The producers of the popular dating show Love is blind have been accused by contestant Jeremy Hartwell of violating labor laws, underpaying and mistreating contestants.
On July 13, Variety reported that contestant Jeremy Hartwell has filed a lawsuit against the producers of the dating show Love is blind, accusing them of blatant labor violations. The lawsuit was filed in the California Court (Los Angeles), naming the defendants as: Netflix, production company Kinetic Content and Kinetic’s television company Delirium TV. Jeremy Hartwell is known to be one of the contestants in season 2 of the show.
In the complaint filed in court, Jeremy Hartwell accused the producers of Love is blind of constantly “drugging” contestants without giving them enough food and water. This caused Jeremy Hartwell to suffer from poor health and to be constantly hungry and sleep deprived throughout the filming of the show. In addition, Jeremy Hartwell also accused the producer of violating labor laws by paying contestants less than the minimum wage. He criticized the producer’s working methods as “inhumane”.
Specifically, contestants had to film 20 hours a day, 7 days a week but were only paid a fixed salary of 1,000 USD/week. Jeremy Hartwell complained that at only 7.14 USD/hour, that salary was much lower than the minimum wage in Los Angeles of 15 USD/hour. In addition, during the game, contestants were completely isolated from the outside world and were not allowed to use mobile phones. He wrote: “Players are afraid of retaliation and damage to their reputation. Because if there is any resistance to the show’s organizers, the contestants will pay a heavy price”.
In response to Jeremy Hartwell’s accusations, production company Kinetic Content said: “Jeremy Hartwell’s journey in season 2 of Love is blind lasted less than a week. Unfortunately, he had to leave the game early after failing to develop a significant relationship with any of the other players. Mr. Hartwell’s allegations are completely baseless and we will seriously prove it.”
Love is blind is one of the most popular reality dating shows on Netflix. The show’s participants are single people who are ready to get married but have not found their other half. When entering the game, 15 single men and 15 single women will be randomly put into different rooms. The couples are separated by thin walls, they can only try to get to know each other by talking.
Within 10 days of getting to know each other, the couples will get engaged and meet each other for the first time. If they still choose to continue their relationship, both will move on to the stage of introducing themselves to their family and friends and start living together for nearly 4 weeks. After 38 days of getting to know each other, they will decide whether they really want to get married or not. Thanks to its unique motif, Love is blind is watched by many viewers. Season 3 The show is currently filming in Dallas (USA) and is expected to premiere later this year.
