love is blind Production company, Kinetic Content, responded after former cast members of the reality series claimed they were put through “emotional warfare” during their time on the show.
“The well-being of our participants is of paramount importance to Kinetic,” the production company said. Diversity In a statement dated Tuesday, April 18. “We have rigorous protocols in place to care for each individual before, during and after filming.”
earlier on tuesday business Insider published a report on the Netflix dating series that featured several contestants claiming they were treated unfairly while participating on the streaming hit.
season 2 star Danielle Ruhl – who got engaged to her ex-husband Nick Thompson During his time in the pod — he told the outlet that he had problems during production in Mexico. The Illinois native claimed that she was not allowed to attend an event being organized for all couples because there was a chance that she had been infected with COVID-19. After having a panic attack, she reportedly hid in a closet to avoid cameras and told the producers that she did not feel mentally stable enough to remain on the show.
“I kept telling him, ‘I don’t trust myself. I’ve tried to commit suicide before,'” she explained. business Insider, “‘I’m having suicidal thoughts. I don’t think I can go on with this.'”
The report also claimed that during the show’s first season, which aired in February 2020 and filmed in Atlanta, Georgia, contestants were “forced to sleep in trailers filled with bunk beds during 10 days of dating in pods”. to be done.” All 15 women reportedly “stayed in one single-room trailer, 15 men in another.”
danielle drouin, who appeared in the debut season, claimed that the groups did not have sufficient access to food or water. “The lack of sleep was real,” she said. “I think they do it on purpose because they’re trying to break you down. They want you on their side.
According to the outlet, love is blind Contracts stipulated that artists were required to pay Kinetic Content $50,000 in damages if they made a premature exit from the show without producer approval. The report also claims that engaged couples are obligated to come to their weddings, even if they don’t intend to say “I do”.
business insider The story comes less than a year after the Season 2 contestant jeremy hartwell filed a lawsuit against Netflix and the producers, alleging changes in how the show treated the cast members—including Drouin’s claims that the group was deprived of certain necessities.
“He deliberately underpaid the artists, deprived them of food, water and sleep, drugged them and cut off their access to personal contacts and most of the outside world. This starved the artists of social relations and made their feelings and decisions changed to take, “Hartwell’s lawyer, Chantal Payton Patton Employment Law of Los Angeles, PC claimed in a statement in July 2022. Damages.’ Being 50 times what some of the cast members earned during the entire run, it certainly had the potential to instill fear in the cast and enable them to control the production even more.
Hartwell’s lawsuit serves as “a proposed class action on behalf of all participants”. love is blind and other non-scripted productions” produced by Kinetic Content from 2018 to 2022, according to the Chicago native’s legal team.
in court documents obtained by us weekly At the time, Hartwell alleged that the cast members were not able to contact their family or friends upon arrival, which is not uncommon for many reality competition series. Dox said, “At times, the defendants left cast members alone for hours without a phone, food, or any other form of contact with the outside world, until they needed to return to work on the production.” Wasn’t.” Reading.
Kinetic Materials, for their part, denied any truth to Hartwell’s allegations.
“Mr. Hartwell’s Participation in Season 2 love is blind Lasted less than a week. Unfortunately for Mr. Hartwell, his journey ended early after failing to develop a significant connection with another participant,” Kinetic reported We in a statement at the time. “While we will not speculate as to his motives for filing the lawsuit, there is no merit to Mr. Hartwell’s allegations, and we will vigorously defend his claims.”