Was 'Bachelor in Paradise' Scandal About Race?

Now that Bachelor in Paradise has resumed filming, one of the contestants on The Bachelorette is speaking out on how he believes race played a factor in the conversations about DeMario Jackson sparked by the controversy.

Will Gaskins, 28, who is currently a contestant on Rachel Lindsay's Bachelorette, knows Jackson from filming together on the ABC reality series. Jackson, who was eliminated in the show's third week, and Bachelor star Corinne Olympios are the two main parties at the center of the firestorm that has been surrounding the ABC franchise.

Gaskins, who has also intervened in the ongoing racially charged dispute playing out on The Bachelorette, believes that race played a factor in the probe that temporarily suspended production on the upcoming fourth season of Paradise. Before producers Warner Bros. Television announced on Tuesday that their internal investigation found no evidence of the alleged misconduct first reported by a producer on the show's Mexico set, the now-national news story had raised questions about consent. The alleged sexual encounter that was being investigated happened between Jackson, a black contestant, and Olympios, a white contestant, and each had been drinking heavily.

Read the rest of this article at The Hollywood Reporter.

Rachel Lindsay is the first African-American lead on any Bachelor franchise series.