Chris Harrison Reportedly Threatened to Spill ’20 Years of Dirt’ About The Bachelor Unless He Received a $25 Million Exit Payout
Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images
New details have emerged surrounding Chris Harrison’s dramatic exit negotiations for the Bachelor franchise.
It was announced Tuesday that Harrison is receiving an eight-figure payoff to leave the series after nearly 20 years as host of The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and all their spinoffs. His exit came following a controversy in which he defended Bachelor contestant Rachael Kirkconnell’s decision to attend an Old South plantation-themed party in 2018.
“He has nearly 20 years of dirt,” an ABC source told Page Six on Wednesday, adding that Harrison demanded $25 million to leave the show or else he’d “spill all the franchise’s dirty secrets.”
The source added, “Instead of handing them a rose, he was absolutely ready to hand them a lawsuit detailing all the behind-the-scenes details.”
The ABC insider went on to say that Harrison and the network had been engaged in “very tough and very heated negotiations” in the weeks leading up to his departure, as the longtime host of the franchise wasn’t willing to go quietly unless he was highly compensated.
“He knows a lot about inappropriate behavior on set: fights between contestants, misbehavior including use of illegal substances while overseas and complaints from producers that were allegedly brushed under the carpet by ABC execs,” added the source.
The network insider continued, “He was ready to tell the truth about how things really work over there — and he has plenty of evidence to back him up. Chris was making $5 million a season and wanted $25 million to go.”
Harrison hired power attorney Bryan Freedman, who represented Megyn Kelly in her $69 million exit deal from NBC News, and the lawyer reportedly “set an aggressive playing field” when it came to exit talks.
When Deadline broke the news on Tuesday that Harrison was exiting the franchise, the Hollywood trade noted that the host had reached a confidential settlement with the network only after “increasingly intense” negotiations. Part of his eight-figure payoff included a “promise to keep his mouth shut” regarding the franchise’s “dirty laundry.”
Variety reported that Harrison had wanted to stay with the franchise, which he has hosted since it premiered in 2002, but that became impossible as the network refused to publicly support him amid the ongoing controversy.
