It looks like the Bachelor franchise’s cringey Dad figure will be sitting out another season. Page Six is reporting that the upcoming season of Bachelor in Paradise, the dating franchise in “summer fun†mode, will be hosted by David Spade. Harrison stepped away from Bach nation after he defended the racist behavior of contestant Rachel Kirkconnell, during an interview with former Bachelorette Rachael Lindsay on Extra.
Harrison told Good Morning America in March of this year that he had no intention of quitting the franchise forever. “I plan to be back and I want to be back,†he said at the time. But this is the second Bach season without him. The Bachelorette will be hosted by former Bachelorettes Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe this season.
Spade has made a mini-career out of his Bachelor fandom, quipping about the shows on his Instagram and on his former late night show, Lights Out with David Spade. An insider told Page Six that they chose Spade for the hosting gig because “the producers want to put some fun in the show. They think it’s become too serious.†One could argue that the show has become serious because the people behind the camera have been seriously blind to issues of race and consent. But maybe the problem really was just that the host wasn’t a former SNL cast member.