And yet another voice weighs in on the Bachelor In Paradise scandal involving an on-set incident between stars Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson, which led to allegations of misconduct by a producer and the shutting-down of production on the series last week. This new perspective on the muddled situation comes from Jackson's ex-girlfriend, Lexi Thexton. Thexton thinks her ex is a piece of shit, but she doesn't believe he sexually assaulted Olympios — and goes so far as to accuse Olympios of twisting the facts to "cover up for herself."
Thexton — who made a bombshell appearance on episode 2 of the current Bachelorette, where she epically confronted Rachel Lindsay and Jackson (with receipts!) for failing to break up with her before the show ("You still have the keys to my apartment you motherfucker!") — spilled her take on the incident to TMZ. She insists DeMario is a partier, but not an aggressor.
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"He loves to drink. He's like, a 30-year-old man-child, goes to music festivals every weekend, he's drunk every night — like, he is literally always partying," she begins. "So like I said, I was not at all shocked that he got wasted and got involved in some drama. But it doesn’t sound to me like he was predatory or, like, an aggressor. It sounds like the situation got messy and [Olympios] kind of wanted to cover up for herself."
She continued, defending Jackson — who lost his job and claimed character assassination earlier this week — based on his past behavior. "All of the conversations I’ve ever had with him when he was drunk, he’s always just really, like, fun and playful and belligerent. I never saw him be aggressive or, like, domineering any way like that." Thexon continued, "It sounds to me like everybody was drunk. But I really don’t think that he would take advantage of someone that was, like, almost unconscious and unable to consent... And like I said, I truly hate him. I think he's a shitty guy, he's self-absorbed, he's not a good person. But I don't think he would do something like this, I really don't."
Given the fact that Warner Bros. TV is investigating the allegations, and that Olympios has hired her own powerhouse team of experts, it's only a matter of time before the facts emerge — and we can all stop guessing about what truly went down on that doomed set.