Chris Harrison will not host the upcoming season of "The Bachelorette" following controversy over racially insensitive comments, and will instead be replaced with two former contestants, ABC Entertainment and Warner Horizon said in a statement.
Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe will pick up hosting duties for the show's next season, the statement issued late Friday said.
Harrison stepped down from hosting for "The Bachelor" in February following the controversy connected to an interview with "Extra." He had defended "Bachelor" contestant Rachael Kirkconnell after she was accused of racially insensitive past behavior. Past photos of her resurfaced in which she is dressed in costume as a Native American and at an antebellum plantation themed ball.
Harrison had defended Kirkconnell against what he called the "woke police" on social media during the interview. He later apologized for his comments, saying in a statement: "By excusing historical racism, I defended it."
"We support Chris in the work that he is committed to doing," ABC and Warner Horizon said Friday's statement. "As we continue the dialogue around achieving greater equity and inclusion within 'The Bachelor' franchise, we are dedicated to improving the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) representation of our crew."
Kirkconnell has also apologized for what she called her past "racist and offensive" actions.
Avid completes acquisition of Wolftech
Avid®, known for software solutions for professional media production, has completed the acquisition of Wolftech Broadcast Solutions, a leader in cloud-based multiplatform news planning, production and publishing solutions.
The acquisition enables Avid to combine its digital-first, end-to-end media solution with Wolftech’s expertise in story-centric workflow management. News organizations will be able to increase efficiency and accelerate story delivery through enhanced remote collaboration and multiplatform amplification.
Avid CEO Wellford Dillard stated, “Wolftech is unquestionably on the leading edge of where the industry is going, and this acquisition demonstrates Avid’s commitment to transform news, sports, and live production workflows. We are delighted to welcome Wolftech into the Avid family.”
Wolftech CEO Arne Berven added, “We were focused on finding a partner that could accelerate the adoption of our platform globally. We explored a number of possibilities, but when we talked to Avid, we knew it was the right match.”
The closing of the acquisition follows Avid’s announcement on October 7 that the company had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Wolftech.
With this acquisition, Avid deepens the integration between the two toolsets while continuing to embrace an open approach in partnering with a wide range of media production tools and newsroom systems. Existing Wolftech customers will benefit from Avid’s global scale for customer support and professional services.
Ian Axton, head of production operations for ITV News, said, “As a customer of both Avid and Wolftech we’re excited about the benefits this acquisition will bring to our users and our business. Wolftech has transformed... Read More