Emmanuel Acho will host ‘The Bachelor: After the Final Rose Special,’ replacing Chris Harrison

Emmanuel Acho will host ‘The Bachelor: After the Final Rose Special,’ replacing Chris Harrison
By Alaa Elassar, CNN
(CNN) –Former NFL player Emmanuel Acho will be hosting “The Bachelor: After the Final Rose,” replacing host Chris Harrison who stepped aside following a controversial interview.

Acho, the host of the YouTube series “Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man,” announced on Saturday he would host the one-hour special for the 25th season.

“I’ve accepted the Rose & am honored to be hosting the @bachelorabc After the Final Rose this year,” Acho tweeted. “It’s been a pivotal season & this episode will be one of the most storied shows in its history. Empathy is needed and change is coming. See y’all then!”

Harrison announced on February 13 he was “stepping aside” from the show “for a period of time” after defending a frontrunner on the current season who came under scrutiny for social media photos from her past.

Harrison apologized after speaking out on behalf of Rachael Kirkconnell, a contestant who was reportedly photographed at an antebellum plantation-themed fraternity formal in 2018.

It is unclear how long Harrison will be stepping aside.

This is the 25th season of ABC’s enormously popular reality dating franchise and the first in which ABC cast a Black man, Matt James, as the show’s star.

During the episode, Acho “will sit down with Bachelor Matt James to discuss his season, his final decision and where he is now, as well as cover the current events about the franchise,” ABC said in a press release.

The on-air personality and bestselling author will also speak to the season’s final three women: Kirkconnell, Michelle Young and Bri Springs.

The special episode will air on Monday, March 15, immediately after the season finale of “The Bachelor.”

 

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