Jeremy Hartwell, one of the contestants of the second season of Love Is Blind, one of Netflix’s reality shows, sued the platform in the USA for violating labor laws.
Hartwell, in his lawsuit against production company Kinetic Content and Netflix, claimed that producers were constantly encouraged to consume alcohol while denied access to food and water.
Hartwell, who filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles, also stated that ‘inhumane working conditions’ were created and that the contestants were paid less than the minimum wage.
Production company Kinetic Content told Variety magazine that these allegations were unfounded.
In a statement to Variety magazine, the company stated that they will fight resolutely against the allegations, stating that “Hartwell has less than a week left in the competition because he has not developed a relationship with the other contestant.”
In the program called Love Is Blind, the participants try to get to know the other contestant and then get married by talking in different rooms without seeing each other.
Contestants get the chance to see the other competitor after getting engaged in the recognition phase.
At the end of the season, some relationships end in separation and some in marriage.
Hartwell, who is the head of a mortgage company in Chicago, said that he recovered from the effects of conditions such as sleeplessness, lack of access to food and water in just a few days.
In an interview with CNN, Hartwell explained that he had a hard time working long hours under bright lights.
Demanding compensation for unpaid hours and financial compensation, Hartwell stated that consuming alcohol on an empty stomach without food and water is encouraged.
Love Is Blind was nominated for an Emmy in the reality show category last week.