This week, Bachelor Nation has been captivated by an investigation into "allegations of misconduct" which led to filming on Bachelor in Paradise being canceled. Last night, the Bachelorette star and man allegedly at the center of the incident, DeMario Jackson, spoke out about the rumors.
The incident allegedly involved Jackson (who is freshly off Rachel Lindsay's season), Corinne Olympios (who appeared on Nick Viall's season of The Bachelor), copious amounts of alcohol, and "extremely sexual" acts in a swimming pool that may or may not have been consensual, according to various "inside" sources as reported by TMZ.
In a statement via his publicist, Eve Sarkisyan-Nunn, Jackson said last night:
It's unfortunate that my character and family name has been assassinated this past week with false claims and malicious allegations. I will be taking swift and appropriate legal action until my name is cleared and, per the advice of legal counsel, will be seeking all available remedies entitled to me under the laws.
Jackson's response came hours after his would-have-been co-star, Corinne Olympios, gave her own statement yesterday. "I am a victim and have spent the last week trying to make sense of what happened the night of June 4," she said. "Although I have little memory of that night, something bad obviously took place."
So what happened the night of June 4? Here's what we know so far:
On Sunday, TMZ reported that the season had been called off "after a producer complained about two contestants getting extremely sexual in a swimming pool." And multiple "inside" sources reportedly told TMZ that those allegations involved DeMario Jackson, 30, and Corinne Olympios, 24.
Shortly after the news broke of the season's suspension, Warner Bros. released this statement:
We have become aware of allegations of misconduct on the set of Bachelor in Paradise in Mexico. We have suspended production and we are conducting a thorough investigation of these allegations. Once the investigation is complete, we will take appropriate responsive action.
According to a report in People on Monday, anonymous sources involved with the show said that the woman involved in the recent incident (who we now know to be Corinne Olympios) was "too drunk to consent" to sexual acts that took place on camera. And that even though members of the cast allegedly brought this to the production team's attention, no one did anything to intervene during the alleged assault, according to the sources.
"People are pissed, and not just at DeMario. We’re pissed that this whole thing happened," a contestant anonymously told People. "They could have seen that she was drinking too much and that he was taking advantage. They could have stopped this before it got this far. But they decided to let it go, and let it happen, and see what happened? So, I’m angry at the show, and everyone else is too."
Then on Tuesday, Bachelor in Paradise host Chris Harrison released a lengthy statement on Good Morning America in which he asked fans to "please be patient and respect the privacy of the parties involved" as the investigation continues. He concluded:
We're sorry for any inconvenience and disappointment this may have caused the cast, the crew and our loyal fans. It is my sincere hope that we can come to a quick resolution on this and get back to work very soon.
Good luck with that, Chris Harrison.