'Bachelor' Contestant Rachael Kirkconnell Crashes In Skydiving Landing, Gets Brutally Mocked
Rachael Kirkconnell fell hard for Matt James on “The Bachelor” Monday.
The controversial contestant, one of the last four women vying to win James’ heart, had a rough skydiving landing on a date with him. She yells “Oof” as she tumbles to the ground face-first with her instructor in the tandem parachute.
'The Bachelor' Rachel’s Skydiving Accident 2021: Skydive ends in face plant https://t.co/WIETNcLQmG pic.twitter.com/6Onz24iaz9
— joe canadian (@jlb8r) February 23, 2021
James, who had already landed safely, rushed to Kirkconnell as she lay on the ground. “Rachael literally slammed into the earth, hard,” he said.
Kirkconnell said her back was hurting and she appeared bruised, but she continued with the daylong date. She later said James’ nurturing impressed her. The Bachelor disclosed that seeing her in distress made him realize he was feeling love for her.
But many fans on Twitter weren’t feeling so sympathetic after allegations of Kirkconnell’s racist past emerged, including photos of her attending a slavery-era plantation-themed party and liking photos containing Confederate flags on social media. (She later apologized for her “offensive and racist” actions.)
James, who is Black, called the antebellum ball photos “incredibly disappointing” in an Instagram post Monday and said he was reevaluating his role on the show, which was taped before the revelations.
bachelor nation watching racist rachael body slamming the ground after skydiving #TheBachelor pic.twitter.com/knAreup6TL
— key-ruh (@kyra_plummer) February 23, 2021
#BachelorNation when Rachael lands hard on her skydiving date with Matt. #Bachelor pic.twitter.com/sVUOHKlocI
— Janel Hamster (@AdventHamster) February 23, 2021
Producers telling Rachael’s skydiving instructor to have a “rough landing” #TheBachelor pic.twitter.com/utiW7OT8DX
— petty betty (@ghost_realtor) February 23, 2021
Rachael’s skydiving instructor after wrecking her shit on national TV: #TheBachelor pic.twitter.com/K7oafVpgNK
— the bachelor & bitchelor 🌹 (@acceptedrose) February 23, 2021
Rachael skydiving guy after the producers told him to make sure there was a “rough fall” #TheBachelor pic.twitter.com/BGuvyfH4qY
— Sammy Schoenfeld (@SammySchoenfeld) February 23, 2021
Nobody:
Rachael skydiving: #bachelorabc pic.twitter.com/2ZqA2K6ddD— claire dee (@justclairedee) February 23, 2021
I hope Women Tell All is just 2 hours of everyone laughing at Rachael biting it during skydiving #TheBachelor #Bachelor #TheBachelorABC #BachelorABC
— Jacqui Ahearn (@jaqattack8) February 23, 2021
Me seeing Rachael slam into the ground during that skydiving scene... #TheBachelor pic.twitter.com/JeCd2POqS3
— Katie Siewert (@sparkly_cupKATE) February 23, 2021
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.