Some of our personal first dates have definitely ended in faceplants, but not literal ones.
Rachael Kirkconnell is one of the final four contestants on this season of The Bachelor. On a skydiving date with titular bachelor Matt James, she had a bit of an accident and landed full force into the ground.
James felt sorry for her, saying she "slammed into the earth, hard," and that his feelings of distress were making him wonder whether or not he was in love with her; but that may be something he is re-evaluating altogether.
However after Rachael Kirkconnell's racist social media past was exposed, including pictures of her attending an antebellum-themed fraternity formal in 2018...
James said the content was "incredibly disappointing" and he would be re-evaluating how he engaged with the show, as the airing episodes of The Bachelor were taped before the revelation.
And fans of the show bore little sympathy for Kirkconnell's ground slam in retrospect.
Kirkconnell appeared to be okay after the incident, with some minor bruising and back pain.
But Twitter kept coming for her.
Though Kirkconnell apologized on her social media, former Bachelorette contestant Rachel Lindsay called the attempt "vapid."
Lindsay said:
"You almost feel like you know everything you need to know about her in that picture."
"The fact that that's what she decided to do. Several people sent me that Story."
"Her apology was well-written, it was pretty, and it was sincere. I'm not going to knock anyone's apology."
"But then the next step is to take action. Taking action to me isn't showing everybody that you're reading the book."
"You have such a big platform. There's a lot of people who don't necessarily understand what Chris said in the interview or why people are so upset, so this is an opportunity for you to explain that."
The Bachelor has a very storied history with White supremacy and was one of the shows that came under major criticism for its lack of Black/Indigenous/People of Color season after season.
Hopefully they learn from their mistakes this go 'round.
@WhiteHouse/X
