Entertainment

Here's Why The 'Bachelor In Paradise' Cast Are On A Ridiculous "Witch Hunt" For Shushanna

by Tara Martinez
ABC

So, Bachelor in Paradise is still reeling from some newcomers and Shushanna Mkrtychyan was one of the more controversial ones. She stirred up some drama between Annaliese and Kamil and that, in turn, caused Annaliese to question whether Shushanna was using some ~witchcraft~ to weasel her way into the relationship. So, is Shushanna really a witch? Well, no, but the show sure is making it look that way.

Here's how it all went down: Basically, Shushanna took Kamil out on a date and seemed dead set on snagging him right from Annaliese's arms. Kamil wasn't exactly receptive to her advances and that set Shushanna off.

At various points in the episode, Shushanna tried to put the moves on Kamil but he just wasn't having it. All the while, Shushanna was being courted by Jordan from New Zealand. And he really, really tried to get her to get over Kamil. But she couldn't let Kamil go for whatever reason.

In a last-ditch effort, Shushanna pulled Kamil aside while Jordan was off on a date with Cassandra.

"There's no spark," Kamil told her.

Later during an on-camera interview, Shushanna said, "I just feel like Kamil is not being honest. I feel like he's holding back."

And then the witchcraft accusations came out.

"I think she's using her Russian witch-craftery on me," Kamil later told Annaliese (which is, like, so immature). So, the witchcraft accusations came directly from Kamil. And it was Annaliese who absorbed the information and took it directly to Shushanna, which is all kinds of messed up and soooo middle school.

This obviously caused a whole lot of drama, eventually leaving Shushanna in tears.

"First I'm a Russian hooker, then I'm a European trash, now I'm a witch," Shushanna told the cameras through tears. There's nothing wrong with being a witch, but being accused of being one when you're not, simply to cast you in a bad light could not have felt good for Shushanna.

But is there any truth to the rumor that Shushanna is a witch? No. according to her. Shushanna is Russian, but that doesn't make her a witch. Even the bartender called the whole thing a "Russian witch hunt."

Needless to say, the situation got out of hand pretty fast. Not only was Annaliese saying Shushanna was a witch, but Kevin and Astrid were also partaking in the gossip. So, word about Shushanna's apparent magical practices traveled far and wide. And that's never a good thing.

It was an isolating experience for Shushanna, for sure, and totally unfair of the rest of the Paradise hopefuls to cast her in a bad light simply because of her heritage and because of her, admittedly, strong feelings for Kamil.

So, what's Bachelor Nation got to say about all this? A lot. Here's just a handful of the reactions from people on Twitter:

I think it's safe to say that most fans have a lot of sympathy for Shushanna, especially because she was being accused of things that not everyone is totally familiar with. All in all, most of the Paradise group essentially isolated someone for being just a little bit different without really getting to know her. And that's genuinely a shame. She might be an awesome person underneath all her unusual actions.