Chris Harrison is speaking out on the news that Bachelor in Paradise is shutting down production because of allegations of misconduct.
Harrison told People in a statement that production has ceased, but did not go into detail about the reasons “out of respect to all involved.” He added that there is a lot of “misinformation being put out there.”
The Bachelor host also released the same statement on Good Morning America, which added:
“The safety and care of the cast and crew of our show is of the utmost importance to us. It is with this thought in mind that we made the decision to suspend filming.”
Production allegedly shut down and contestants were sent home after a Warner Bros. opened an internal investigation into a sexual encounter between Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson that was filmed. A producer was concerned that consent could not be given.
According to reports from TMZ, Corinne has lawyered up and claims she was “in a blackout state” when the encounter took place. Insiders familiar with the footage say Corinne appeared to be “fully engaged.”
Reportedly, other contestants were concerned about Corinne’s ability to give consent during the encounter, but their concerns were dismissed by the production crew.
Corinne has allegedly said she has a boyfriend outside of the show and would not do anything that would jeopardize that relationship if she were cognizant, especially with cameras rolling.
DeMario, meanwhile, says he remembers everything.
Corinne was reportedly drunk the entire day of filming before she wound up naked in the pool with DeMario.
Harrison says Warner Bros. is working quickly to get all of the facts and details about what happened.
“They’re moving quickly to gather all the facts, and once that’s done a clear concise decision can be made about where we go from here,” said Harrison.
Bachelor in Paradise was originally scheduled to return on August 4.
