Chris Harrison has confirmed Bachelor in Paradise will air a substantial amount of footage documenting the events that led up to Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson's sexual encounter and production suspension.
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ABC announced last month Bachelor in Paradise will debut on Monday, August 14 at 8PM ET/PT.
The show was initially scheduled to premiere on August 8, but filming was halted in June after a producer filed a complaint alleging misconduct in regards to Corinne and DeMario's public hookup. Since both cast members had been drinking heavily that day, consent to the sexual encounter was in question.
"It's going to be literally dealt with the moment we come on the air," Harrison said of the stop in production.
"We'll start talking about it right away and start dealing with it. If you don't, it's the elephant in the room and then it will taint the entire season... You're going to see a lot of it, including Corinne and DeMario on the show."
While Warner Bros. was investigating the incident, Corinne released a statement in the press calling herself "a victim," which suggested DeMario had taken advantage of her. At the time, DeMario complained his character was being "assassinated with false claims and malicious allegations."
Warner Bros. concluded there was no evidence of misconduct or sexual assault on the set of Bachelor in Paradise, so ABC resumed taping Season 4. Corinne later clarified she felt victimized by the fact people were judging her through "conflicting reports" of the incident since she had "no recollection of the events that transpired."
The actual sexual encounter will not be shown on the air, but Harrison said little will be left to the imagination.
"There's been a lot written and assumed and said about what we're going to do and what we're not going to do. We had already shot for three days [before the shutdown] and a lot had actually happened -- a lot of people had arrived, there had been dates, we'd gotten to the point where there was about to be our first Rose Ceremony," Harrison explained to EW.
"So, we had a week's worth of stuff. We didn't want to just throw that away because that's what impacted the show and it's what led to the shutdown. We thought you needed to see that."
Harrison added, "We want to show everybody [footage] and then get on with Paradise because there are some wonderful things that are going to be happening."
The Bachelor in Paradise host revealed that when Season 4 premieres on August 14, the episode will begin with Harrison "back in Mexico, walking you through what happened."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW"And then we're going to watch what happened. And then we'll cut back to me and I'll kind of shed some more light on things and then we're going to go back and you're going to see more of what happened, [and] not just the controversial. You're going to see a lot of things, people falling in love, a lot of dates happening," he said.
When production resumed and the original cast returned to Mexico to continue filming, Corinne and DeMario did not participate. However, reports have circulated the pair will appear on the fourth-season reunion special later this summer.
"I think people have this preconceived notion of what it was like and what was going on and really the only way to prove anything or show you anything is to all watch it and you can judge for yourself," Harrison teased of the new season.
"So that will involve seeing Corinne and DeMario and it will also involve [Carly Waddell] and [Evan Bass]'s wedding."
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
