed one of his contestants -- Victoria Larson -- but she doesn't really seem to care all that much ... if anything, she's almost excusing it.

We got Victoria Friday night in Bev Hills and asked her about Matt's golfing buddy making a remark about her body in a surfaced clip that was apparently shot after his season wrapped. The guy's name is Jerry, and he seemed to be trying to distract Matt.

Shortly after the clip was posted, Victoria wrote ... "Cute... I love my body :)" and later posted a body shot of herself in a bikini, to silence the haters. Plus, she threw up a meme of men commenting on beautiful women's bodies ... almost as commentary.

As fired up as she seemed at the time, Victoria was NOT nearly as enthusiastic to shut down the body-shaming in our clip ... like we said, she almost chalked it up to "boys will be boys" or "locker-room talk." She didn't use those words exactly, but the sentiment was there.

Watch for yourself ... she tells us she actually doesn't think it was Jerry -- the dude who made the comment -- who shamed her, and she gets that in a competitive environment, sometimes you say things to throw your opponent off. Hmmm ... okay.

She went on to write off all the talk of it as "noise" ... and when we asked if she hoped Matt himself had learned his lesson, and if the franchise would try to get more inclusive ... Victoria was careful not to cast a stone, actually praising Matt and dodging the question.

It's interesting ... Matt was silent in the moment when his buddy made the body comment about Victoria, but was later quick to condemn it during an appearance on "The Real." He said he needed to surround himself with better friends, but he didn't seem all that bothered by it in real-time.

'Bachelorette' star Clare Crawley and Dale Moss are officially on a break, as they say ... effectively ending it after she cut her season short, just for him.

Sources close to the former couple tell TMZ ... Dale broke things off with Clare this past weekend.

As for why ... no word yet. One thing we do know for sure -- they were dating from a distance ... he lived in NYC, and she was on the West Coast in Sacramento -- which is always a toughie.

It's a very anticlimactic end for what many thought was a love-at-first-sight pairing. From the day Clare met all of her on-screen suitors, it was clear she was head over heels for the guy ... and didn't give the other fellas much of a chance to compete for her affection.

In fact, Clare was actually mocked pretty often for snubbing dudes in the house ... and constantly seeking out or talking about Dale, even if she was on a date with someone else.

The writing was on the wall that they were meant for each other ... or so they thought.

Clare -- the oldest 'Bachelorette' to head up a season -- ultimately bailed on the show entirely once Dale proposed to her (again, early) ... which made way for Tayshia Adams, the second Black 'Bachelorette,' who picked up the baton and finished things off with the remaining 16 men -- plus 4 new guys who were brought on. She ended up getting engaged to Zac Clark.

Whatever led to the break up here, it's a bummer for Clare, and has to have her wondering ... "what if?"

Made-for-TV relationships, man ... always hit or miss.

Chris Harrison will be on your TV sets for the foreseeable future, hosting the 'Bachelor' -- he's not going anywhere, despite a move he's making to Texas.

Rumors swirled this weekend amid news the longtime 'Bachelor' host was packing his bags and moving to Barton Creek -- just outside of Austin -- with his girlfriend, Lauren Zima. Folks heard that and thought ... the dude might be exiting his role with the franchise forever.

That's not the case though -- production sources with direct knowledge tell us he is NOT leaving the show ... he's simply relocating, partly because of a recent partnership deal he struck with a local brewery. He's also from Texas -- once hailing from Dallas -- but as far as work ... we're told he'll commute.

NBD really, tons of stars do this these days ... including one Ryan Seacrest, who pretty much lives bicoastal now because of his NYC-based hosting gig on 'Ryan & Kelly,' along with his L.A. based 'American Idol." Same idea for Chris, and in fact, his commute is much shorter.

Another reason folks thought he was hanging up his tux is because he was MIA for 2 weeks and JoJo Fletcher took over the hosting duties. We're told he was absent because he took his son to college -- in Texas -- and had to quarantine for 2 weeks before returning to the set.

Ben Smith's trying to play it cool on making the jump from 'Bachelorette' hunk to the full-blown 'Bachelor' ... and ya gotta see his reactions to all the burning questions!!!

We got the 'Bachelorette' fan-favorite leaving his Bodybuilding Club in Los Angeles, and he tried to play coy and bashful when we asked him straight up if he wants to be the next 'Bachelor.'

As fans of the shows know ... Rachel Lindsay claims Ben's putting on a full-court press to become the next 'Bachelor,' but she says he's not a good fit and says she's been begging producers not to give him the coveted role.

It's the first time folks are seeing Ben in public since Tayshia Adams sent him home on this week's episode following a disappointing hometown date, but Ben's not taking the bait our photog puts out there. We'll let you decipher his non-verbal answers.

There's never been a chance to literally rent out THE 'Bachelor' pad ... until now.

The famous mansion featured on "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" has hit Airbnb for a whopping $6,000 per night ... roses and ladies/gentlemen not included. But, you do get a ton of other goodies for that dough.

Villa de la Vina, its official name but more commonly known as "The Mansion," sits on 10 acres within the Santa Monica Mountains of Malibu. The Mediterranean-style pad -- which has been HQ for the reality series since 2007 -- has 7 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms on 10,000-square-feet. The entire place sleeps 13 guests.

