美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Bachelor In Paradise' Suspends Filming After Sexual Assault Allegations

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

ABC may never air the next season of its "Bachelor in Paradise," a fizzy spinoff of the network's reality romance show, "The Bachelor." Warner Bros. has suspended production following allegations that the show may have filmed one cast member sexually assaulting another. And the show's producers have been tight-lipped about what happened on the set in a Mexican resort. Now, it's not the first time that a reality show has filmed cast members in dangerous or questionable¹ situations. Here to talk more about all this is writer and TV critic Andy Denhart. Welcome to the program.

ANDY DENHART: Thanks, Audie.

CORNISH: So far, what is known about what the actual allegations are here about what went on?

DENHART: So production on Bachelor in Paradise was suspended. And all the contestants³ were sent home. And that was because there was some kind of incident between two of the contestants where one or both of them may have been too drunk to consent to sexual activity. That happened just yesterday. Corinne Olympios identified herself as the female contestant² involved in that and said that she is a victim. She is pursuing both therapy and legal action to deal with the fallout from what happened.

And the other person involved, DeMario Jackson has identified himself and said that the allegations and all the reports that have sort of come out, mostly anonymously⁴, are inaccurate⁵ and false and that he intends to pursue legal action, as well. So right now we're really unclear exactly what happened between them or whether or not it was filmed by crew members. But there's definitely a lot of questions.

CORNISH: From your position as a watcher of this world, were you surprised by this?

DENHART: You know, unfortunately, no. I think, on some level, it's surprising maybe that something like this didn't happen earlier just because that volatile⁶ combination of alcohol and, also, the desire to essentially⁷ perform for the cameras is such a potent⁸ combination.

CORNISH: When it comes to the reality genre⁹ as we know it - and I'm going to go back to, say, like, the early '90s kind of MTV "Real World" time. There are certain things we expect - that there's going to be these, like, beautiful, young people sequestered¹⁰ with a lot of alcohol, getting kind of goosing from producers - right? - towards various storylines. Is there some code about, like, when they draw the line or take action when a situation is becoming a bad one?

DENHART: There is not. And I think "Real World" in those early seasons really was pretty much a pure documentary. Yeah, they put some people in a house together who otherwise wouldn't have lived there. And, sure, they paid their rent. But, otherwise, they were just kind of filming for months and months and watching what happened.

But, over the years, as reality got more popular and as budget started to shrink and producers were under pressure from networks to deliver clearly defined storylines even sometimes before filming began, I think that line kept getting moved further and further, until, eventually, no one knew where the line was anymore. And so what happens is completely up to everybody, from the individual producers on the ground all the way up to network executives.

CORNISH: So where does that leave the cast members, right? I mean, are they essentially responsible for their own actions? Are they protected legally in any way when they sign up to do a reality show?

DENHART: Cast members, at least from our perspective as audience members, seem like they are completely in control. But, of course, we're only seeing what has been edited into a broadcast. We're not seeing any of the interaction with producers. And so I think, a lot of times, they are basically pawns¹¹ being moved around on a chessboard by producers in a worst-case scenario¹². I think some unscripted reality shows do an excellent job of just showing up and filming and doing that in a very ethical¹³ and responsible way.

CORNISH: What should we expect next? As we know, production has stopped. You now have these people involved making some statements in the press. Do we know what the next move is here?

DENHART: Warner Bros., which produces the show, is doing an investigation¹⁴. The information we have right now is that should take a week or two. And then it's a good question after that. I doubt we'll ever see that show again. And I hope that this would be a great moment for not only the Bachelor franchise¹⁵ but for reality TV in general to kind of reckon with what it has become and how it treats the human beings that become entertainment for us.

And I really would hope that we would be able to look at it critically and say, this isn't OK anymore, and we really do need to draw some clear boundaries and guidelines to make sure that those people are - sure - having fun, challenging themselves, providing entertainment but also being protected by the people who are making television.

CORNISH: Andy Daynard is editor of Reality Blurred¹⁶, a blog that covers reality television. Thank you so much for speaking with us.

DENHART: Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

1 questionable   

adj.可疑的，有问题的

参考例句：

• There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
• Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。

2 contestant   

n.竞争者，参加竞赛者

参考例句：

• The company will furnish each contestant with a free ticket.公司将为每个参赛者免费提供一张票。
• The personal appearance and interview of the contestant is another count.参加比赛者的个人仪表和谈话也是一项。

3 contestants   

n.竞争者，参赛者( contestant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The competition attracted over 500 contestants representing 8 different countries. 这次比赛吸引了代表8个不同国家的500多名参赛者。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency. 两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 anonymously   

ad.用匿名的方式

参考例句：

• The manuscripts were submitted anonymously. 原稿是匿名送交的。
• Methods A self-administered questionnaire was used to survey 536 teachers anonymously. 方法采用自编“中小学教师职业压力问卷”对536名中小学教师进行无记名调查。

5 inaccurate   

adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的

参考例句：

• The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。
• She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。

6 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

7 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

8 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

9 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

10 sequestered   

adj.扣押的；隐退的；幽静的；偏僻的v.使隔绝，使隔离( sequester的过去式和过去分词 )；扣押

参考例句：

• The jury is expected to be sequestered for at least two months. 陪审团渴望被隔离至少两个月。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Everything he owned was sequestered. 他的一切都被扣押了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 pawns   

n.（国际象棋中的）兵( pawn的名词复数 )；卒；被人利用的人；小卒v.典当，抵押( pawn的第三人称单数 )；以（某事物）担保

参考例句：

• The hostages are being used as political pawns. 人质正被用作政治卒子。
• The allies would fear that they were pawns in a superpower condominium. 这个联盟担心他们会成为超级大国共管的牺牲品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

13 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

14 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

15 franchise   

n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权

参考例句：

• Catering in the schools is run on a franchise basis.学校餐饮服务以特许权经营。
• The United States granted the franchise to women in 1920.美国于1920年给妇女以参政权。

16 blurred   

v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离

参考例句：

• She suffered from dizziness and blurred vision. 她饱受头晕目眩之苦。
• Their lazy, blurred voices fell pleasantly on his ears. 他们那种慢吞吞、含糊不清的声音在他听起来却很悦耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》