DeMario Jackson Says Rogue ‘BIP’ Producer Who Filed Sexual Misconduct Claim Was Corinne Olympios’ Best Friend

DeMario Jackson is setting the record straight regarding the Bachelor in Paradise scandal that he was involved in, which temporarily shut down production of the ABC reality show earlier this summer. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Jackson revealed that a producer jumped the gun after he engaged in a sexual encounter with fellow Bachelor in Paradise castmate Corinne Olympios. And in a bizarre twist, Jackson now reveals that the producer was actually Corinne Olympios’ best friend.

Filming of the fourth season of Bachelor in Paradise was abruptly halted after a sexual encounter between an intoxicated Corinne and DeMario in the hot tub at the show’s Sayulita, Mexico resort was called into question by a producer. According to DeMario, the new producer never saw the intimate moment or the footage, yet still filed a misconduct allegation, which forced Warner Bros. Television to suspend production of the show to launch an internal investigation. No wrongdoing was found, and the show resumed filming two weeks later without Olympios or Jackson.

DeMario Jackson told THR he was blindsided when he was pulled away by Bachelor in Paradise producers, and it didn’t even occur to him that it had anything to do with his mutual romp with Corinne. In fact, he initially wondered if it had something to do with his ex-girlfriend who showed up during the filming of Rachel Lindsay’s season of The Bachelorette and interrupted a group basketball date.

“When I spoke to production, I asked, “Did Corinne say something?” They said no. I asked, “Did I say something?” They said no. I said, “So why the f**k are we having this conversation?” DeMario revealed.

“This third-party who wasn’t present and who didn’t view the video can just say she wants to shut down the production? It didn’t make sense to me.”

#BachelorInParadise: How Corinne Olympios, DeMario Jackson encounter played out on-air https://t.co/I7plwNidUG pic.twitter.com/0QXnrxT6Lj

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) August 15, 2017

DeMario revealed that when he found out who the “third party” producer was who filed the complaint about his sexual activity with Corinne, it made even less sense to him.

“The only thing I know about that person is that she is Corinne’s best friend,” Jackson told THR. “When I heard who it was, I thought it was weird….She left that next day. Up and left.”

Jackson revealed that he asked Bachelor in Paradise producers if they had talked to Corinne about their encounter, and they admitted she said everything was “cool.”

“I asked, “If she said everything is cool, and I said everything is cool, then why are we having this conversation?” DeMario revealed.

“They said it was protocol. … I want to know from that producer just straight up, why? Because she never even told a high-level producer, she just jumped the gun. I want to know, why? That’s it. It would be like you seeing something crazy at work and instead of going to your boss to say something, you just quit.”

According to the Daily Mail, the short-lived Bachelor in Paradise producer allegedly stepped in because she thought Corinne’s caught-on-camera sexual antics with DeMario would make her friend look bad.

“The name of the girl is Shelby Adams, she is a producer on the show and apparently one of Corinne’s best friends,” an insider told the Daily Mail. Adams was also reportedly a producer on Nick Viall’s season of The Bachelor.

#BachelorinParadise star DeMario Jackson says scandal never would have happened if he were white https://t.co/NerQVzNYQ8 pic.twitter.com/JdtM8QvfWW

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) August 17, 2017

But Jackson said that while his taped encounter with Olympios wasn’t shown on the Bachelor in Paradise premiere, he’s glad he signaled a cameraman to follow them to the pool.

“Luckily that producer followed me over [to the pool with Corinne] because I gave him the look. He followed me over with cameras,” Jackson told THR.

DeMario Jackson also made it clear that he thinks racism played a big part in the headline-making Bachelor in Paradise scandal.

“I think people wanted it to be something different,” Jackson said of his on-set encounter with Olympios.

“They wanted the angry black guy and this little, innocent white girl. But it wasn’t that.”

DeMario added that if he was white, or if Olympios was black, “we wouldn’t even be having this discussion at all.”

DeMario Jackson and Corinne Olympios will both tell their sides of the story—in separate sit-downs—when Bachelor in Paradise returns next week.

Bachelor in Paradise airs Mondays and Tuesdays on ABC.

[Featured Image by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Images]