Leah McSweeney in RHONY.It’s getting real. Last year, former Real Housewife Bethenny Frankel suggested it was time for a “reckoning” in reality TV, calling for stars to unionize for better treatment. There may be no union yet, but there are plenty of lawsuits, and their complaints run the gamut from villain edits to one contestant being forced to bake a pie the day she had a stroke.
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American Idol
Normandy Vamos claimed she and other contestants were not paid for spending up to 15 hours a day waiting at a hotel and that producers told her how to dråess and act with the intention of making her a laughingstock during her viral audition. (A preliminary settlement is reportedly in the works.)
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Deadliest Catch
The owners of the F/V Northwestern, a fishing boat, claimed the show lacked a plan for getting a crew member prompt medical care during the pandemic. (The production company and medical contractor have denied liability and negligence.)
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Got Talent
Jonathan Goodwin, a stuntman and contestant on the short-lived America’s Got Talent: Extreme, claimed he was “crushed and burned by two exploding motor vehicles” and rendered paraplegic because the show didn’t have proper safety procedures. (The case is in mediation.) David Walliams, a Britain’s Got Talent judge, claimed he experienced psychiatric harm and financial loss when derogatory and sexually explicit comments he made about contestants in private were leaked. (The production company Fremantle said it apologized and reached an amicable resolution.)
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Love Is Blind
• Jeremy Hartwell claimed that the producers created inhumane working conditions; plied the cast with alcohol; deprived them of food, water, and sleep; and paid them less than minimum wage. (A class-action suit was settled for $1.4 million.)
• Renee Poche claimed the show took legal action against her for sharing that she was forced to spend time with a man she describes as a broke, unemployed, and violent drug addict. (A court ruled that the dispute had to be settled in private arbitration.)
• Tran Dang claimed she was sexually assaulted by her then-fiancé and that producers didn’t intervene and made her film a final scene with him. (The ex-fiancé denied the allegations, while the show’s creator said Dang never shared any concerns.)
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Love Island
Jasmine Crestwell and Alex Rinks, former producers for the U.S. show, claimed they were fired for raising concerns about unsafe conditions and racial discrimination. They also alleged other producers pressured contestants to have sex and inappropriately discussed intimate footage of women islanders. (ITV America denied the allegations.)
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MasterChef
Mary Jayne Buckingham said producers prevented her from getting medical attention and pressured her to film on the day she had a stroke — because that episode’s baking challenge was her specialty as a pie chef. (The case is in mediation.)
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Property Brothers
Mindy and Paul King claimed contractors botched their house, leaving them with a dishwasher that caused a flood and a crushed gas line that made their stove unusable. (The construction company denied faulty workmanship; the production company also defended the work, and it claimed the Kings denied contractors access for repairs.)
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The Prank Panel
Daniel Curry, a segment producer and creative consultant for the show, said that production falsified an incident report to downplay his injuries after actor Johnny Knoxville chased and Tasered him on set, leaving him with a broken bone and torn ligament; that Knoxville and Eric André pressured him to keep quiet about what happened; and that he has since been blackballed from the industry. (Knoxville has yet to publicly comment.)
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Real Housewives
• NeNe Leakes claimed that racially insensitive behavior was tolerated or even encouraged on the Atlanta franchise and that she was punished for speaking up about racist comments from co-star Kim Zolciak-Biermann. (She later dropped the suit with prejudice, which means she could file it again.)
• Marco Vega, who was hired as a butler on Ultimate Girls Trip, claimed producers encouraged Brandi Glanville and Phaedra Parks to get drunk and sexually harass him. (A show exec said Vega “seemed to be having a good
time,” and Bravo filed to dismiss the case.)
• Caroline Manzo said she was kissed, humped, and fondled without consent by Brandi Glanville on Ultimate Girls Trip, claiming that producers regularly get the cast drunk and encourage or allow sexual harassment. (Glanville denied wrongdoing, and Bravo is seeking to have the case dismissed.)
• Leah McSweeney said she was encouraged to drink and punished for not drinking as a recovering alcoholic on the New York City franchise; that it was implied she’d be fired if she left filming to visit her dying grandmother; and that Andy Cohen fosters a “rotted workplace culture” by giving special treatment to Bravolebrities who use cocaine with him. (Cohen and Bravo denied the allegations and claimed casting decisions are protected by the First Amendment.)
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Southern Charm
Joseph Abruzzo claimed the show defamed him by suggesting he had taken nudes, been physically abusive, and had a failing political career. He also said he was pressured into signing a document that stated he could be portrayed in a way he didn’t like. (Producers denied this, and the case was ultimately sent to arbitration.)
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So You Think You Can Dance & American Idol
Paula Abdul said the production companies protected judge and executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, whom she has accused of sexual assault and verbal harassment. She also said she faced workplace bullying and lower pay than male judges. (The companies settled with Abdul for an undisclosed amount; Lythgoe has denied the allegations, but her lawsuit against him is proceeding.)
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Vanderpump Rules
Faith Stowers claimed she was subjected to racial slurs and vicious assaults (including co-star Lala Kent once holding a knife to her neck) and that she was demoted to a volunteer position after speaking up. (Bravo has yet to publicly comment.)
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