NEW YORK — A lawyer for a former “Real Housewives of New York” cast member told a federal judge Thursday that the First Amendment can’t protect the show’s creators from a lawsuit that alleges the show treated contestants as “rotten Became a victim of “workplace culture”. ,
Attorney Sarah Matz said the lawsuit brought by Leah McSweeney earlier this year should advance to the stage where evidence can be gathered for trial.
Adam Levine, an attorney for defendants including entertainer Andy Cohen and Bravo Channel, one of the show’s producers, told the judge that the lawsuit’s allegations were protected by the First Amendment and should be dismissed at the stage in which the judge is considering it. It is essential that the allegations are true.
The judge did not immediately rule on the fate of the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages for loss of life happiness and loss of future earnings, as well as mental, emotional and physical suffering.
The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court, alleges that McSweeney, who suffers from alcohol addiction, was pressured to drink on the show and retaliated against her when she wanted to stay sober or stay sober. Denied reasonable accommodation to aid efforts.
It also alleges that the defendants “deliberately used psychological warfare to break Ms. McSweeney’s psyche,” particularly by intimidating her and making threats of cutting her pay or firing her if she left the filming location. Through this he was prevented from meeting his dying grandmother.
“They knew she was trying to stay calm,” Matze told the judge. “The show is not called ‘Drunk Housewives of New York City.’
The judge, who said he had never seen the show, asked each side several questions and seemed inclined to at least drop some charges from the trial related to on-camera incidents.
Levin told them the case should be dropped altogether. He said that a ruling in favor of the claims made in McSweeney’s lawsuit would “destroy” some television and Broadway stage shows if the First Amendment did not protect the shows’ producers.
Especially when it comes to a reality television show, the cast member becomes the message of the show and “you can’t separate that person from the speech,” Levin said.
“What limits can a director set to motivate the behavior the director wants?” The judge questioned whether a director could demand that show participants not sleep for two days before filming or physically assault themselves just before going on camera.
Levin said there were limits to First Amendment protections for creators of communications shows, but he said their scope was limited. McSweeney’s lawsuit does not fall within narrow exceptions, he said, such as when a producer can commit a criminal offense during the production of a show.
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