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It’s been a tough few weeks for reality star DeMario Jackson, who recently faced accusations of sexual assault on the set of “Bachelor in Paradise” Season 4. Although Warner Bros. and ABC’s investigation into the situation has determined there was no misconduct, Jackson endured rumors, headlines and press inquiries about the situation and his time on the show.
It hasn’t been easy for him or his family. In an exclusive, three-part interview with E! News, Jackson shared his side of the story on what really happened in “Paradise,” breaking down while discussing the emotional impact the ordeal has had on him.
“It was stressful. For me, mostly for my mother. It’s hard to see your mom cry every single day. It was very difficult,” a teary-eyed Jackson says in a preview clip from the sit-down. He continues: “My dad, he kept me extremely strong and kept me grounded and humble but having your mom cry every day for something that you know you didn’t do …”
Earlier this month, ABC suspended production of “Paradise” after a field producer filed a complaint reportedly claiming that contestant Corinne Olympios did not consent to a sexual encounter with Jackson in a swimming pool. The cast was sent home from Mexico and an investigation was launched.
Last week, Warner Bros. released this statement confirming that no foul play happened on set:
As we previously stated, we recently became aware of allegations regarding an incident on the set of “Bachelor in Paradise” in Mexico. We take all such allegations seriously. The safety, security and well-being of the cast and crew is our number one concern, and we suspended filming so that the allegations could be investigated immediately and thoroughly. Our internal investigation, conducted with the assistance of an outside law firm, has now been completed. Out of respect for the privacy interests of those involved, we do not intend to release the videotape of the incident. We can say, however, that the tape does not support any charge of misconduct by a cast member. Nor does the tape show, contrary to many press reports, that the safety of any cast member was ever in jeopardy. Production of this season of “Bachelor in Paradise” will be resuming, and we plan to implement certain changes to the show’s policies and procedures to enhance and further ensure the safety and security of all participants.
ABC will now resume production on the show, which will air this summer, but Olympios and Jackson will reportedly not be returning.
Olympios’ team released a statement following the news, saying she plans to continue her own investigation into the incident.
“It needs to be made crystal clear that production of ‘Bachelor in Paradise’ was shut down because of multiple complaints received from ‘BIP’ producers and crew members on the set. It was not shut down due to any complaint filed by Corinne against anyone,” her lawyer wrote in the statement. “It comes as no surprise that Warner Bros., as a result of its own internal [i]nvestigation, would state that no wrong doing had occurred. Our own investigation will continue based on multiple new witnesses coming forward revealing what they saw and heard.”
“Bachelor in Paradise” brings together former contestants of “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” for another shot at love. The new season is set to premiere Aug. 8, according to the show’s website.
For more from DeMario Jackson about the “Bachelor in Paradise” scandal, watch E!’s interview airing Monday and Tuesday at 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET.
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Hippogriffs and centaurs, veela and grindylows, unicorns and basilisks ― thanks to J.K. Rowling and “Harry Potter,” mythical beasts like these have become familiar to millions. When he discovers he’s a wizard, Harry is swept off to a school where he learns about these fantastical creatures, as well as magical herbs and powerful potions gleaned from old scrolls of parchment and a library packed with yellowing old books.
But Rowling didn’t originally invent most of the magical beings and blooms in her books. Yes, centaurs and unicorns have had long mythological lives, but so have hippogriffs, veela, grindylows and basilisks; for ”Harry Potter,” she created her own versions of mystical flora and fauna that have been speculated about for centuries.
That means those moldering encyclopedias filled with magical creatures and herbs are real ― well, sort of ― and even us Muggles can curl up at a library with instructions for turning lead into gold or uprooting a mandrake without being tormented by its humanoid shriek.
Not that we all have easy access to a trove of old alchemy texts, of course. Fortunately, the New York Academy of Medicine has come to the rescue: In celebration of the 20th anniversary of “Harry Potter,” they’ve compiled a digital collection of mythical texts found in their own collection that seem to be straight out of the Hogwarts library.
Curator Anne Garner organized the exhibition after noticing that the library’s rare books collection included centuries-old texts on botany, medicine, zoology and even magic that were as fantastical as the subjects studied by Harry and his pals at Hogwarts. “J.K. Rowling’s beloved ‘Harry Potter’ series incorporates many of the stories and superstitions from early scientific writers eager to understand the natural world,” she said in a statement.