Bach fans will easily recognize the famous archways in the swimming pool ... the same pool where Nick Viall entertained, among other ladies, Alexis, who showed up in a shark suit. Fans who have the dough can also relax in jacuzzis, slay away at a pool table or simply sit back and enjoy the canyon, mountain and vineyard views.

Fun fact ... an actual family lives in the mansion, but vacates twice a year for around 42 days so ABC and co. can do their thing.

If walls could talk, right?

One of the new guys looking for love with Tayshia Adams on "The Bachelorette" just had an incredibly bad day ... starting with his coronavirus test results.

Peter Giannikopoulos says he tested positive for COVID-19 Tuesday after feeling pretty crummy for a few days, and was very distraught over the news because he felt he'd been extremely careful.

Even worse, he says his emotions and anxiety got the best of him as he was driving home from the clinic, and he lost consciousness, veered off the road and hit a pole.

Peter says when he came to, all he remembers is people shouting for help. Fortunately, he walked away with just a small gash on his nose -- as you can see -- and he says he's keeping his chin up and is now focused on beating the virus.

Still, that's one helluva day ... but Peter's reminding everyone to remain positive and lean on each other for support during these trying times.

Peter was one of 4 new suitors to enter the picture on Tuesday night's episode of "The Bachelorette" after Tayshia took over for Clare Crawley ... who made history by finding her soulmate just days into filming, getting engaged, and saying so long to the other fellas.

Cassie Randolph apparently no longer feels threatened by her ex Colton Underwood ... 'cause she dropped the restraining order against him ... in fact, she's dropped everything.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Cassie dismissed the restraining order with prejudice, meaning she can't refile it.  We're also told the police investigation is being dropped -- per her request.

Colton tells TMZ, "Today Cassie asked the court to dismiss the temporary restraining order against me. The two of us were able to reach a private agreement to address any of Cassie’s concerns. I do not believe Cassie did anything wrong in filing for the restraining orders and also believe she acted in good faith. I appreciate everyone’s respect for privacy regarding this matter."

As we reported ... Cassie filed a police report with the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. claiming the "Bachelor" star put a tracking device on her car.

Remember, she had made these allegations last month when she filed for a restraining order against Colton. TMZ broke the story ... Cassie claimed her brother found the tracking device taped to the bottom of her car's back bumper. As for why Colton allegedly did that ... Cassie claimed he was trying to track her whereabouts long after they had broken up.

'Bachelorette' contestant Dale Moss had some tricks up his sleeve before becoming a contestant on the show.

We found these pics of Dale who was modeling costumes for Party City Halloween.  The costumes are, well, interesting. Check out Dale in a taco get, a jacked Superman and an adult centurion. He posed for the pics in 2016 and 2017.

Dale's the fav to steal the heart of Clare Crawley ... in fact, he's rumored to be her fiance.  When Clare met Dale, she said, "I think I just met my husband."

This season has been riddled with drama, but the centerpiece has been the relationship between Dale and Clare.

Call this a new kind of love-love for tennis star Genie Bouchard ... TMZ Sports has confirmed she's now dating Pittsburgh Steelers QB Mason Rudolph!!!

A source close to the couple tells us the two began a romantic fling recently ... and have gotten pretty serious.

In fact, 26-year-old Genie was just spotted at a fancy restaurant in Pittsburgh this week ... posting a pic of her at the place with the caption, "Pitt stop."

25-year-old Mason -- who was presumably on the other end of the camera -- dropped a "like" on the photo.

Of course, the new relationship means the end of a possible old one for Rudolph ... as we previously reported, the quarterback had been seen in L.A. in April getting cozy with "Bachelor" star Hannah Ann Sluss.

Unclear how serious the two were ... but Rudolph's clearly moved on either way.

As for Genie, she's been no stranger to famous dates in the past ... remember Super Bowl bet guy?!

But, seems she's finally found her special someone ... which is awesome for her, considering just a few months ago she tweeted that going through quarantine "would be a lot more fun with a boyfriend."

Congrats!!

Here's the "Even Stevens" reunion we've all been waiting for ... Ren Stevens is back, and she's bringing along her trusty sidekick Beans!!!

The "Even Stevens" reunion 17 years in the making went down on Christy Carlson Romano's YouTube series, "Christy's Kitchen Throwback," and she's got a lot of catching up to do with Steven Anthony Lawrence.

Steven, best known for playing fan-favorite and Shia LaBeouf's on-screen pal Beans, has largely remained out of the public eye since the hit Disney Channel show ended way back in 2003, and ya gotta see how Beans looks these days!

As you know, Steven's character was famous for his love of bacon on the show ... but he tells Christy he didn't eat bacon for 3 months after filming wrapped, and he even dealt with nightmares, cold sweats and traumatic experiences just from swine.

Fortunately, Steven's gotten over his bacon issues and is back to eating the best part of the pig. This is Beans we're talking about, after all!!!

It's pretty cool ... Steven also explains how Beans went from a potential one-episode guest star to a series regular and cult favorite ... who Christy credits with saving the show!

Christy and Steven also chop it up in the kitchen on potential future projects ... how does an "Even Stevens" spinoff sound?!?

If that's not enough ... wait till you hear Steven's pitch for Beans on 'The Bachelor.'