Emmanuel Acho Opens Up About His Future With The Bachelor Franchise

Former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho filled in for Chris Harrison on "After the Final Rose" this spring. Chris took a step back in February due to the controversy surrounding him defending "Bachelor" contestant Rachael Kirkconnell's past racist behavior, per CBS News. Rachael was a contestant on Matt James' season, who was of course, the first Black Bachelor in the history of the franchise. It was a mess, y'all. For his part, Chris ran into trouble when he sat down with Rachel Lindsay for an interview on "Extra" regarding Rachael's controversial posts. Chris took the opportunity to bash the "woke police" before saying Rachael's photos weren't offensive when they were taken in 2018, per NBC News. 

While Emmanuel was hosting "AFTR," his conversation with Matt was especially thought-provoking, with Vulture noting that he was "more sincere and personable than Chris Harrison has been in years." Both Matt and Emmanuel also admitted that they took steps to appear less threatening to white people in the conversation.

Emmanuel is an author and host of the YouTube series, "Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man," which addresses issues of race in America. The book by the same name was released in November 2020 and sold 18,000 copies on its first day, per Twitter. Emmanuel is also friends with the first Black Bachelorette, Rachel Lindsay, who encouraged him to write the book and launch the "Uncomfortable Conversations" show, per People.

Now, Emmanuel is opening up about his future with the "Bachelor" franchise. Keep reading to find out what he said.

During an interview with "The View" on May 6,  Emmanuel Acho opened up about "The Bachelor" and his future on it. "I absolutely would be open to hosting 'The Bachelor,' " he told Meghan McCain. He went on to say that he thinks the franchise realizes it needs help if it is going to remain relevant. Acho believes the show needs to be "... exploring diversity better on camera, but probably more importantly behind the scenes."

During "After the Final Rose" Emmanuel directly questioned Rachael Kirkconnell's racist actions with grace and sensitivity. "Let's, obviously, address the elephant in the room. In 2018, I guess you took photos of you at an Antebellum plantation-themed party," he began. "For the sake of clarity, Antebellum literally means in Latin 'before the war' and so the Antebellum south is honoring the south before the war, the war in question, the war that freed slaves." Yes, Emmanuel went there and continued to broach difficult topics.

At this point, Emmanuel is not part of Bachelor Nation, he's never been a contestant on the franchise, but fans seem to be loving the idea of his joining the show permanently. "I LOVE Acho, and he would be a way more interesting and awesome host [than Chris Harrison]," one fan wrote on Twitter. "Mr. Acho is going places ... he has that youthful likeness," said another. Fans may be on board, but only time will tell whether this NFL star may find his next chapter on "The Bachelor."