A "Bachelor in Paradise" scandal threatens to not only cancel the show, but forever change ABC's long-running hit "Bachelor" franchise going forward.
An alleged incident of "sexual misconduct" that occurred while taping last week in Mexico has shut down production and forced ABC and show producer Warner Horizon into launching an investigation.
On Wednesday, both "Bachelor in Paradise" contestants who are reportedly at the center of the alleged incident, DeMario Jackson and Corinne Olympios, released their first official statements. Both claim they're victims of the scandal and have sought legal counsel.
How did we get here, and what's next? Here's a rundown of all the events we know so far:
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The potential for a sexual-misconduct scandal was already at play.
Before we go into the events of the current scandal, we have to acknowledge that all the elements for it have been cooking for years. It's almost a wonder that it took 15 years of "The Bachelor" and multiple spin-offs for a sexual-misconduct scandal to happen.
Just look at the mix: an attractive young man or woman vying for the attention of equally attractive people, competition, hunger for celebrity, and, in many cases, a real desire to fall in love. Throw alcohol into the mix, and you have a recipe for possible disaster and legal trouble.
That said, the current "Bachelor in Paradise" scandal — in which a female cast member was sexually assaulted while too drunk to consent, according to reports of allegations from those working on the show — stepped over the boundaries set for reality TV.
A veteran reality-TV producer, who has never worked on the "Bachelor" franchise but has worked on similar shows, told Variety that they found this situation "unusual."
"My concern about this situation is that if the person was beyond a point of making her choices and was still being shot and being put into this scenario, it's a very weird situation," the producer said. "When you talk about sexual assault, it's almost always just two people alone and it becomes a he-said-she-said situation; this is the most unusual situation because not only is there a third party, but there are cameras that watched everything that happened and everything that led up to what happened. That, to me, is the smoking gun as to why a franchise worth hundreds of millions of dollars was shut down."
Sunday, June 4: Day of the alleged sexual assault.
With three seasons under its belt, "Bachelor in Paradise" began taping its fourth season on this day in Mexico and was set to last three weeks. It also happened to be the day when the incident occurred, according to reports.
Sources told news outlets that a sexual encounter between DeMario Jackson ("The Bachelorette" season 13) and Corinne Olympios ("The Bachelor" season 21) occurred when she was too drunk to give proper consent and the show's cameras were rolling.
TMZ published a graphic description of the alleged sexual encounter between the contestants in a hot tub.
Tuesday, June 6: An investigation was underway, production halted, and the contestants were placed on lockdown.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, production continued on the show Monday. But at some point between Sunday and Tuesday, a producer filed a complaint about potential sexual misconduct. It isn't clear whether that producer was present while the alleged incident was being taped.
A contestant told People on condition of anonymity that taping was suspended and the cast members were placed on lockdown Tuesday, meaning they were sent to separate rooms, couldn't contact one another, and were under constant supervision by production.
"We were told to stay in a certain part of the [resort] while they figured out what the hell had happened," the contestant 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."
THR reported that Jackson and Olympios were questioned ahead of the other contestants after the complaint was filed and were sent home.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider