Love Is Blind is being called out by a season 2 cast member accusing the Netflix show of depriving the cast of “food, water, and sleep.”
Jeremy Hartwell, a contestant on Love Is Blind season 2, is suing the show over claims they deprived the cast of “food, water, and sleep.” Jeremy was among the 30 cast members selected for season 2 of the hit marriage experiment show. Jeremy took part in the pod process, where contestants got to know members of the opposite sex without knowing what they looked like. While a few pairs ended up getting engaged and moved on to the couple’s trip to Mexico, Jeremy’s run on the show ended after the pods since he didn’t get engaged.
The show, hosted by Nick and Vanessa Lachey, brings a group of singles together for the chance of finding love without seeing each other’s faces. After a short period of dating in the Love Is Blind pods, where they can only speak and have no physical contact, the singles decide if they found someone they want to get engaged to. Once engaged, the couples can now see each other for the first time before heading off on a honeymoon vacation where they’ll live together for the first time. By the season’s end, the couples get dolled up for a wedding ceremony, at which time they decide if they’re ready to spend the rest of their lives together. Season 2 saw more couples break up rather than make it as newlyweds.
While the marriage experiment has worked for season 1 couples like Cameron and Lauren Hamilton, season 2 proved to be extremely different. But there apparently was more drama brewing behind the scenes than on-screen now that one cast member filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the cast for the alleged “inhumane” work conditions on set. Jeremy filed a lawsuit this month against Netflix and the producers, accusing them of “intentionally” depriving the cast of “food, water, and sleep,” Us Weekly reports. The suit also claims the cast was “plied with booze” and were cut off from accessing their loved ones and the outside world. Jeremy’s suit claims the conditions were done on purpose “alter” their emotions and decision-making in an effort to make the cast “hungry for social connections.”
The suit also says Love Is Blind contestants were forced to sign contracts that said if they left the show before filming wrapped they would be required to pay $50,000 in “liquidated damages,” an amount that was 50 times what the cast was making in salary. “This certainly had the potential to instill fear in the cast and enable production to exert even further control,” the suit states. Contestants were reportedly paid $1,000 a week and made up to $8,000 throughout the duration of the production. But considering how many hours the cast spent filming, the suit claims they were overworked and paid less than minimum wage. The show is accused of not paying the season 2 cast for all hours worked, “including minimum wage and overtime hours,” the lawsuit states.
Jeremy is the first past contestant to accuse Love Is Blind of mistreating the cast. Season 2 performed well and proved to be another successful run of the new series. Despite criticism from viewers, the show appears to be on a trajectory for another successful season that fans expect to air sometime next year. But considering the class-action lawsuit they’re up against, it could cause new contestants to become skeptical about joining the cast. Production might want to take serious action to settle the suit and improve their work conditions to save the show that has already created a loyal fanbase.
Source: Us Weekly
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