Chris Harrison didn’t hold back about how he views The Bachelor creator and former executive producer Mike Fleiss in the latest episode of his podcast.
The April 9 episode of The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever featured a conversation with former The Real Housewives of Orange County star Meghan King. Toward the end of the episode, she asked Harrison if he believed there to be any narcissists within the Bachelor franchise.
“The creator of the show was — severely,” he replied. “One of the toughest things about narcissism is you will never, I don’t want to say never, but very rarely, will that person ever recognize that about themselves.”
He continued, “I was talking to one therapist about narcissism and she said, ‘I’m just warning you that next to a homicidal maniac, narcissism is the toughest thing to treat.’ That to have someone self-realize and actually fix that is next to impossible. It just rarely happens.”
It seemed as though King’s question was directed more toward former contestants, but Harrison said he couldn’t think of anyone else who fit the bill.
Fleiss recently exited the Bachelor franchise after more than two decades following an investigation into workplace misconduct allegations. This is the second known time Warner Bros. had launched a probe into Fleiss’ behavior; in 2019, the studio said that they were “looking into” the “serious allegations” raised by his then-Pregnant wife who accused him of attacking her.
Fleiss created The Bachelor, which debuted in 2002. He is also the creative force behind spinoff The Bachelorette and has been an executive producer on all of the other Bachelor franchise series including Bachelor Pad, Bachelor in Paradise and Bachelor: Winter Games.
While he’d remained associated with the franchise, Fleiss hadn’t been involved day-to-day for the past decade.
Harrison is also no longer officially connected to the franchise. He stepped away following a scandal of his own during Season 25 of The Bachelor when he offered “compassion” for contestant Rachael Kirkconnell over a racism controversy. He was replaced by former Bachelor Jesse Palmer, who has hosted the franchise since 2021. Harrison started his podcast in January, where he often features former contestants.