A new lawsuit alleges drugs, abuse, imprisonment and emotional distress behind the scenes on Love Is Blind, the hit Netflix reality series in which contestants court each other sight unseen.
The lawsuit, filed against Netflix and the show’s production company, Delirium TV, by the Hollywood power lawyers Bryan Freedman and Mark Geragos in California, seeks to nullify the contract of former contestant Renee Poche and claims intentional infliction of emotional distress, along with numerous violations of the state’s labor and civic codes.
The suit, first reported by Variety, comes after Delirium sought private arbitration against Poche for purportedly violating her non-disclosure agreement by making public remarks critical of the show; the company sought $4m from Poche, who made $8,000 from her appearance on the show in 2022.
Poche was first approached by a casting agent for Love is Blind via Instagram in November 2021, according to Variety. The Texas veterinarian passed a grueling interview process and began the show’s fifth season, in which 15 men and 15 women vied for relationships from individual pods, in April 2022.
Poche alleges that on the first night of filming, the show’s production staff seized her phone, passport and driver’s license and kept her locked in a hotel room, unable to leave without a staff chaperone. She ended up in a showmance with a contestant named Carter Wall, whom she alleges was broke, jobless, unhoused and addicted to amphetamines and alcohol. Poche says she was forced to spend long stretches of time with Wall, whom she describes as abusive. The relationship ended after filming wrapped.
“My experience on Love is Blind was traumatic,” Poche told Variety. “I felt like a prisoner and had no support when I let Delirium know that I didn’t feel safe. I tried to deal with these emotions over time and eventually felt like I needed to share what had happened. I felt it was only right to let others know the truth of what all of the castmates had to endure.”
Poche’s suit is part of a greater effort by Freedman and Geragos to take on the reality TV industry, which has long faced criticism for exploitative tactics. Bethenny Frankel, the Real Housewives star turned reality TV workers’ activist, enlisted the pair in July in her fight to obtain workplace protections for reality TV similar to those in scripted fare. A month later, Freedman and Geragos sent a litigation hold notice to NBC Universal, which owns the Bravo reality TV universe, that accused NBC of “a pattern and practice of grotesque and depraved mistreatment of the reality stars and crewmembers on whose account its coffers swell” and warned that a “day of reckoning” was afoot.
The pair now represent several hundred reality stars and crewmembers who allege everything from false imprisonment to sexual violence.
“At first I thought that these reality contracts were some sort of prank,” Geragos told Variety. “What Renee suffered and Bethany exposed is not just rampant but part of a dirty industry secret. We fully expect thousands of claimants to come forward when they realize that these so-called contracts are not just illusory but also illegal.
“These so-called reality TV contracts are, in reality, illegal,” said Freedman. “They are designed for an illegal purpose and are void as a matter of law. We have hundreds of clients who are ready to assert their claims.”
This is not the first time Love is Blind has faced allegations of workplace malpractice. Tran Dang, another participant from season five, has sued Delirium and Kinetic Content, but not Netflix, for sexual assault, false imprisonment and negligence. Unlike Poche, however, she is not seeking to nullify her contract, which could have far-reaching implications for the industry, where such confidentiality clauses are ubiquitous. If Poche’s suit is successful, it could potentially open up the reality TV space to a mountain of contract-related claims.
“Renee’s contract protects Delirium and Netflix from liability for future intentional misconduct and includes ruinous penalties in the millions of dollars for participants who dare to speak out about the unsafe working conditions on set,” Freedman told Variety. “It is, in sum, a license to wreak emotional and financial havoc all while profiting for an eternity.”
Netflix and Delirium have yet to publicly comment.
