Bachelor in Paradise has now resumed production after sexual misconduct allegations threatened the third season of the booze-soaked summer reality hookup show — but not without some tweaks to the formula. As we previously mentioned, going forward the contestants will have all prescription and over-the-counter drugs confiscated from them, and any necessary medication will be doled out by an on-set nurse.
Additionally, TMZ is now reporting that the contestants are going to have their alcohol intake monitored to avoid another incident similar to the one that went down between Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson.
Production sources tell us there is now a 2 drink max per hour. We’re told the crew is monitoring drinking levels among the cast and the bartenders are also responsible for keeping tabs.
Producers have also made a point of providing food at all times during the shoots … presumably to absorb the alcohol.
Two drinks per hour is still certainly nothing to sniff at, especially when you consider that many of these women on the show can’t weigh more than 110 or 120 pounds. Although so far it seems to be working, as sources from the set say that as of a few days into filming nothing too “crazy” has happened so far — which TMZ also points out may or may not be a great thing for Bachelor in Paradise ratings.
Speaking of DeMario Jackson, on Monday the ousted contestant gave an interview to E! News maintaining his recollection of what went down on set, insisting that it was in fact Corinne who was the aggressive party. He says that things started out innocently enough, but quickly escalated after hanging out at the bar and having a few drinks.
She’s like, ‘Let’s go to the pool, let’s go hang out. 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.
[We were] kissing, rubbing, touching. It’s nothing too sexual yet. Things got wild because it was more her being the aggressor, which was sexy… When you have a very attractive girl telling you what she wants, it’s like a very, like, ‘Wow, OK! This is hot. This is very… I like it.’
For her part, Olympios has not backed down on claims that she was a victim in the situation, and her lawyer Marty Singer is still apparently conducting an independent investigation into the sexual assault allegations.