'Bachelor' and 'Bachelorette' contestants have to speak to producers before they have sex, author claims
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Amy Kaufman, the author of “Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America’s Favorite Guilty Pleasure,” said the show has changed in the wake of the 2017 production shutdown of “Bachelor in Paradise.”
Kaufman revealed to Fox News that the show instituted several new rules in the wake of the scandal involving Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson.
The show came under intense scrutiny after a producer claimed Olympios was too drunk to consent to a sexual encounter in a pool with Jackson.
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Warner Bros. and ABC shut down production of the “Bachelor” spinoff series but resumed it a week later after determining no misconduct had occurred. Still, the franchise hasn’t been the same since, Kaufman insisted.
“The first rule instituted after the controversy was that there needed to be a two-drink per-hour maximum beginning at noon,” Kaufman claimed. “So, obviously that still could be a lot of drinks if you’re having two drinks per hour for the rest of the day.”
She said the other rule involves consent, which has to be expressed on camera.
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“The other rule that production instituted was one where if you wanted to engage in sexual activity with someone or spend the night with someone, you had to go to a producer before you went to the bedroom and say, you know, ‘I am Amy and I would like to spend the night with Brad. I am giving my full consent,’ and that had to be filmed so that they knew that both parties were willing participants.”
In her book, Kaufman delivers an eye-opening read on the inner-workings of ABC’s “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette.” She writes social media changed the game for contestants.
Kaufman reveals that before social media, many of the contestants on “The Bachelor” would dole out a lot of money for their dresses during the iconic rose ceremonies.
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“So, if you’re there the whole time, that’s a lot of dresses,” Kaufman quipped. “Now in the age of Instagram, contestants will sometimes go to their hometown boutiques and say, ‘I’m going to be on “The Bachelor” on ABC. It has millions of people watching every week and if you lend me these dresses or even gift them to me, you will get major exposure.’”
The “Bachelor Nation” author spoke to former contestants to understand just how hefty that social media income after the show could be.
“Bachelor” alum Ashley Iaconetti revealed she transformed her 802,000 followers on Instagram into a source of income, largely through posting sponsored photos.
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Kaufman writes, “She’s [Iaconetti’s] figured out, roughly, how many followers translate into how many dollars. 250,000 followers =$1,000 [per] ad... And if you have 1 million followers? You’re probably getting at least $10,000 per ad.”