***UPDATE #2***: Paparazzi speak to DeMario Jackson.

***UPDATE*** : Chris Harrison apologizes for the “inconvenience and disappointment” and is hopeful that the season will resume 

On Tuesday morning Good Morning America released an exclusive statement from Bachelor Nation host Chris Harrison. His statement started off by reassuring everyone that the safety and care of the cast and crew “is of the utmost importance,” which is why they made the decision to suspend filming. He then went on to discuss the fate of the season: “They’re moving quickly to gather all the facts, and once that’s done a clear concise decision can be made about where we go from here.” He promises to keep us as informed and up to date on the situation as he can and apologizes for the inconvenience and disappointment: “It is my sincere hope that we can come to a quick resolution on this and get back to work very soon.”

 

***ORIGINAL STORY***

It seems that something very serious went down in Paradise—and the entire season may be canned because of it.

One of our favourite shows of the summer has been put on hold—and might even be cancelled. Here’s what we know about the Bachelor in Paradise suspension, news of which began making the rounds on social media last night.

It all started when the entire cast of BIP (minus DeMario and Corinne) was spotted at the airport flying *out* of Puerta Vallarta, Mexico.

 

 

Shortly after this, Warner Bros. released a public statement saying that production has been suspended to investigate what they’re calling “misconduct.”

Here’s what they said:

“We have become aware of allegations of misconduct on the set of Bachelor in Paradise in Mexico. We have suspended production and we are conducting a thorough investigation of these allegations. Once the investigation is complete, we will take appropriate responsive action.”

More information has come to light since the Warner statement, including:

 

The contestants in question are allegedly Corinne and DeMario:

According to Amy Kaufman, the Los Angeles Times writer who broke the story on Twitter, an incident between DeMario and Corinne is what’s behind the shutdown. Apparently the two contestants got extremely intoxicated on the first day of filming and proceeded to get naked in the pool. Amy’s tweets confirmed that they *didn’t* have sex but things got real raunchy, real fast.

 

 

 

Corinne allegedly could not give consent for what transpired in the pool:

 

A source close to the show told People that “it appears as though conduct allegedly occurred without the proper consent having been given.” And according to TMZ, Corinne was apparently “so drunk she had no idea what was going on in the pool.”

 

A contestant has allegedly spoken up to say that Corinne was taken advantage of

A unidentified season 4 contestant told People that two other cast members saw the interaction between DeMario and Corinne and are upset the crew didn’t do more to stop it. “People are pissed, and not just at DeMario. We’re pissed that this whole thing happened,” the contestant said. “They could have seen that she was drinking too much and that he was taking advantage. They could have stopped this before it got this far. But they decided to let it go, and let it happen, and see what happened? So, I’m angry at the show, and everyone else is too.”

 

Multiple contestants tried voicing their concerns to the producers while it was happening 

According to TMZ, the day after the swimming pool incident cast members told Corinne what went down with DeMario and said they had voiced concern to the production crew that she was too intoxicated to consent, but they didn’t listen.

 

A producer blew the whistle on the encounter

According to Amy Kaufman’s Twitter thread, the day after the incident, a producer who witnessed the hookup didn’t show up to work and instead went on to sue the production for misconduct.

 

 

The contestants have been sent home and the season has been put on (a possibly permanent) hold
No official statement has been made to confirm that the season will actually be cancelled but according to Reality Steve, things aren’t looking good:

 

 

 

Corinne allegedly says she did not consent to sexual activity with DeMario, and has hired a lawyer
According to TMZ, Corinne allegedly says she was “in a blackout state” when she got in the pool with DeMario and doesn’t remember anything. Sources tell TMZ that Corinne allegedly doesn’t “fully blame” DeMario but does blame the producers for not stopping the encounter. She has—also according to TMZ—hired a lawyer.

 

*We’ll be updating this story as we learn more*

Filed under: Bachelor in Paradise, flare, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette