Amid Bethenny Frankel Fight, Bravo Clarifies Claim That Reality Stars Are “Silenced” By NDAs (EXCLUSIVE)
After several legal letters were sent to NBCUniversal regarding the company’s treatment of reality stars – a dispute instigated by former “Real Housewives” actress Bethenny Frankel – Bravo hits back, officially clarifying that the network won’t cast the cast Silence brings members through non-disclosure agreements.
Frankel has been vocal about wanting reality TV stars to get better working conditions, pay and protection, and possibly unionize. On Aug. 20, attorneys working with Frankel alleged that NBCUniversal bound reality stars and crew members to non-disclosure agreements that bar them from discussing alleged abuse and threatened them if they spoke out.
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According to NBCUniversal, the company does not bind its reality stars or crew members to non-disclosure agreements to prohibit them from speaking about their time working on shows, nor does it prohibit them from reporting abuse. To clarify the purpose of their confidentiality agreements, a Bravo spokesman explains diversity that NDAs are used to protect storylines in shows, but not to prevent individuals from speaking about their personal experiences.
“Confidentiality clauses are common practice in reality programs to prevent disclosure of storylines prior to airing. They are not intended to prevent disclosure of unlawful activity in the workplace by cast and crew, nor were they enforced in that manner,” said a Bravo spokesperson diversity exclusively. “To be clear, any current or former cast or crew is free to discuss any alleged illegal activity in the workplace, such as harassment or discrimination, or any other conduct that they have reason to believe is inappropriate, and to disclose. We are also working with our third party production companies to remind all cast and crew members that they are encouraged to report such concerns through the channels provided by the production company so that concerns can be addressed promptly.”
Bravo and NBCUniversal require third-party production companies to provide cast and crew members with multiple ways to report workplace misconduct and require production training protocols to provide information about reporting channels, according to a person familiar with the company’s protocols, adding that producers do business with them NBCUniversal is directed to provide cast and crew information about reporting channels or hotlines on their daily call logs to ensure employees know how to raise concerns.
The response from NBCUniversal — the parent company of Bravo, E!, Oxygen, USA, Peacock, CNBC and others — comes after the company received legal letters from powerful attorneys Bryan Freedman and Mark Geragos supporting Frankel’s efforts. Lawyers working with Frankel say they represent reality stars and crew members who claim to have experienced abuse on NBCUniversal’s reality series.
Earlier this month, Freedman and Geragos went to war with NBCUniversal, sending a notice of stay of litigation warning that “the day of reckoning” had come. Lawyers said reality stars had been subjected to “grotesque and depraved abuses,” including allegations they denied them mental health treatment, deliberately infused alcohol and deprived cast members of sleep and food during filming, covered up acts of sexual violence and exploited minors for uncompensated appearances and revenge porn.
Last Saturday, in a letter to NBCUniversal’s General Counsel, Freedman wrote that his investigation into these allegations had uncovered serious allegations of “misconduct,” but that he would not know the full extent of the problems until those individuals were released from their non-disclosure agreements. He wrote that NBCUniversal contracts contained non-disclosure agreements that he believed were unlawful.
“We are left with the inescapable conclusion that NBC and its producing partners are grappling with a systemic rot for which sunlight is the first necessary remedy,” Freedman wrote on Aug. 20. “Until now, that has been impossible due to the draconian terms of NBC’s contracts with its cast and crew members, which contain strict confidentiality provisions coupled with ruinous penalties for violations. To ensure confidentiality, NBC has wielded these terms of the contract like a sword.”
Freedman did not answer immediately diversity for commenting on NBCUniversal’s response to the use of non-disclosure agreements. But in a previous letter to NBCUniversal, the attorney wrote that the company “turned a blind eye” when its production partners enforced “illegal” non-disclosure agreements to “conceal civil and criminal violations.”
diversity First brought the message that Freedman and Geragos worked with Frankel thereafter she said Reality stars should unionize. SAG-AFTRA has also supported Frankel’s efforts, engaging in discussions with Freedman about the treatment of reality cast members and issuing a statement to the media that the union is “sick of studios and production companies trying to bypass them” to exploiting the talent they rely on to make their product.”
After Freedman and Geragos filed lawsuits against NBCUniversal, the company issued a statement denying the allegations of abuse: “NBCUniversal is committed to providing a safe and respectful workplace for cast and crew on our reality shows.” To start, we require our external manufacturing partners to have appropriate workplace policies and training in place. When complaints are brought to our attention, we will work with our manufacturing partners to ensure that appropriate timely action is taken or will be taken, including investigations, medical and/or psychological support and other remedial action that may be warranted, such as: B. Personnel Changes. ”
Frankel is one of the most successful stars of the upcoming Bravo series Real Housewives. When she found fame on The Real Housewives of New York City and starred in her own spin-off series on the network, she founded her own company, Skinnygirl, which she sold for over $100 million, continuing her entrepreneurial and… philanthropic activity continued efforts. Last week, Frankel had “Vanderpump Rules” star Raquel Leviss as a guest on her podcast to discuss her treatment from Bravo amid the #Scandoval.
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