Serena Pitt is ready forEmmanuel Achoto step intoChris Harrison’s shoes at the upcomingAfter the Final Rosespecial.
Harrison, 49, came under fire for hiscontroversialExtrainterviewwith former BacheloretteRachel Lindsaylast month. In the interview, Harrison weighed in on current contestant Rachael Kirkconnell’s resurfaced social media posts, which saw her dressed in Native American attire in costume and attending an antebellum plantation-themed college party in 2018. (Kirkconnell has since issued anapologyand asked those defending her actions to “please stop.")
For more on Chris Harrison’s response to the backlash, listen below to the episode of PEOPLE Every Day.
Harrison received backlash for his failure to denounce Kirkconnell’s behavior andapologizeda day later before announcing he would be “stepping aside” from the franchise for an unspecified amount of time. Acho, the popular author ofUncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man, will betaking his placeat theAfter the Final Rosespecial next week.
Pitt also weighed in on fellow contestant Kirkconnell. “It was definitely disappointing to see what came out about Rachael Kirkconnell,” she says.
“However, I read her statement and I watched her video and I really commend her for the way she’s handled this,” she continues. “I think everyone is just processing all of this, everyone is doing their best to both save their energy and protect themselves as well as speak out and not just ask but demand for change in the franchise.”
Serena Pitt.Craig Sjodin via Getty
“It was a hard decision but it was the right one for me at that time,” she says.
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Talking withEntertainment Tonighton Tuesday, Pitt also opened up about whether she would ever be the Bachelorette.
“I can see how this journey works. As much as it didn’t work out for me this season, that’s not to say that I’m not still looking for love and open to it and ready for it,” she said. “If that opportunity was presented to me, I would definitely consider it.”
Chris Harrison.Eric McCandless/Getty Images
She added, however, that she would “struggle” with Harrison as the host given the recent controversy.
“With theBacheloretteseason being so soon … I would struggle [with Chris as host], because the amount of work that needs to be done here,” she told the outlet. “I would need to see the changes that have been happening in his life, and the actions that he has taken, and will be continuing to take moving forward, to feel comfortable welcoming him into theBacheloretteseason.”
The Bachelor: After the Final Rosewill air on Monday, March 15 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC, immediately following the season finale ofThe Bachelor.
source: people.com
