After the Bachelor in Paradise scandal rocked his world, DeMario Jackson turned to the last person we expected: Kanye West. At least his music, anyways. In an interview with host Chris Harrison, DeMario made the surprising confession about the rapper after being asked how he handled the unsubstantiated claims he sexually assaulted his castmate Corinne Olympios.

“Family, friends, and Kanye West,” DeMario said, smiling through the tears. In a rare sit-down interview, the former Bachelorette star admitted the scandal was one of the most difficult moments of his life, but he was determined to push through. Or in the words of Yeezy, “that that don’t kill me / Can only make me stronger.”

MORE: ‘Bachelorette’ Contestant DeMario Jackson Didn’t Even Apply to Be on the Show!

“I’m still going to be my whistle-blowing, crazy, fun-loving self,” he added. And we’re happy to see DeMario persevering despite the false allegations.

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Earlier this summer, DeMario opened up about the experience and revealed that Corinne was the aggressor in the situation, and not the victim, as she claimed to be. “Things got wild because it was more her being the aggressor, which was sexy,” he told E!. “When you have a very attractive girl telling you what she wants, it’s like a very, like, ‘Wow, OK! This is hot. This is very…I like it.'”

The hardest part for DeMario: seeing the effect the scandal had on the women in his life. “It was stressful for me, mostly for my mother,” he explained. “It’s hard to see your mom like, cry every single day. It was very difficult.”

MORE: DeMario Jackson’s Ex-Girlfriend Lexi Thexton Defends Him Amid ‘Bachelor in Paradise’ Scandal

Following a thorough investigation, Warner Bros. determined that there was no misconduct in Paradise and filming swiftly resumed — without Corinne or DeMario. “Our internal investigation, conducted with the assistance of an outside law firm, has now been completed. Out of respect for the privacy interests of those involved, we do not intend to release the videotape of the incident,” the production company said in a statement. “We can say, however, that the tape does not support any charge of misconduct by a cast member. Nor does the tape show, contrary to many press reports, that the safety of any cast member was ever in jeopardy.”

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