Emmanuel Acho has been embraced by Bachelor Nation following the news that he’s set to host the upcoming The Bachelor: After the Final Rose special, but will fans ever see him handing out roses on the ABC series? Weeks before he was picked to replace Chris Harrison, the former NFL player discussed the possibility of being the Bachelor or competing on The Bachelorette.
“I don’t think I could do it,” Acho, 30, told Bachelorette alums Mike Johnson and Bryan Abasolo on their “Talking It Out” podcast in January. “I got asked to go on The Bachelorette twice. [In] 2017 and then most recently after Uncomfortable Conversations [With a Black Man].”
The host has made a name for himself through his Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man series, which launched in June 2020 following the murder of George Floyd. Acho later penned a New York Times bestseller with the same name.
“I couldn’t be The Bachelor because I feel like people would judge me,” he told Johnson, 33, and Abasolo, 41, who met wife Rachel Lindsay on season 13 of The Bachelorette. “Like, ‘You were just kissing her and now you’re kissing her? Why are you so grimy? I thought you were about uncomfortable conversations, not uncomfortable makeouts.’ I ain’t got no time for that. I’m like, let me just have my conversations. I don’t need no dream suites, no home visits.”
ABC announced on Saturday, February 27, that Acho was set to interview Matt James and his final three — Rachael Kirkconnell, Bri Springs and Michelle Young — after the season 25 finale. The news came after Harrison, 49, announced he was temporally stepping away from the franchise amid the controversy surrounding his interview with Lindsay, 35, about Kirkconnell’s past racially insensitive social media activity. (Kirkconnell, 24, has apologized for her past “offensive and racist” actions, including attending an “Old South”-themed frat party on a planation in 2018. Harrison also has apologized for “speaking in a manner that perpetuates racism.”)
“IT’S OFFICIAL: I’ve accepted the Rose and am honored to be hosting the @bachelorabc After the Final Rose this year,” Acho wrote via Instagram. “It’s been a pivotal season, and this episode will hopefully be one of the most storied shows in TV history. Empathy is needed and change is coming. Share the news! I’ll see y’all then!”
Both Johnson and Abasolo congratulated him on the gig in the comments section. James, who made history as the first Black Bachelor, also approved the choice.
“Looking forward to it 🙌🏾✊🏾,” the 29-year-old reality TV personality wrote.
The Bachelor airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.
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