Renee Poche, a contestant from the fifth season of Netflix’s “Love Is Blind,” has filed a lawsuit against Delirium TV, the show’s production company, and Netflix, saying she “didn’t feel safe” during her time on the show, which set her up with a “violent” alcoholic and drug addict.
The lawsuit comes after Delirium took legal action against her for purportedly violating her nondisclosure agreement.
“My experience on ‘Love is Blind’ was traumatic,” Poche said in a statement obtained by TheWrap. “I felt like a prisoner and had no support when I let Delirium know that I didn’t feel safe.”
Specifically, the lawsuit Poche has filed seeks judicial relief from her “overreaching and unlawful talent agreement” pertaining to the reality dating show.
The lawsuit claims that Carter Wall, the fellow contestant she staring seeing while on the show, was “unemployed with a negative balance in his bank account, homeless, violent, estranged from his family and actively addicted to drugs and alcohol” in spite of Delirium TV’s vetting process.
It goes on to say that Poche was “utterly terrified to be around him” but that Delirium “made it clear” she would be subject to legal action if she did not move forward with the show.
In her statement, Poche said that after trying to deal with her emotions, she felt as though she “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,” Poche said. “In return for this, I am now being sued for $4 million despite earning only $8,000 for my participation on the show. I believe Delirium is trying to silence the abuse that occurs behind the cameras and ruin me for telling the truth.”
Netflix did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Poche is being represented by Hollywood power lawyers Bryan Freedman and Mark Geragos. Freedman and Geragos were recruited by Bethenny Frankel in the summer of 2023 to investigate the treatment of reality stars. In recent months, the former “Real Housewives” star has become an advocate for those in the reality television industry.
“At first, I thought that these reality contracts were some sort of prank. It was only when Bethenny courageously brought to light the issue of this predatory practice that Bryan Freedman and I became aware of its rampant nature,” Geragos said in a statement obtained by TheWrap.
Geragos noted that the team has been “inundated” with “hundreds of clients” who have told “almost identical stories of being emotionally, physically, and sexually assaulted” and who fear being sued if they report what happened to them.
“What Renee suffered and Bethenny exposed is not just rampant but part of a dirty industry secret. 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 said.
“These so called reality TV contracts are in reality illegal. They are designed for an illegal purpose and are void as a matter of law,” Freedman said in a statement, also stating that he and Geragos have “hundreds” of clients “who are ready to assert their claims.”
“Renee’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. It is, in sum, a license to wreak emotional and financial havoc all while profiting for an eternity,” Freedman continued. “This is exactly what Bethenny Frankel was referring to when she selflessly shined the light on these ‘illegal practices.’”
Poche appeared in the fifth season of the show. Though she was engaged to fellow contestant Carter Wall thanks to her time on the show, her story was cut for air. Poche ultimately made it to the altar but said “no” to Wall.
“I got a call a couple months before the show aired, in August, to let me know that our story wasn’t going to be a big focus. What I was told was, ‘We’ll just, point blank, say that Carter was awful and we don’t want you to have to relive that. That’s just not going to be a big focus,’” Poche revealed in an interview with PopSugar. “I really don’t know the real reason, but I can speculate.”
This isn’t the first time the Netflix reality dating show has faced legal action. In 2022, Season 2 contestant Jeremy Hartwell filed a lawsuit, accusing the production of “inhumane working conditions.” And in 2023, Season 5 contestant Tran Dang filed a sexual assault, false imprisonment and negligence lawsuit against Kinetic Content and Delirium TV over her time on the show.
