As it turns out, Chris Harrison isn’t leaving the Bachelor Nation world quite as rich as we thought — nor is he walking away on quite as good terms with the show’s crew!
Variety published a damning new report about the Texan host’s ouster from the longtime reality TV series on Friday morning, looking back at the timeline of where it all went wrong — beginning with Chris’ infamous interview with former contestant-turned-Extra TV correspondent Rachel Lindsay.
Related: The Bachelor Alum Ben Higgins Opens Up About Past Opioid Addiction And Struggles
There are plenty of interesting little tidbits in the Variety report, and while we’ve long since reported on quite a few of them, there’s plenty of new information, too. For one, the outlet claims the interview which ended Harrison’s career literally should have NEVER happened!
According to insiders, no network or studio publicist ever asked for or requested Harrison’s presence on Extra with Lindsay — he simply did so out of a desire to help out a former cast member with some content.
The industry insider explains (below):
“Multiple insiders tell Variety that Harrison participated in the interview on his own volition, but was never requested by a network or studio publicist to sit down for the press opportunity. When Lindsay asked a par-for-the-course question about Kirkconnell, the Extra correspondent did not push Harrison to elaborate and she wasn’t expecting Harrison to dive in. But he did, head first — and with a crash landing.”
So literally all he had to do was not put his foot in his mouth, and he’d still have his job today!
That’s IT!
Yikes!!!
There’s more, too. For one, insiders say the longtime TV host “deeply cared about” and “loved” his job, so looking in from the outside as he did for a time “took a toll on him.” Nevertheless, Harrison always planned on returning to the show after that initial hiatus — even after he retained power attorney Bryan Freedman to look after his best interests as the show’s producers made decisions without their longtime emcee on set.
At one point, Harrison and Freedman became “outraged” by the dragging-out process, and the legal eagle worried ABC and Warner Bros. were going to use Chris as a scapegoat for all of the show’s persistent diversity and race problems. Trying to head that off before it became an issue, insiders report Harrison took matters into his own hands after the cast and crew of The Bachelorette was sent to New Mexico earlier this year to quarantine ahead of filming the currently-airing season starring Katie Thurston.
The report reveals (emphasis ours):
“Once production on Thurston’s season of The Bachelorette began, things started to unravel further. While Harrison’s attorney was putting up a tough fight, representing his client against the network and studio, Harrison was still under the impression he could make a comeback for the season. An insider close to production reveals that after cast and crew had already been sent to New Mexico to quarantine for Bachelorette, Harrison was essentially knocking on the door, asking to salvage his job by making calls to various people on set, begging them to put in a good word for him.”
Oof!
Nothing quite like being an integral part of a hit reality TV show for 20 years, defending racism one day on TV, and then feeling like you have to beg crew members to put in a good word so you can get your job back. Life comes at you fast!!!
Related: Bachelorette Alum Tanner Tolbert Is PISSED About Harrison’s Ouster
From there, before you could say “this is the final rose of the night,” Chris was out on the proverbial street, having been kicked to the curb by producers. And with that, here comes the other most inneresting aspect of Harrison’s hasty retreat: he didn’t come away with anywhere near the amount of payout cash that was initially reported!
We heard multiple reports claiming Chris caught a “mid-range eight-figure payoff” for his trouble, which means his payday would’ve approached somewhere in the realm of $50 million — a nice golden parachute if true. But he didn’t get that at all! He got less than a FIFTH of that!
Here’s what Variety claims after checking in on things in Friday’s report:
“Despite previous reports, Harrison did not walk away with a substantial eight-figure payout. Two individuals familiar with the negotiations say that the host got $9 million, plus remaining contractual fees, which brought his total exit package to roughly $10 million — about the same paycheck he would have made from two years of work, as his contract was said to be around $5 million per year.”
Womp, womp…
OK, to be totally fair, we’d ABSOLUTELY take $10 million if any of you have it lying around. LOLz!
But still, just saying, that’s far from “mid-range eight-figures” and definitely a huge step down in leverage, proving Bachelor producers were more than happy to get rid of Chris quickly and completely.
Related: Does Chris Harrison’s Abrupt Firing Really Prove We Are ALL Doomed??
What do U make of all this Bachelor craziness, Perezcious readers??
Do U see Chris’ departure any differently knowing all these new details now?!
BTW, you can read the full Variety breakdown HERE! Very inneresting!!!
[Image via Kyle Blair/WENN]
The post Chris Harrison Got A WAY Smaller <i>Bachelor</i> Payout Than Reported — After 'Begging' Crew To Take Him Back! appeared first on Perez Hilton.
