Love Is Blind’s manufacturing firm, Kinetic Content, responded after former forged members of the truth collection claimed they had been put by way of “emotional warfare” throughout their time on the present.
“The well-being of our participants is of paramount importance to Kinetic,” the manufacturing firm informed Variety in a Tuesday, April 18, assertion. “We have rigorous protocols in place to care for each person before, during, and after filming.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Business Insider revealed a report on the Netflix relationship collection that featured a number of contestants claiming they had been mistreated whereas taking part within the streaming hit.
Season 2 star Danielle Ruhl — who bought engaged to ex-husband Nick Thompson throughout her time within the pods — informed the outlet that she had points with manufacturing whereas in Mexico. The Illinois native claimed that she was not allowed to attend an occasion being held for all of the {couples} as a result of there was an opportunity she contracted COVID-19. After she started to have a panic assault, she allegedly hid within the closet to keep away from cameras and informed producers she didn’t really feel mentally steady sufficient to remain on the present.
“I kept telling them, ‘I don’t trust myself. I’ve tried committing suicide before,’” she defined to Business Insider. “’I’m having suicidal thoughts. I don’t think I can continue in this.’”
The report additionally claimed that in the course of the present’s first season, which aired in February 2020 and filmed in Atlanta, Georgia, contestants had been compelled to sleep in “drab trailers crammed with bunk beds during the 10 days dating in the pods.” All 15 girls allegedly stayed in “one single-room trailer, with the 15 men in another.”
Danielle Drouin, who appeared on the debut season, claimed that the teams additionally didn’t have sufficient entry to meals or water. “The sleep deprivation was real,” she stated. “I feel like they do it on purpose because they’re trying to break you. They want you on your edge.”
According to the outlet, Love Is Blind contracts stipulate that the forged is required to pay $50,000 in damages to Kinetic Content in the event that they exit the present prematurely with out producer approval. The report additionally claims that engaged {couples} are obligated to indicate as much as their marriage ceremony even when they don’t intend to say “I do.”
Business Insider’s story comes lower than a 12 months after season 2 contestant Jeremy Hartwell filed a lawsuit in opposition to Netflix and the producers, making a collection of allegations about how the present handled forged members — which included Drouin’s claims that the group was disadvantaged of sure requirements.
“They intentionally underpaid the cast members, deprived them of food, water and sleep, plied them with booze and cut off their access to personal contacts and most of the outside world. This made cast members hungry for social connections and altered their emotions and decision-making,” Hartwell’s legal professional, Chantal Payton of Payton Employment Law, PC, of Los Angeles, claimed in an announcement in July 2022. “The contracts required contestants to agree that if they left the show before filming was done, they would be penalized by being required to pay $50,000 in ‘liquidated damages.’ With that being 50 times what some of the cast members would earn during the entire time that they worked, this certainly had the potential to instill fear in the cast and enable production to exert even further control.”
Hartwell’s lawsuit serves as “a proposed class action on behalf of all participants in Love Is Blind and other non-scripted productions” created by Kinetic Content from 2018 to 2022, per the Chicago native’s authorized group.
In the courtroom paperwork obtained by Us Weekly on the time, Hartwell alleged that the forged wasn’t capable of contact their household or buddies upon arrival, which isn’t unusual for a lot of actuality competitors collection. “At times, defendants left members of the cast alone for hours at a time with no access to a phone, food, or any other type of contact with the outside world until they were required to return to working on the production,” the docs learn.
Kinetic Content, for his or her half, denied there was any reality to Hartwell’s allegations.
“Mr. Hartwell’s involvement in Season 2 of Love is Blind lasted less than one week. Unfortunately, for Mr. Hartwell, his journey ended early after he failed to develop a significant connection with any other participant,” Kinetic informed Us in an announcement on the time. “While we will not speculate as to his motives for filing the lawsuit, there is absolutely no merit to Mr. Hartwell’s allegations, and we will vigorously defend against his claims.”
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