The former 'Bachelorette' star vows to 'find the sunlight' in the first post she made a little over one week after she disabled her account due to online harassment over racism controversy.
- Mar 8, 2021
AceShowbiz - Rachel Lindsay is finally back on Instagram. A little over one week after she deactivated her account due to online harassment over recent racism controversy, the season 13 star of "The Bachelorette" received a warm welcome from the Bachelor Nation family when she made her return to the photo-sharing platform.
On Saturday, March 6, the 35-year-old shared on Instagram a picture of sunflowers in a vase. In the accompanying message, she simply wrote a positive note that read, "I want to be like a sunflower so that even on the darkest days I will stand tall and find the sunlight."
Lindsay has since garnered supportive comments from fellow "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" stars. Season 25 "Bachelor" contestant Chelsea Vaughn enthused, "So happy to have you back, hoping you are feeling refreshed and loved." Ashley Spivey from season 15 exclaimed, "Love seeing you back here like the ray of sunshine that you are." Ali Manno Fedotowsky of "Bachelorette" season 6 additionally gushed, "Here for you. Glad you're back."
The reality star also took to Instagram Story to post a video of a scenic view taken when she was hiking in Los Angeles. In the accompaniment of this post, she penned, "Good vibes only." She added a smiling emoji.
On the reason why she disabled her Instagram account, Lindsay received "rude and hateful" comments from "Bachelor" fans after speaking out against Rachael Kirkconnell, who came under fire for her past racist behavior. However, Kirkconnell urged his online devotees to stop sending cruel messages to the former attorney.
"You have the opportunity to make a positive difference, to use your energy tobwards change, and to come together and realize what's right in a time like this," Kirkconnell pointed out on her Instagram post. "If you are choosing to rather spread hate, to send cruel, vicious messages, to be mad about people being hurt by racism…do better. Be better."
"Rachel Lindsay and other BIPOC have called for myself and others to be held accountable. This is needed, and she does not deserve the hate she is receiving," she stressed. "Recognize that she along with every person you send hateful messages to, are human. We are real people, and she should not have to disable her account to escape toxicity."
Also coming to Lindsay's defense were producers of "The Bachelor". Taking to Twitter, they explained, "As Executive Producers of The Bachelor Franchise we would like to make it perfectly clear that any harassment directed towards Rachel Lindsay in the aftermath of her interview with Chris Harrison is completely inexcusable."
The producers continued in their statement, "Rachel has received an unimaginale amount of hate and has been subjected to severe online bullying, which, more often than not, has been rooted in racism. That is totally unacceptable."
