Ever since production of ABC’s Bachelor In Paradise was abruptly shut down earlier this month, details about what caused the shutdown have gradually trickled in. Subsequent reports revealed that a producer witnessed what appeared to be a non-consensual sex act between two of the show’s contestants and then failed to do anything about it, and even though production company Warner Bros. didn’t find any “misconduct,” one of the cast members involved, Corinne Olympios, released a statement saying that she’s “a victim” and that her “worst nightmare” has now come true.
The other contestant, DeMario Jackson, has been accused of having sex with Olympios while she was too intoxicated to consent, and he’s now giving his side of the story in a series of interviews with E! News. Naturally, he rejects the claim that Olympios was unable to give consent, saying, “I don’t even know sober girls that could do what she did” and claiming that she initiated at least some of what they did. Basically, as horrifically creepy as it sounds, the gist of Jackson’s argument is that the sex they had was too passionate for her to have been incapacitated. “That night was probably one of the wildest nights of my entire life,” Jackson told E!, “Like, we went for it.”
Jackson goes on to explain that a producer approached him at some point after that night and told him that he needed to leave the show, noting, “I can’t tell you what I know, but it’s going to be bad if you don’t leave tonight.” Production has resumed on Bachelor In Paradise and the show will air as planned, but Jackson will no longer be a part of it. The rest of his E! interview will air tonight on the network.