Entertainment
A New Clip From DeMario's Sit-Down Interview Has Been Released
Bachelor in Paradise Season 4 is back in production, but the two contestants who were at the center of the show's scandal are still involved in the aftermath. Former Bachelor in Paradise contestant DeMario Jackson gave a two-night, three-part interview to E! News in which he is sharing his side of the story. And in the latest clip released on Tuesday morning, Jackson is shown talking about the stereotypes and offensive language that was used against himself and Corinne Olympios after reports about the production shutdown started being released.
"The minute you release this black man's face and this white girl's face, before either of us commented on it, I was already, like, a rapist," Jackson said. "And I was like a — excuse my French — a [bleeped] and a monkey, and she's a whore and she's a slut. And they were slut-shaming her because of what she did last season with Nick [Viall]. For me, again, back to the human race, like, we failed."
After Warner Bros. announced production of BiP Season 4 was being shutdown on June 11 due to "allegations of misconduct," reports surfaced that claimed Jackson and Olympios were allegedly involved in a sexual encounter that may have been nonconsensual. Both Jackson and Olympios hired lawyers soon after. In a statement Jackson said that his character had been assassinated; in her own statement, Olympios called herself a "victim."
Warner Bros. announced that production on Season 4 would resume on June 20 following an internal investigation that didn't show evidence that would support charges of misconduct by a cast member. After this, Olympio's lawyer released a statement saying that his own investigation into the matter would continue:
“It needs to be made crystal clear that production of 'Bachelor in Paradise' was shut down because of multiple complaints received from 'BIP' producers and crew members on the set. It was not shut down due to any complaint filed by Corinne against anyone.
It comes as no surprise that Warner Bros., as a result of its own internal Investigation, would state that no wrong doing had occurred. Our own investigation will continue based on multiple new witnesses coming forward revealing what they saw and heard.”
The first part of Jackson's E! interview aired on Monday night. In that segment, the reality star explained his experience of meeting Olympios and his claims of how a sexual encounter between them went down.
"She's like, 'Let's go to the pool, let's go hang out.'", Jackson claimed in the first part of the interview. "It's crazy because when you're a man — mostly African American man — no matter where you're at, you always look for things that can help you out. And at that moment, I made sure the cameras followed us. It just seemed too perfect in a sense for me, and at the point, that's when my spidey senses got up." In addition, Jackson claimed that a producer told him he should leave the show because, as Jackson put it, "it's going to be bad if you don't leave tonight." Warner Bros. had no comment at this time.
The next part of Jackson's E! interview will air Tuesday, June 27 at 7 p.m. and 11 p.m.