Bachelorette Supervillain Chad Johnson Joins Bachelor in Paradise as Former Winner Josh Murray Comes to His Defense

Chad Johnson is grabbing his protein and his swim trunks, because he's heading to the beach!

The former Bachelorette villain is joining the new cast of ABC's Bachelor in Paradise, show creator Mike Fleiss revealed on Friday by posting on Twitter that "Chad is being Chad-ish... #BachelorInParadise."


The news comes just days after Johnson, 28, was sent home on Tuesday by JoJo Fletcher – only to make his unwelcome way to the house to confront the other, unsuspecting suitors.

Once he makes his way to Paradise, Johnson will have at least one person in his corner as he looks for love again.



Josh Murray, who won Andi Dorfman's heart on The Bachelorette in 2014 and is now starring on E!'s Famously Single, has compassion for Johnson, who he feels was bullied by his housemates and might not be fully himself under circumstances both show-based and personal.

"I don't like judging anybody, especially seeing them on TV and even in real life," he told PEOPLE at a Famously Single event on Thursday (before news of Johnson's Paradise casting broke).

"When anybody that puts themselves out there in a public spotlight, there's always going to be negativity," he added. "You can be a saint, the best person in the world and do the best things and just be a great overall person, and there's always going to be people who hate you or don't like you for some reason. And that's okay, you don't live life based on worrying about what other people are thinking all of the time or else you're not living life."

Bachelorette Supervillain Chad Johnson Joins Bachelor in Paradise as Former Winner Josh Murray Comes to His Defense| People Scoop, Reality TV, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, TV News, JoJo Fletcher
Bachelorette Supervillain Chad Johnson Joins Bachelor in Paradise as Former Winner Josh Murray Comes to His Defense| People Scoop, Reality TV, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, TV News, JoJo Fletcher

Murray, 31, also had a specific reason to sympathize with Johnson's erratic behavior during his stint on The Bachelorette.

"I feel very sad that his mother passed away, I think six months ago," he said, "and nobody knows how that feels unless they're in that situation so there's a lot of other things I'm sure that are going on in his life that people need to empathize with him about."

He did make sure to note, "I'm not saying anybody is right or wrong, I think it's a tough situation, and really I don't want to judge him based on what's going on."

The Bachelorette returns June 20 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.