Billed as “a global celebration of unity and love,” ABC’s Olympics-themed The Bachelor: Winter Games will reportedly feature a Nancy Kerrigan appearance, “winter-themed challenges,” plenty of snow, and roses — but not too much booze.
According to a source who spoke with E! News, ABC enforced new alcohol-consumption guidelines on the upcoming Bachelor spinoff, such as forbidding contestants from drinking immediately before competing in any challenges. (Not a bad idea!) ABC also reportedly implemented a two-drink-per-hour rule, required contestants to log all their drinks, and brought on mental-health and wellness staff members.
The alcohol crackdown is likely a response to last summer’s Bachelor in Paradise sexual-misconduct scandal, in which Corinne Olympios accused fellow contestant DeMario Jackson of sexually assaulting her when she was too intoxicated to consent. According to a Bachelor in Paradise crew member, Olympios “seemed to go limp” during their sexual encounter in a hot tub. (Warner Bros. later claimed there was no wrongdoing.)
While the new guidelines won’t stop contestants from getting at least a little drunk — most people would be if they had four drinks in two hours, which the rules allow — E! News’s insider said, “The producers took this really seriously.”
