A crew member with Bachelor in Paradise has provided horrifying details of an alleged sexual assault at the center of the show’s misconduct investigation and subsequent production suspension.
On Sunday, news broke that Warner Bros. shut down production and sent the cast home for the fourth season of the Bachelor and Bachelorette spinoff amid an internal “misconduct” investigation. Early reports revealed that a producer had filed a misconduct complaint after a filmed sexual encounter on the first day of shooting between cast members Corinne Olympios, 24, and DeMario Jackson, 30.
Late Monday, TMZ reported that Olympios said she didn’t remember the filmed encounter and was “in a blackout state” and too drunk to consent. Sources close to Jackson also told TMZ he says he was too drunk to consent. Olympios reportedly doesn’t blame Jackson, but insists producers should have stopped the encounter.
“DeMario was trying to reach Corinne via email, Instagram and Facebook for a few days. Finally, [he] got a hold of her, they exchanged numbers and they’ve been talking. They are both speaking and on good terms,” a source close to the cast told Entertainment Tonight.
Representatives for Bachelor in Paradise and Warner Bros. did not provide additional details regarding the nature of their investigation when contacted by the Daily Dot. Olympios and Jackson did not return requests for comment.
But according to the Daily Mail, a crew member on the production team has provided new details to the alleged assault, saying the two spent time together over drinks after being told their “storyline” involved them hooking up. The alleged assault began after they got into the hot tub.
“There was hugging and kissing and touching, but before long, she seemed to go limp and was sliding under water. Demario kept trying to hold her up and at the same time he appeared to be having intercourse with her. After he finished—which only lasted a few seconds—he lifted her out of the water and laid her on the cement, where he proceeded to have oral sex with her.
“She appeared to be unconscious … At that point some of the crew came out and carried her off to her room. She was limp and seemed unable to walk on her own.”
Jackson’s previous account per TMZ disputes part of the crew member’s account, as he allegedly told sources he was too drunk to have penetrative sex. After the investigation was launched, doctors and psychologists were allegedly brought in to interview cast and crew about what they saw, and lawyers deposed witnesses. Cast and crew were told to not speak about what they witnessed.
The crew member alleged that misconduct also extended beyond the issue of consent and into the handling of Olympios’ state, saying she was “on a whole other level:”
“One of the things that really disturbed people was that no one called a doctor or paramedic, which some felt they should have. Instead someone made the decision to just let her sleep it off… When Corinne awoke the next morning, people began filling her in on what happened the night before, because she claimed to have absolutely no recollection of what transpired.
“Corinne is preparing to file a law suit because she feels she was not protected by the show’s producers. And she ended up flying home to Miami after she was examined and interviewed …She was totally distraught and even after being told what happened, she insisted she had no recollection of the events.”
Bachelor franchise host Chris Harrison released a statement on Monday regarding the production suspension and “rumors and misinformation,” reassuring Bachelor nation fans that safety of cast and crew is a priority of the show. Harrison also apologized for “inconvenience and disappointment” brought on by the suspension, and urged patience during the investigation.
“Let me start by saying the safety and care of the cast and crew of our show is of the utmost importance to us … There are a lot of competing details in the various press accounts of the incident. And there’s a lot of misinformation out there too. We urge everyone to be patient until the investigation is complete,” Harrison’s statement read. “I know in this day and age we want and even expect immediate answers but in this case it’s just not possible.”
H/T the Cut