LOS ANGELES (CN) - A longtime cast member of "Real World" claims two cast members raped her with a toothbrush while she was passed out drunk and the show's producers not only failed to intervene but taped it without telling her what had happened. Later, she says, the show fired her but kept her abusers on the show.
Tonya Cooley sued Bunim/Murray Productions, MTV Network, and her alleged assailants, Kenneth Santucca and Evan Starkman, on 14 causes of action in Superior Court, including assault, battery, sexual battery, wrongful firing and sexual harassment.
Cooley says the corporate defendants hired her for the cast of "Real World" in 2009, after she had appeared on the show in the previous 10 seasons. She says the corporate defendants "created an environment in which degrading and harassing behavior towards female contestants was openly tolerated and even encouraged," and that they kicked her off the show but retained her attackers.
The 2009 series was filmed in Phuket, Thailand. Eighteen people were housed in a single room, she was not allowed to leave it without permission, and the corporate defendants controlled all the food, clothing and toilet items.
Cooley says Bunim/Murray and MTV "provided unlimited alcoholic beverages while providing limited amounts of food" while filming the cast and recording their conversations around the clock. "This combination was designed to encourage the participants to engage in scandalous behavior that would increase viewer ratings. Participants were encouraged to be more outrageous than others so that they would be filmed more often. Participants who were more often filmed were more regularly called back for subsequent seasons. Being filmed more often also led to further income as the participants were able to market their participation on the show throughout the off season for speaking engagements, other media work and other publicity events. Further, those individuals who engaged in outrageous behavior also were given positions on the show, such as team leader."
Cooley says the "corporate defendants encouraged and condoned male contestants to mistreat females, usually in a sexually offensive manner."
This obnoxious behavior included "forcibly removing female cast members' bathing suits;" "inappropriately touch(ing) female cast members' bodies, including in intimate areas, despite female cast members expressing that such touchings were unwelcome;" and "require(ing) females and males to share bedrooms and bathroom, shower areas and changing areas".
According to the complaint: "Approximately eight days into the filming of the 'Real World: Ruins' show, on a noncompetition day of filming, defendants provided the cast members with large amounts of alcohol, and cast members spent the day at a pool while continuously being filmed by approximately two to three film crews. The cast members began drinking before noon, including wine and hard alcohol, and were only given a limited amount of food. Plaintiff became very intoxicated.
"Late in the day, a male cast member forcibly removed plaintiff's bikini top and threw it into a tree plaintiff thereafter left the pool to return to the bunk area.
"When plaintiff left the pool area, defendants Santucci and Starkman followed plaintiff to the bunk area. Santucci and Starkman continued to harass and torment plaintiff as she struggled to get into her bed. Plaintiff's high left of intoxication was obvious, as she struggled to get into her bed and attempted to fend off Santucci and Starkman.