‘Love Is Blind’ Creator Addresses Contestant’s False Imprisonment Lawsuit

Love Is Blind creator Chris Coelen is shutting down negligence, assault and false imprisonment claims made by former season 5 contestant Tran Dang.

“If anyone ever got here to us and stated they felt unsafe in any means, we might instantly take away them from the experiment and speak to them, and attempt to unravel it,” Coelen stated in an announcement to Individuals on Thursday, October 5. “Sadly, on this case, that type of sentiment was by no means addressed to us in any means, nor was any alleged wrongdoing delivered to our consideration ever.”

Dang was a forged member on season 5 of LIB — which premiered on Netflix final month — although she was not featured within the present’s newest episodes. Earlier this yr, she filed a lawsuit towards the collection’ manufacturing firm, Kinetic Content material, claiming she was falsely imprisoned on set and was not allowed to do a lot with out permission from producers.

Throughout her time within the pods — during which she alleged she was not allowed to make use of her cellular phone or have her pockets or passport — Dang alleged that manufacturing supplied contestants with little meals and many alcohol to spark attention-grabbing conversations.

“Whereas on set, for as much as 18 hours per day, [Kinetic Content and Delirium TV] required Ms. Dang to request permission to do just about something, together with use the restroom,” the lawsuit reads. “She was prohibited from leaving her lodge room with out categorical permission and stored underneath 24-hour surveillance.”

Coelen, for his half, known as the claims “completely false,” including, “We don’t push alcohol. Everybody has constant and common entry to meals and water.” With regards to why contestants should typically ask producers for permission to do sure issues, Coelen attributed it to the sophisticated format of the present’s set.

“Within the pods, they’re on a 68,000-square-foot sound stage, the place it’s darkish, there’s lots of people, there’s lots of tools, and even for me, it’s very complicated to get round from place to position,” he stated, including the monitoring was finished to guard “the integrity of the experiment.”

He continued: “So if they should go to the toilet, they inform us and we’ve somebody escort them to the toilet. That’s the way it works within the pods. When they’re out of the pods, they’ll go to the toilet at any time when they need.”

In her lawsuit, Dang additionally claimed that Kinetic Content material did nothing in response to her declare that she was sexually assaulted by fellow contestant Thomas Smith — to whom she acquired engaged within the pods — whereas filming in Mexico. Smith’s lawyer, Kip Patterson, didn’t touch upon the accusations.

“Due to [Kinetic Content and Delirium TV’s] 24-hour surveillance of forged members, most, if not all, of those traumatic acts have been doubtless captured on movie,” Dang’s criticism states. Upon reporting the incident to producers, she was allegedly gaslighted and instructed she “was at fault for what had occurred with Thomas Smith by not speaking successfully or one way or the other not taking the ‘relationship’ severely.”

Coelen, nonetheless, claimed Dang didn’t carry up any assault claims to producers, and that they’d have eliminated her from the filming if she did. “Now we have round the clock psychologists, a extremely skilled manufacturing workforce, we’ve a complete battalion of people that’s [sic] job it’s to be sure that we prioritize our participant’s well-being,” he said. “However the participant needs to be actively concerned in that course of.”

Kinetic Content material, LLC and Delirium TV, LLC additionally addressed the lawsuit in a joint assertion to Us Weekly on Friday, October 6. “We assist and stand with victims of sexual assault, however Ms. Dang’s claims towards the producers are meritless. We doc the unbiased selections of adults who volunteer to take part in a social experiment. Their journey is just not scripted, neither is it filmed across the clock. Now we have no information or management over what happens in personal residing areas when not filming, and individuals might select to finish their journey at any time,” their assertion reads.”

The assertion continues: “We take any and all issues of our individuals severely and prioritize their well-being. Clearly, we can’t deal with undisclosed issues, and all through the time that Ms. Dang was concerned within the manufacturing of Love is Blind, she by no means knowledgeable the producers of any alleged wrongdoing of any type. Nor did she select to finish her participation within the experiment. As an alternative, Ms. Dang continued within the experiment for weeks after the time her legal professionals now declare an incident occurred. We deny and can vigorously defend the allegations towards us.”

Us has reached out to reps and legal professionals for Coelen, Dang, and Smith for remark.

New episodes of Love Is Blind season 5 premiere on Netflix on Fridays.

For those who or somebody you realize has been sexually assaulted, contact the Nationwide Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).