One of the major conflicts in Bachelor in Paradise Season 8, Episode 2 was the mysterious arrival of contestant Salley Carson‘s suitcase. But something far more outrageous than a suitcase arriving without an owner went down when several women decided to snoop through said suitcase, dump Carson’s belongings out on the floor, and steal her vibrator??? What the heck, ladies?
In case you missed the episode, Carson got a little hung up, but she is joining her suitcase on the show eventually. She was briefly a contestant on Clayton’s season of The Bachelor, but left before the limos even arrived at the mansion because she wasn’t over her ex-fiancé Avery Buchholz. Though none of the women in Paradise really know Carson, they already have negative feelings about her. (Especially Genevieve Parisi, since Carson reportedly hooked up with her Paradise crush Justin Glaze at Stagecoach.)
Anyway, on Monday’s episode, Lace Morris stumbled upon Salley’s unattended suitcase and grabbed fellow contestants Genevieve, Jill Chin, Hunter Haag, and Sierra Jackson to investigate. Jill, for whatever reason, went straight to unzipping the suitcase. Then they fully dumped the contents onto the ground and started rifling through Carson’s personal belongings. Genevieve waved Carson’s hair extensions around with a disgusted look on her face before tossing them across the room, Lace pulled a waffle maker out from the clothes pile, and then the two women screamed at the sign of a green vibrator that was nestled in the mess.
Lace picked up the vibrator and broke down laughing. She waved the toy around, touched Genevieve with it, and threw it across the room before admitting, “I have a vibrator myself!” OK, Lace?! Does that give you the right to mess with someone else’s, or shame them for bringing it on a trip? No! After Lace had her misguided fun, Jill grabbed the vibrator and the women brought it down to the bar where they put it on full display for Wells Adams and the rest of the Paradise men. And honestly? The whole thing crossed a major line.
Some viewers were quick to question why in the world these women would invade someone else’s privacy by unpacking their suitcase. Others questioned whether it was actually Carson’s suitcase or simply a prop planted by producers. Former Season 26 contestant Marlena Wesh even chimed in on Twitter, saying, “And y’all wonder why we be crying every episode. It’s cause we don’t wanna get on the producers bad side and have a vibrator planted in our fake suitcase on national tv.”
And y’all wonder why we be crying every episode. It’s cuz we don’t wanna get on the producers bad side and have a vibrator planted in our fake suitcase on national tv 😵💫🫠 #BachelorInParadise
— Marlena Wesh (@MarlenaWesh) October 4, 2022
Whether they thought the stunt was real or planned, many viewers felt the behavior of the women and the show’s decision to air the scenes were gross, childish, and another low point for the franchise.
Planting a fake suitcase with a vibrator for someone who isn't there, and then having contestants rummage through it on national TV for laughs, is one of the weirdest and creepiest things this show's ever done.
There should be more outrage. #BachelorInParadise
— Dan Emerson 🎃 (@dscapp) October 4, 2022
why are they screaming about a vibrator????? this is your fault for opening someone’s luggage without their consent #BachelorInParadise
— Lauren 🥯 (@laurenleti) October 4, 2022
So this Salley bit is too mean spirited for me. Like they could have spent this screen time on any couple getting to know each other. And why are the girls passing the vibrator around??? #BachelorInParadise
— Rebekah Weatherspoon 🧙🏾♀️🎃 (@RdotSpoon) October 4, 2022
As if leaving Carson’s clothes on the floor and passing her vibrator around the bar while simultaneously shaming her for bringing it wasn’t horrifying enough, contestant Kira Mengistu then grabs the vibrator, puts on a revealing outfit, and heads into the “boom boom room” with the sex toy in hand.
In case you had any doubt that Kira planned to use Carson’s vibrator to pleasure herself, the show made sure to play a loud vibration noise to close out the scene. UGH.
Do better, Bachelor in Paradise. We’re begging you.