The collection includes supposedly scientific descriptions and ink drawings of creatures like merpeople, and plants like mandrakes, complete with little humans (male and female) at the root. Many of these fabled beings were documented, for centuries, alongside real living things like snakes and owls, Garner says. Though the natural historians clearly, and sometimes admittedly, hadn’t seen basilisks or phoenixes, they relied on secondhand description and word of mouth to attempt a thorough, reliable depiction.
It’s not just texts, either ― remember when Harry saved Ron’s life from a fatal poison by shoving a bezoar down his throat? The Academy has a real bezoar, a stony hairball often found in the stomach of a ruminant (theirs is from a cow), and it was indeed believed to be an antidote to poisons.
Check out a selection of the magical texts below, and head to the NYAM website to explore the whole collection.
From June 1 to 30, HuffPost is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the very first “Harry Potter” book by reminiscing about all things Hogwarts. Accio childhood memories.
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Have a case of the Mondays? Cute photo to the rescue!
Vin Diesel shared a very sweet picture of himself and Gal Gadot taking a break from kicking butt and taking names to snuggle with their kiddos on Friday.
“When we aren’t playing superheroes… All love,” the actor wrote in his Facebook post.
Before Gadot landed the role of Wonder Woman, she appeared in several “Fast and Furious” films with Diesel.
Looks like both these on-screen superheroes are also super parents.
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Jimmy Kimmel recently got some different takes on health care from an unlikely source: kids.
On Thursday, Senate Republicans offered a draft of their secretive health care bill. That night, “Jimmy Kimmel Live” acknowledged the news by showing viewers a segment in which he chatted with kids about Americans’ access to medical care.
From trying to convince the kids “fried chicken pox” was a thing, to asking them whether people with money should help others access health care and getting an enthusiastic “of course,” to learning one kid wanted to be like Trump, Kimmel covered a lot of bases in the segment.
To really hammer his point home, he ended his chat with a game of musical chairs and told the kid who lost that he no longer had health care.
“How come if I lose I don’t get health care?” another kid asked.
“Well, that’s the question we’re all asking,” Kimmel said.
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Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden and his Twitter followers are scratching their heads over the new CIA director’s recently expressed disgust at the “worship” of those who leak information like Snowden did.
CIA Director Mike Pompeo, appointed by Donald Trump, said the U.S needs to step up efforts to stop leaks of classified and other information.
“I do think it’s accelerated,” Pompeo told MSNBC’s Hugh Hewitt in an interview, portions of which aired Saturday on MSNBC. “I think there is a phenomenon, the worship of Edward Snowden, and those who steal American secrets for the purpose of self-aggrandizement or money or for whatever their motivation may be, does seem to be on the increase.”
He referred to “not only nation-states trying to steal our stuff, but [also] non-state, hostile intelligence services, well-funded — folks like WikiLeaks — out there trying to steal American secrets for the sole purpose of undermining the United States and democracy.”
Snowden, in exile in Russia from U.S. treason charges for exposing the NSA’s widespread digital surveillance of law-abiding Americans, said the CIA can’t seem to figure out why the “public respects those who reveal official crimes more than those who commit them.”
Twitter responses to the Pompeo interview denied that people “worship” whistleblowers and leakers, but said they do tend to respect them.
Some responses noted it was troubling that leaks about possible corruption and crimes appeared to be more important to authorities than actual corruption and crimes.
Pompeo’s focus on leaks is similar to the president’s. Trump believes those who leak information — whether classified or not — should be sought out and prosecuted. After booted FBI Director James Comey revealed that he leaked information about his meetings with Trump, the president called it “illegal.” The information from Comey, however, may have revealed possible obstruction of justice by the president.
Trump himself leaked classified information from a secret source on the Islamic State to visiting Russian officials in May. He also praised WikiLeaks during the presidential campaign (“I love WikiLeaks!” he said at a campaign rally) when it revealed embarrassing emails from the Democratic National Committee — and he encouraged Russia to hack Hillary Clinton’s emails. Pompeo, too, encouraged people to read the emails hacked by WikiLeaks when he was a Kansas congressman.
“I can only say this,” Pompeo said in the interview. “We, and I would say all of President Trump’s government, is incredibly focused on both stopping leaks of any kind from any agency, and when they happen, pursuing them with incredible vigor.”
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