The “reckoning” over TV networks’ treatment of reality show stars that Real Housewives vet Bethenny Frankel warned about weeks ago “has arrived,” according to A-list attorneys Mark Geragos and Bryan Freedman.
The pair, whose clients included Michael Jackson and Mariah Carey, sent a letter to NBC on behalf of their new clients, “current and former cast members and crew members on some of NBC’s most lucrative reality shows.”
The attorneys claim those they represent suffered “grotesque and depraved mistreatment” on shows that air on NBC, E!, CNBC and Bravo, according to the missive that was obtained Friday, August 4, by ABC Audio.
While not naming specific shows, the attorneys claim that “these individuals have been mentally, physically, and financially victimized” by show producers, which they accuse of orchestrating “deliberate attempts to manufacture mental instability” in their casts.
The network is accused of “plying cast members with alcohol while depriving them of food and sleep,” as well as “denying mental health treatment for those displaying obvious and alarming signs of mental deterioration,” according to the letter.
The shows are also accused of “exploiting minors” who aren’t compensated for appearing on the programs, and “distributing and/or condoning the distribution of non-consensual pornography,” the “distribution of revenge porn” and the “covering up of sexual violence,” according to the letter sent to NBC’s legal counsel.
The letter is calling on NBC and its affiliated networks to preserve evidence in the event of possible litigation.
The “sordid underbelly of NBC’s widely consumed reality TV universe has remained under wraps for too long. Please be advised that the day of reckoning has arrived,” the statement warned.
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