What kind of "dirt" does Chris Harrison have on The Bachelor franchise to lead to a "mid-range eight-figure payoff"?

The Daily Beast

Harrison's exit from The Bachelor franchise after 19 seasons following his racial controversy wasn't surprising, but his reportedly rich settlement has raised eyebrows. “It begs the question, what is out there?” Josiah Graham, who appeared on Rachel Lindsay’s season of The Bachelorette, said of the pact. “From a curiosity standpoint, what the heck is going on?” Variety reported Harrison's attorney threatened to use the former host's knowledge of The Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss' 2019 domestic violence scandal as leverage. “My guess is that this came from high up,” Bachelor blogger Reality Steve said of Harrison's firing. “Because obviously ABC is under the Disney umbrella, and they don’t want any negative publicity about anything.” Meanwhile, entertainment lawyer and Sharma Law founder Anita K. Sharma was stunned that Harrison's attorney's strong-arm tactics were even leaked. “However, it got out, it’s out there and every article I’ve read is talking about this ‘Shiva of lawsuits,’” she said, noting later: “It also already throws dirt on the franchise, right? Because it’s implying there’s a lot of secrets.” But Sharma adds: "I think everybody exaggerates, and mid range sounds really good as opposed to low range. Nobody’s going to say low range.” Asked if he thinks Harrison knows a lot of dirt on the franchise, Reality Steve said: "I absolutely think it’s true. He’s been there since day one. He’s seen and heard everything that’s gone on on that set... There’s been stories for years of the amount of debauchery that goes on behind the scenes in production, the manipulation of production... the flat-out lying of production to contestants to get the end result that they want.” That said, Carbone added, it would be a pretty hypocritical threat for Harrison’s camp to make, “since he was complicit in it because he knew about it... It is kind of silly of him to be like, ‘Well, I’m gonna expose all your secrets!’ Yeah, all the secrets that you were very well aware of, that you did nothing about at the time?”

ALSO: 

• Page Six reports Chris Harrison demanded a $25 million payout
• Rachel Lindsay, whose Extra interview paved the way for Harrison's exit, is shocked: "I wasn't expecting for it to happen, not after the announcement"
• The Bachelor fans rejoice over Harrison's exit, calling it a positive development
• Is The Bachelor franchise even salvageable now? Harrison's exit doesn't fix the franchise's behind-the-scenes problems
• Bachelor Nation alums react to Harrison's exit: Kaitlyn Bristowe called him "truly irreplaceable as a host"
• Jimmy Fallon roasts Harrison on The Tonight Show: “Harrison knew there was trouble when producers brought his suitcase to a meeting,” Fallon joked. “It’s going to be awkward in the finale when the limo driver lowers the partition to reveal it’s Chris Harrison.”