The Bachelorette 's Tayshia Adams Weighs In on Chris Harrison’s Temporary Bachelor Exit

Tayshia Adams is sharing what she really thinks of Chris Harrison "stepping aside" from The Bachelor.

The former Bachelorette gave her take during the Feb. 18 episode of her podcast Click Bait.

Looking back at the apology Harrison posted to Instagram last week, Adams said there were a "few things that stuck out."

"It hit my heart a little bit more to know that he, like, actually meant what he was saying," she said. The season 16 star then referenced the part where Harrison wrote, "By excusing historical racism, I defended it," which Adams said "is the absolute truth."

"The fact that he called that out and owned up to that and he acknowledges that," she said, "means a lot to me."

The reality star also commended Harrison's remark about his "commitment to much greater understanding" that he "will actively make every day."

"It isn't just a moment," Adams continued. "Just like how Black Lives Matter isn't just a trending topic on Instagram. It's a thing that's taking place every single day that we should actively try to partake in and better."

Bachelor Nation Reacts to Chris Harrison Controversy

As for Harrison stepping aside, Adams said it was "absolutely" the right move. However, while reflecting on her fiancé Zac Clark's past experience with addiction, she highlighted the potential in giving someone a second chance.

"Look, people make mistakes," she pointed out. "Granted, this one was…it's full of arrogance and it affected a lot of people. But this is the thing: I feel like we have to allow people to prove us wrong and prove themselves."

"Zachary used to be an addict, and he's done a lot of wrong in a time that I never even knew him," she elaborated. "And he needed somebody to give him a second chance in order to prove himself that he wasn't going to lie anymore, that he wasn't going to do drugs anymore, that he wasn't going to do all the things that he used to do. And with that, he made an insanely different path for himself and now is helping a lot of people because of that second chance. Something that I've always been taught is just, like, treat people the way you want to be treated. If I f--ked up really bad, like, I would want somebody to give me the second chance to prove myself."

Still, Adams made it clear she was not condoning anyone's behavior. "I'm not excusing any wrong that anyone has done. There is a lot of hurt behind, you know, his actions and Rachael's actions and all of the above," she said. "But what I'm trying to say is: How are we going to better the world, how are we going to better ourselves, if people don't give us a chance to do that and prove that? So, we got our apologies. I appreciate it. Let's just see what comes from them."

Harrison didn't specify how long he'd be stepping aside from The Bachelor, only that he wouldn't be there for the After the Final Rose special. The move came after Harrison spoke to Rachel Lindsay during a recent Extra interview and defended Rachael Kirkconnell amid a series of social media accusations, including that the contestant from Matt James' season was photographed attending a 2018 fraternity formal that has been described as an "antebellum plantation themed ball." Harrison later apologized for "speaking in a manner that perpetuates racism," and Kirkconnell said she is "sorry to the communities and individuals" that her "actions harmed and offended."

Adams previously addressed the interview in a separate episode of Click Bait. "I definitely will say, watching that interview, my eyes were wide open," she told her co-hosts Natasha Parker and Joe Amabile. "My jaw was kind of to the floor. It was an ongoing conversation filled with so much defense and what I feel is ignorance."