“Bachelor in Paradise” contestant Corinne Olympios has released a statement after Warner Bros. suspended production on the show due to allegations of sexual misconduct.
She has also hired Hollywood power lawyer Marty Singer, it was announced Wednesday. Singer previously represented people including Bill Cosby and Arnold Schwarzenegger, as attorney.
“I am a victim and have spent the last week trying to make sense of what happened on June 4,” Olympios said in a statement obtained by TheWrap. “Although I have little memory of that night, something bad obviously took place, which I understand is why production on the show has now been suspended and a producer on the show has filed a complaint against the production.”
Her statement continued, “As a woman, this is my worst nightmare and it has now become my reality. As I pursue the details and facts surrounding that night and the immediate days after, I have retained a group of professionals to ensure that what happened on June 4 comes to light and I can continue my life, including hiring an attorney to obtain justice and seeking therapy to begin dealing with the physical and emotional trauma stemming from that evening.”
Warner Bros., the studio behind the “Bachelor” franchise, said Sunday it halted production on the popular ABC reality show following “allegations of misconduct,” and that an investigation is underway. It appeared to involve questions about whether a sexual encounter occurred between two cast members, and whether the female contestant was too inebriated to give consent.
No one has publicly gone into detail about what transpired on the set, but TMZ, citing unnamed sources, reported that while male contestant DeMario Jackson and the woman, who was previously unnamed, were in a swimming pool, she “put her genitals in his face and he began licking. He says he was unable to consummate things because he was so drunk.” TMZ said a producer complained to Warner Bros. that producers did nothing to stop it and continued to film.
A field producer who had been assigned to shadow the female contestant said the woman “seemed so drunk … she had no ability to consent to DeMario Jackson’s sexual moves in a swimming pool, and producers nonetheless let it play out on film,” TMZ reported.
There has been no criminal investigation up to this point, and Warner Bros. has no issued no further statement about the alleged incident.
The “Bachelor” spinoff, which shoots in Puerto Vallarta, was scheduled to premiere on Tuesday, Aug. 8. No decision has been made about whether the show will be continued in the future.