\n<\/p>\n
Love Is Blind\u2019s<\/em> <\/a>production company, Kinetic Content, responded after former cast members of the reality series claimed they were put through \u201cemotional warfare\u201d during their time on the show.<\/p>\n \u201cThe well-being of our participants is of paramount importance to Kinetic,\u201d the production company told Variety<\/em><\/a> in a Tuesday, April 18, statement. \u201cWe have rigorous protocols in place to care for each person before, during, and after filming.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier on Tuesday, Business Insider<\/em> <\/a>published a report on the Netflix dating series that featured multiple contestants claiming they were mistreated while participating in the streaming hit.<\/p>\n Season 2 star Danielle Ruhl<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 who got engaged to ex-husband Nick Thompson<\/strong><\/a> during her time in the pods \u2014 told the outlet that she had issues with production while in Mexico. The Illinois native claimed that she was not allowed to attend an event being held for all the couples because there was a chance she contracted COVID-19. After she began to have a panic attack, she allegedly hid in the closet to avoid cameras and told producers she didn\u2019t feel mentally stable enough to stay on the show<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI kept telling them, \u2018I don\u2019t trust myself. I\u2019ve tried committing suicide before,\u2019\u201d she explained to Business Insider<\/em>. \u201c\u2019I\u2019m having suicidal thoughts<\/a>. I don\u2019t think I can continue in this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The report also claimed that during the show\u2019s first season, which aired in February 2020 and filmed in Atlanta, Georgia, contestants were forced to sleep in \u201cdrab trailers crammed with bunk beds during the 10 days dating in the pods.\u201d All 15 women allegedly stayed in \u201cone single-room trailer, with the 15 men in another.\u201d<\/p>\n Danielle Drouin<\/strong>, who appeared on the debut season<\/a>, claimed that the groups also didn\u2019t have enough access to food or water. \u201cThe sleep deprivation was real,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel like they do it on purpose because they\u2019re trying to break you. They want you on your edge.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the outlet, Love Is Blind<\/em> contracts stipulate that the cast is required to pay $50,000 in damages to Kinetic Content if they exit the show prematurely without producer approval<\/a>. The report also claims that engaged couples are obligated to show up to their wedding even if they don\u2019t intend to say \u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n Business Insider\u2019s<\/em> story comes less than a year after season 2 contestant Jeremy Hartwell<\/strong><\/a> filed a lawsuit against Netflix and the producers, making a series of allegations about how the show treated cast members \u2014 which included Drouin\u2019s claims that the group was deprived of certain necessities.<\/p>\n \u201cThey intentionally underpaid the cast members, deprived them of food, water and sleep, plied them with booze and cut off their access to personal contacts and most of the outside world. This made cast members hungry for social connections and altered their emotions and decision-making,\u201d Hartwell\u2019s attorney,\u00a0Chantal Payton<\/strong>\u00a0of Payton Employment Law, PC, of Los Angeles, claimed in a statement in July 2022<\/a>. \u201cThe contracts required contestants to agree that if they left the show before filming was done, they would be penalized by being required to pay $50,000 in \u2018liquidated damages.\u2019 With that being 50 times what some of the cast members would earn during the entire time that they worked, this certainly had the potential to instill fear in the cast and enable production to exert even further control.\u201d<\/p>\n Hartwell\u2019s lawsuit serves as \u201ca proposed class action on behalf of all participants in\u00a0Love Is Blind\u00a0<\/em>and other non-scripted productions\u201d created by Kinetic Content from 2018 to 2022, per the Chicago native\u2019s legal team.<\/p>\n In the court documents obtained by\u00a0Us Weekly<\/em> at the time,\u00a0Hartwell alleged that the cast wasn\u2019t able to contact their family or friends upon arrival<\/a>, which is not uncommon for many reality competition series. \u201cAt times, defendants left members of the cast alone for hours at a time with no access to a phone, food, or any other type of contact with the outside world until they were required to return to working on the production,\u201d the docs read.<\/p>\n