The INSIDER Summary:
- DeMario Jackson spoke openly with The Hollywood Reporter about the sexual misconduct allegations involving him on ABC's "Bachelor in Paradise."
- He spoke about how race played a factor into the allegations.
- He also added that his interactions with Corinne Olympios, the other contestant involved in the scandal, were consensual.
"Bachelor in Paradise" returned to the airwaves this week and addressed the sexual misconduct scandal that threatened to end production with a cast discussion on consent and how they felt race played a factor in the allegations.
Production on the ABC reality dating show was temporarily shutdown after an incident involving contestants DeMario Jackson, 30, and Corinne Olympios, 25. After an investigation, no misconduct was found and production resumed, but neither Jackson nor Olympios returned to the Mexican resort.
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Jackson, spoke candidly about the allegations and said the scandal wouldn't have happened if he was white.
"I think people wanted it to be something different," he said. "They wanted the angry black guy and this little, innocent white girl. But it wasn't that."
He later added: "If I would have been Alex [Woytkiw] or Derek [Peth, two white contestants], we wouldn't even be having this conversation, I would probably be engaged to Alexis [Waters, another contestant] right now."
When asked what would have happened if Olympios had been black, Jackson said, "This wouldn't have been a story. We wouldn't even be having this discussion at all. Right now, you would just be watching 'Paradise' and saying, 'DeMario's whistle is so annoying!'"
Jackson said he was "relieved" that the scandal was addressed on the show, even though the incident in question wasn't actually aired.
"The thing I wanted people to see is that we were very coherent and lucid and having fun," he said. "We were having conversations and swimming around. We were two homies having fun. Even the next day."
He contends that the alleged incident was totally consensual.
"It was 100% consensual," he said. "She hopped in my arms, she pulled me into the pool. You've seen that with your own eyes."
Jackson and Olympios individually sat down with host Chris Harrison for interviews that will be aired in the upcoming weeks where they separately address the allegations and incident.
Read THR's full interview with Jackson here.
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