Next, Harrison turned his attention to the fighting between Kenny and Lee. Dean expressed that it was clear who was right and who was wrong, because everyone liked Kenny while most of the other 30 men didn’t feel the same way about Lee. Kenny said, “It didn’t feel like racism being in the middle of it.” He thought it was Lee being “very reactionary” and trying to latch on to anyone because he was “in over [his] head.”
Harrison then had Kenny in the hot seat. The wrestler stressed that he’s not really “aggressive,” as Lee to paint him out to be. And many of the other men similarly called it a mischaracterization. About the claim Lee made to Rachel about Kenny having pulled him out of a van, the country singer admitted, “You did not pull me out of a van.” Lee added, “You took the high road. I should have taken the high road… I should have been a better friend, and for that I should apologize.”
When Harrison asked if he could “bury the hatchet” with Lee, Kenny said, “I don’t have any ill-will, grudges.” The conversation then turned to Kenny leaving his daughter McKenzie to do the show. He said it was tough for him to leave her. Harrison then said he didn’t want Kenny to have to wait one more day ti see his daughter, and so McKenzie came out with a red rose for her dad. After a long hug, the host noted that it was Kenny’s birthday the next day, and so he was sending him and McKenzie to Disneyland as a gift.
Lee was then in the hot seat, where Harrison asked whether he was “disappointed” with his appearance on the show, to which he said “yes.” “I have some things I need to fix,” he told the audience. But Dean didn’t think that was enough. He told Lee that he needed to “denounce” his actions back then, which he didn’t, and not just on the “Men Tell All”special. “You need to claim ownership for the words that come out of your mouth,” added Kenny.
At that point, Harrison showed on a screen some of Lee’s offensive tweets, which emerged during the season. There were sexist and misogynistic remarks, but the most horrible was a racist tweet in which he compared the NAACP to the KKK, and insinuated that the NAACP is more racist the white supremacist hate group. For the most part, Lee had a hard time apologizing and kept repeating how he’s learning more every day.
Josiah then sat down on the couch next to Lee and questioned how he could tweet racist comments and then come on “The Bachelorette” with an African-American woman. “Black people fought and died so I could be on the same stage [with you],” Josiah told Lee, who said, “I don’t like racism at all. It bothers me morally. It hurt me a lot.” A fired-up DeMario yelled at Lee that the comparison he made in his tweet was “blasphemy” and “stupid.”
For the most part, though, Lee skirted around whether he could acknowledge he was a racist. “I’m sorry for saying things when I was not educated and ignorant,” he offered. Finally, after being pressed more, Lee confessed, “That tweet was racist, and I denounce it.” Kenny then told Lee that he could forgive him and help him moving forward. The two men then hugged it out. Lee ended his time on the hot seat by saying, “I want to apologize to Rachel, too.”
It was then time for a heartbroken Dean. He said he grappled with Rachel telling him she was falling in love with him right before showing him the door. Dean expressed that he was legitimately in love with the bachelorette. He then explained that even though his family dynamic is a bit different and strained, he wanted Rachel to see that “real side of me.” And even though Dean shared that he was “torn up” after the bachelorette sent him home, he felt “by necessity I need to move on.” And he has. Dean will be on “Bachelor In Paradise.”
After that, Rachel came out and had to face Dean, who came up and sat next to her on the couch. He pressed her about why she said she was falling in love with him just days before sending him home. Rachel explained that she simply had stronger feelings for the other three men. On the topic of DeMario, she said he just needed to be “honest.” She also discussed being the first black bachelorette. “Race wasn’t an issue,” said Rachel.
As for Kenny, she told him he should have ignored Lee. “I wish you could have realized that was background noise,” Rachel told the wrestler. She then talked about how she was in a unique position as an African-American women before schooling Lee, telling him he had a great opportunity to meet and learn from people of different cultures and he didn’t. Rachel then told Lee she could take him backstage ad give him a lesson on racism and sexism. Although he apologized to her, Rachel didn’t seem to take it too seriously.
After that, some of the men like Matt and Adam wanted to know why it didn’t work with them, though they and others all wished her well. The show then ended with bloopers and a sneak peek at the finale with Bryan, Eric and Peter. There were also clips of Rachel’s journey with each man.
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