A number of unnamed reality TV stars are going to war against NBC and Bravo. Attorneys Bryan Freedman and Mark Geragos sent a legal letter to NBC. The letter claimed both current and former reality TV personalities have been subjected to “grotesque and depraved mistreatment.”
There are numerous accusations laid out in the letter. These include alleged threatening of cast members if they “speak out about their mistreatment,” and “distribution of revenge porn.” That seems to be just the tip of the iceberg for the shocking claims.
“Dire circumstances” have been ignored
In the letter, obtained by TMZ, it is said that NBC would not allow cast members the freedom to leave shows, even under “dire circumstances.” It claims that cast and crewmembers had been “subjected to disturbing mistreatment,” which also included “deliberate attempts to manufacture mental instability by plying cast members with alcohol while depriving them of food and sleep.”
“Denying mental health treatment to cast members displaying obvious and alarming signs of mental deterioration,” is also alleged, as well as “exploiting minors for uncompensated and sometimes long-term appearances on NBC reality TV shows.” NBC is accused of “covering up acts of sexual violence,” and “distributing and/or condoning the distribution of nonconsensual pornography.”
The attorneys then ask NBC to “take immediate steps to preserve all existing documents and data relevant to NBCUniversal’s treatment of cast members and crewmembers on NBC’s reality shows to prevent the overwriting or any other possible destruction of relevant documents and data.”
Bolstering Bethenny’s calls to unionize
This legal letter aligns with Bethenny Frankel’s calls for reality TV stars to unionize. She thinks that they should get residuals when their reality shows are repeated, and that’s just one of her demands. A number of Real Housewives, both past and present, have shown their support for her idea. Whether or not she knew about this potential lawsuit being cooked up, however, is an entirely different story.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on this one.
TELL US – DID YOU SEE SOMETHING LIKE THIS COMING? ARE YOU SHOCKED BY THE NEWS?
