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Even on a notoriously steamy show like Bachelor in Paradise, there comes a point when sex is no longer sexy. During the filming of the most recent season, an alleged sex scandal between contestants Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson encroached the fine line between hot and not.
There has been a bit of trouble in Paradise. It was announced on June 11 that filming for the most recent season of Bachelor in Paradise was halted because of an alleged “misconduct” between two contestants, Corinne Olympios, eliminated from Nick Viall’s season of the Bachelor, and DeMario Jackson, eliminated from Rachel Lindsay’s season of the Bachelorette. It’s safe to say the neither were well-liked on their respective seasons. Despite this, the incident was framed as a sex scandal rather than what it really was — a sexual assault.
On June 29th, ABC announced that filming has been resumed, and on July 12th, Corinne and DeMario announced that they will be returning to the show for a special episode. Their return is controversial, but in order to discuss this, here’s a little more about the two:
Corinne Olympios
In Nick’s season of the Bachelor, Corinne immediately emerged as the show’s villain. She stole the show for being an out-of-control troublemaker. After napping during a rose ceremony, many of the girls called the 24-year old too immature for the 36-year old bachelor. Much to everyone’s delight, Corinne did not leave with the final rose after Nick finally came to his senses and sent her home on Week 9. To get a sense of her craziness, here’s a compilation of Corinne’s most outrageous moments.
DeMario Jackson
Recently eliminated by Rachel Lindsay on the still-airing season of the Bachelorette, DeMario’s over-confidence stirred concern about his character. Upon exiting the limo, he was sure he would receive the coveted first impression rose, which of course didn’t happen. Before filming, Rachel was warned of his intentions. On Week Two, a girl who claimed to be his ex-girlfriend crashed the group basketball date, upsetting Rachel and angering many viewers.
What Happens in Paradise
Their journeys for love, however, didn’t end in their tearful limo rides. Like many “heartbroken” contestants who depart from the Bachelor/ette series, Corinne and DeMario continued their search for love (and fame) by signing contracts with ABC for a one-way ticket to Paradise.
Bachelor in Paradise, or BIP, is a spin-off of the Bachelor series that brings together eliminated contestants from previous seasons onto an STD-infested, all-you-can-drink resort in Mexico. The show is a dating game; to avoid elimination, contestants need to pair up. Needless to say, things get a little raunchy.
Paradise is anything but a paradise. Unlike the Bachelor and Bachelorette, there are an equal number of men and women. When 18 heterosexual, scantily-clad young adults are stranded on a beach villa with nothing but an open bar and endless time, there’s bound to be drama. Lots of it.
There’s a lot of booze…
A lot of sex…
And a whole lot of emotional breakdowns!
The Incident and Controversy
So what exactly happened? According to ABC, there was a “pool incident” on June 4th during filming in Mexico. Corinne and DeMario were seen explicitly getting it on in the hot tub, which upset some producers and crew who issued complaints. The aggressive, non-consensual nature of the incident classifies it as a sexual assault, but ABC framed it as a mere misconduct.
As a result, filming was halted to pursue a further investigation. There are multiple sides to the story.
In response to the allegation, DeMario blamed Corinne as the “aggressor”, describing to the press his graphic account of the sexual encounter. He claimed that Corinne was sober, but advanced on him anyways.
Of course, Corinne’s side of the story was much different. In her statement she said,
I am victim and have spent the last week trying to make sense of what happened on June 4. Although I have little memory of that night, something bad obviously took place…
Support has been divided, but most contestants have quickly sided with DeMario. BIP contestant Jasmine Goode, who supposedly witnessed the encounter, spoke out in defence of DeMario, saying she saw Corinne forcing herself on him. According to her, DeMario was unable to consent so it was he who was assaulted.
This controversy is a microcosm of sexual assault at large – specifically, the influence of alcohol and consent. DeMario asserted that Corinne was not drunk, but according to the producers, they both had been drinking and she may have been too intoxicated to consent.
In the battle of who’s to blame, it’s easy to point fingers at Corinne who is the easy one to hate. But no victim of sexual assault, no matter how crazy, “had it coming”. However, many claimed that Corinne did. Why was she not victimized? Do we really hate her that much?
If there’s anything the 2015 Brock Turner rape case at Stanford taught us is that alcohol consumption can be twisted against women to make them seem at fault. This can explain why Corinne is unfairly receiving more negative press than DeMario. Another factor at play is male privilege.
In her letter to her attacker, the Stanford victim wrote not only about how alcohol consumption makes consent impossible, but also the unfairness of Brock’s short sentence because of his privilege.
The letter also stresses how the intervention of bystanders saved her life. Many have left out the role of the producers as bystanders. Corinne and DeMario were obviously drunk. The producers saw it firsthand. One reported it, but why did nobody intervene earlier? According to TMZ, some producers even encouraged the relationship. This makes me skeptical that the “misconduct” was a publicity stunt to hype up the show’s premiere in August.
On a sex-crazed show like the Bachelor in Paradise, we’d like to think that consensual sex is the norm. But the Corinne and DeMario scandal may not be anything new. Similar occurrences must have happened before, but were kept on the down low.
After the scandal, ABC’s owner Warner Bros issued a meaningless “investigation”, which quickly came back empty-handed. Corinne issued her own investigation, but ended it herself, releasing another statement saying that she was satisfied with it and wants to “move on”. Once again, this adds to my skepticism that the whole thing was fabricated.
Back to Paradise
Thankfully for all us Bachelor series fans, the show has resumed filming and is still set to air on August 14.
Following the scandal comes new rules. Now, if contestants want to have sex, they must ask for the producer’s permission. They are also limited to two drinks per hour.
These extra measures sound silly. It’s like asking the teacher for permission to use the washroom. But the craze and chaos that the tequila-induced lust excite necessitates that the contestants be treated like reckless teens. But why weren’t these rules in place before?
The news that Corinne and DeMario are returning is ridiculous. After a sexual assault incident, can they really just pick up where they left off? The footage that was shot around the incident is apparently fair game, except for the video of the assault. If everything is fine, then why can’t we see the tape? Maybe it’s because it never happened…
But if the scandal did occur, moving on so quickly reflects the callous way the TV industry treats incidences of sexual assault. Allowing Corinne and Demario to return to the show is giving a subtle nod as if to say that what happened was no big deal. But sexual assault is a huge deal.
Reality TV insider Andy Dehnart, like many others, have turned to social media to express their frustration.
But was the scandal a stunt to raise ratings? After all, there’s no such thing as bad publicity. If it was — well, that’s messed up. The seriousness of sexual assault should never be abused for such a purpose.
I don’t plan on boycotting the show, but I now realize how the premise of BIP sets the stage for sexual assault. So enjoy watching the binge-drinking and racy sex on the beach come August 14, but keep in mind that the show isn’t all that sexy behind the scenes.