A "Love is Blind" contestant has filed a lawsuit against the reality experiment Netflix series, citing a "traumatic" experience during filming which a non-disclosure agreement prevented her from discussing.
Season 5's Renee Poche, a veterinarian from Texas, filed a complaint on Jan. 2 in Los Angeles Superior Court, as reported by Variety. The lawsuit alleges abuse, imprisonment, drugs and emotional distress behind the scenes of the hit Netflix series where contestants build romantic connections without seeing one another.
"My experience on 'Love is Blind' was traumatic," Poche said in a statement sent to CTVNews.ca, adding that she "felt like a prisoner."
"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 cast mates had to endure."
Renee Poche attends the Allstate Party at the Playoff hosted by ESPN & College Football Playoff at POST Houston on January 06, 2024 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Marcus Ingram/Getty Images for ESPN)
Poche's lawyers, Mark Geragos and Bryan Freedman, are seeking to nullify Poche's contract after Delirium TV, the show's production company, initiated private arbitration against her for allegedly violating her non-disclosure agreement in making public remarks critical of the show.
Delirium TV sought US$4 million from Poche, who received $8,000 for her appearance on the series, Poche said.
CTVNews.ca reached out to Netflix and Kinetic Content, which is associated with Delirium, for comment, but did not receive a response.
In a statement to CTVNews.ca, Geragos said this is part of a "predatory" trend where people like Poche "live in fear of being sued for millions if they report workplace wrongdoing," causing them to "suffer in silence."
"We fully expect thousands of claimants to come forward when they realize that these so-called contracts are not just illusory but also illegal," Geragos added.
These contracts, Geragos said, "are part of a dirty industry secret."
As Freedman explained, Poche'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 added that "for years, the studios, production companies, and networks have wielded these contracts as both a sword and a shield, in a conspiracy to ensure silence from those who know the truth."
Poche was cast for the show's fifth season, in which 15 men and 15 women interacted from individual pods in April 2022.
According to Poche, the show's production staff seized her passport, driver's licence and cellphone, and kept her locked in a hotel room. Poche also alleged she was forced to spend time with a contestant named Carter Wall, whom she described as "abusive."
But Poche is not the first contestant to allege claims about the show's negligence. In October 2023, Tran Dang, another "Love is Blind" contestant, sued Delirium and production company Kinetic Content over claims of sexual assault and false imprisonment.
Jeremy Hartwell, a contestant from the second season of the show, sued Netflix and Kinetic Content in 2022 for "inhumane working conditions," claiming he was forced to work 20-hour days while being denied food and water.
According to Freedman, contracts situated to silence workplace negligence are, "in sum, a license to wreak emotional and financial havoc all while profiting for an eternity."
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