DeMario Jackson is sharing his thoughts on how “Bachelor in Paradise” handled the disputed incident between himself and fellow Season 4 contestant Corinne Olympios that led to a brief shutdown in production.
The ABC dating series returned with its two-part premiere this week following a temporary halt to filming in June to investigate allegations of misconduct. The episodes dealt with the scandal, as the returning cast members told host Chris Harrison that they wanted to resume filming and didn’t think that Jackson or Olympios had done anything wrong. (Neither Jackson nor Olympios returned to the show.)
Jackson told “Entertainment Tonight” after the premiere aired that he feels “vindicated” by the scenes of himself spending time with Olympios. ABC opted not to air footage of their sexual encounter, and specifics of it were not discussed on the episodes.
“I feel like they rolled enough of the tape,” Jackson said. “You can’t show too much, because that’s gonna disrespect both Corinne and I, and I just feel like it wouldn’t be the best or the classiest thing to do.”
“The public, they need to see something. I think they just needed to see [that] she’s lucid, I’m lucid. We’re swimming around. We’re having fun. We’re friends,” he continued. “It wasn’t like I’m some predator who was at the bar waiting for the girl to get extremely drunk, then I’m like, ‘Oops! Let me pounce on her.’ No, it was very mutual, and in fact, she was a little bit of the aggressor in it, and I love how they painted the picture and the story of us actually talking, mingling, getting to know each other.”
Jackson said he wasn’t happy to get sent home from the show, and that the ensuing scandal made him “heartbroken, angry and depressed.”
The “Bachelorette” Season 13 alum said he felt “suicidal, but not like the suicidal that you might think.” He added, “I never thought, ‘Oh, I’m gonna kill myself,’ but it crossed my mind.”
“Bachelor in Paradise” airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.