Jeremy Hartwell in Love Is Blind S2.
A former Love is Blind contestant is suing Netflix, claiming the production breached labour laws by limiting food and water and encouraging alcohol.
Jeremy Hartwell appeared on Season 2 of the dating show, which keeps participants in isolated pods while they attempt to date without visually seeing each other.
This week Hartwell filed a lawsuit against Netflix, production company Kinetic Content, and casting agency Delirium TV.
Acquired by entertainment news website, People, the lawsuit claimed the three companies reportedly “regularly refused timely food and water to the cast while on set severely restricting the availability of hydration opportunities.”
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“Defendants, having knowledge of the fact that Cast member at times would be starving, instructed the hotel staff to not provide food to any Cast member that asked them for food because of hunger,” People published.
Hartwell’s lawsuit also accuses producers of underpaying the contestants, as under Californian state law they qualified as employees rather than contractors because producers made decisions about the structure of the cast’s work.
The lawsuit is seeking compensation for unpaid wages plus financial compensation for missed breaks and other monetary damages for breaches of business codes.
The former contestant told People the experience left him “sleep-deprived, socially isolated and mentally drained.”
“After the production, I felt and looked like a zombie for a few days.”
Hartwell’s lawyer told People the companies “intentionally underpaid the cast members, deprived them of food, water and sleep, plied them with booze and cut off their access to personal contacts and most of the outside world.”
In a statement to People, Kinetic Connect said Mr Hartwell had only been a member of the Love is Blind cast for less than a week after failing to find a connection with another contestant.
“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”, the statement read.
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