Specifically, Deadline reports that contestants Jonathan and Ana Towns, who competed on the 37th season of the long-running reality competition, have launched a lawsuit against the network and production company, seeking $8 million in damages over their portrayal on the series. Which was, admittedly, not especially flattering: Fans of the series were especially unkind to Jonathan’s on-screen attitude toward his wife, which was frequently described as dismissive and rude. Or, to put it in some very explosive lawsuit language: “The resulting broadcast, disseminated to tens of millions of viewers on a nationally distributed television network, falsely portrayed Jonathan Towns, a private individual with no antecedent public profile, as a morally depraved, brutal and abusive spouse.”
Noting that Jonathan Towns has since been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, the suit alleges that producers on the series failed to assist him during a “meltdown” and “clear emotional anguish” during filming, instead reassuring the Towns that they should continue the show. The suit claims that the Towns’ complaints go beyond “legitimate editorial judgment or discretion,” calling producers’ choices of which material to show “a calculated and sustained course of conduct in which Defendants… made the deliberate determination to suppress those materials and to substitute in their place a constructed, false, and highly damaging portrayal.”
The Towns, who reportedly won $10,000 for coming in third place on the series, launched a podcast about their time on the show when the season began airing last year. (Including Jonathan addressing his behavior across the season, calling it “less than exemplary.) Now apparently feeling a bit more litigious, the duo aren’t just seeking financial damages with their suit: They also want a public apology for their depiction on the series, and for the episodes to be re-edited to feature “appropriate disclaimers” in regards to Jonathan Towns’ condition—requests that will have to contend with the typically pretty comprehensive and tightly drawn release forms and waivers that contestants sign in order to participate in shows of this ilk.
Keep scrolling for more great stories.