On Sunday, Warner Bros. announced that the Bachelor spinoff show Bachelor in Paradise would stop filming in Mexico due to "allegations of misconduct on the set." Then, People reported that a source from the show knew the reason it was cancelled: Contestant DeMario Jackson had been accused of sexually assaulting another contestant while she was incapacitated. Another source told The Los Angeles Times that a producer had filed a complaint after seeing Jackson and Corinne Olympios hook up while drunk in the pool. According to yet another People source, the Mexican Tourism Board, which sponsors the show, made the decision to cancel its support.
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While they didn't reveal the reasons behind the show's cancellation, one anonymous former contestant has also spoken to People about what happened on set beforehand. The show went into lockdown, they explained, which meant nobody was allowed to talk to anyone, and cameras were following them everywhere.
“We were told to stay in a certain part of the [resort] while they figured out what the hell had happened," they said. "We knew something bad had happened; there was a dark energy that came around the house. You have to understand that we weren’t even there a week. The game hadn’t even really begun yet."
On Thursday, they were reportedly told that the show was going to stop filming, and many contestants were angry. "We’re pissed that this whole thing happened," the contestant said. "They could have stopped this before it got this far."
Another former contestant similarly told People they were upset that the show's staff didn't stop the alleged assault. "They could have seen that she was drinking too much and that he was taking advantage," they said.
"We all feel used," said the latest contestant to speak out. "We’re pissed off. People had planned their lives around this. Contestants quit their jobs for this. We all had to step away from our real lives for three weeks."