By: Angela Li
Jeremy Hartwell, a contestant on the second season of Netflix’s show Love is Blind, is suing Netflix for “inhumane” living conditions. The lawsuit claims that the producers underpaid the contestants while depriving them of food, water, and sleep, gave them tons of alcohol, and completely cut them off from the outside world during the duration of the show. These factors, the suit claims, “altered cast members’ emotions and decision making.”
According to The Wrap, Hartwell’s attorney, Chantal Payton, claimed that the show made it hard for anyone to leave before the season ended due to the contract stating that anyone who left before filming concluded would pay a 50,000 dollar fee for “liquidated damages.” “I strongly feel that these practices are wrong and they need to change. And the reason why I am making these efforts with this lawsuit is I’m hoping this becomes a catalyst for these changes, so that future reality TV cast members don’t have to go through this,” says Hartwell.
Netflix’s dating show, Love is Blind, has a cast of about 15 men and 15 women, all of whom are looking desperately for a date. For ten days and fifteen minutes at a time, two contestants step inside pods and talk to each other without knowing what the other person looks like. They are given 10 days to get engaged if they are interested. Because they aren’t able to get to know each other in person, a lot of weddings get canceled right on the day they’re supposed to happen.
“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,” production company Kinetic Content says. “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.”
https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/reality-tv/a40634202/love-is-blind-contestant-sues-netflix-unsafe-set/
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jeremy-hartwell-love-is-blind-lawsuit_n_62d2e1f5e4b092a3f6bcc482