Chris Harrison Defends ‘Bachelor in Paradise’ After ‘Frustrating’ Shutdown

Debate has swirled around a sexual encounter involving Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson

DeMario Jackson and Corinne Olympios
DeMario Jackson and Corinne Olympios

“Bachelor in Paradise” is back, and host Chris Harrison continues to weigh in on the production shutdown that threatened to derail the ABC dating series’ fourth season.

Harrison appeared on “Good Morning America” on Tuesday, where he was asked about the much-debated sexual encounter between contestants Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson. Warner Bros. briefly halted filming in June following allegations of misconduct before announcing that their investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing.

“You will see that Corinne and DeMario, other than the fact that they were very involved in this, had very little to do with the entire incident as far as filing a complaint or allegations against one another,” Harrison said. “And that’s what created this frustrating situation.”

“It was someone who really wasn’t there and didn’t see or hear anything that kind of got this ball rolling, and so it was kind of this domino effect that I guess led to us having to finally say, ‘Look, we need to take everybody’s safety, and that is the utmost importance,’” the franchise mainstay continued.

Monday’s Season 4 premiere showed Olympios and Jackson arriving on the beach and flirting with each other, but ABC has said that it will not air footage of the incident. Both individuals will discuss the scandal during next week’s episode.

“Bachelor in Paradise” airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.

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