After securing its first black Bachelorette — and all the positive press that came along with the poise and humor of Rachel Lindsay — the Bachelor franchise nonetheless found itself in the midst of controversy this month after allegations of sexual misconduct shuttered production on its summer spin-off show, Bachelor in Paradise.
On Wednesday, CNN Money offered a glimpse at the contract contestants of Bachelor in Paradise sign before appearing on the show, acquired from a "source close to production." The contract requires contestants to forfeit a breathtaking amount of control over their own likenesses:
After reviewing parts of the contract provided to her by CNN Money, Nicole Page, a New York-based entertainment attorney at Reavis Parent, said that it meant, from the producers' perspective, "I can basically take your image and do whatever I want with it and I own it and you have no recourse." [...]
If a news program twisted the facts about people in this way, they could be sued — and they would likely lose the case. But all of this kind of manipulation is fine on Bachelor in Paradise. The contract makes that clear: Contestants sign away to producers "the right to change, add to, take from, edit, translate, reformat or reprocess... in any manner Producer may determine in its sole discretion." And, once the producers have done all that editing, the contestants understand that their "actions and the actions of others displayed in the Series may be disparaging, defamatory, embarrassing, or of an otherwise unfavorable nature and may expose me to public ridicule, humiliation, or condemnation." [CNN Money]
Contestants further cede their right to a jury trial should they sue the show for any reason, agreeing to subject their claims to the confidential arbitration process. Another lawyer told CNN Money that the contract is "clearly ... one-sided."
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An investigation by parent company Warner Bros. into the alleged incident during filming of this season of Bachelor in Paradise, in which consent between two intoxicated contestants during a sexual encounter was at issue, concluded there had been no wrongdoing. Production will resume, though the contestants involved will likely not return to the show. Read more about the rules of Bachelor in Paradise at CNN Money.
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