“Love Is Blind” contestant Tran Dang is suing the Netflix show’s production team, Kinetic Content and Delirium TV, for sexual assault, false imprisonment and negligence.
In court documents obtained by TODAY.com, Dang, who participating in the filming of Season Five, alleges she was sexually assaulted by her former fiancé and fellow "Love Is Blind" participant Thomas Smith in Mexico on or around May 3, 2022, while the show was being filmed. Dang sued Smith and the producers for assault.
Dang also claims in the lawsuit, which was first filed Aug. 16, 2022, that she was “falsely imprisoned” by Kinetic Content and Delirium TV while filming the series and says producers acted with negligence.
Neither Dang nor Smith were listed as participants in the show when the full cast was announced, and they have not appeared in Season Five, which premiered Sept. 22.
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Dang alleges Smith “incessantly groped” her, “exposed himself in the nude” and “forcibly and repeatedly made sexual contact” without her consent.
Smith’s attorney, Kip Patterson, said in an email to TODAY.com that Smith denies the allegations and the firm does not comment on ongoing litigation.
Dang's lawsuit alleges that the production companies are liable for Smith’s actions as they occurred during filming, or at their “workplace,” and as a contestant, he was an “employee.” She said in the petition “most if not all” of the acts were captured on camera by Kinetic Content and Delirium TV because she and Smith were under “24-hour surveillance” by the production companies.
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Kinetic Content and Delirium TV denied that contestants are filmed constantly in a joint statement responding to the lawsuit.
"We support and stand with victims of sexual assault, but Ms. Dang's claims against the producers are meritless," the production companies' joint statement reads. "We document the independent choices of adults who volunteer to participate in a social experiment. Their journey is not scripted, nor is it filmed around the clock. We have no knowledge or control over what occurs in private living spaces when not filming, and participants may choose to end their journey at any time."
In the lawsuit, Dang said she reported Smith’s actions to producers the next morning but alleges they did not take her account seriously.
"Delirium TV and Kinetic Content producers made attempts to mask plaintiff's sexual assault by characterizing it as a lack of attraction on part of the plaintiff. When plaintiff insisted an assault took place, defendants Delirium TV and Kinetic Content questioned whether the problem was really one of communication and swept aside her concerns," the petition states.
Kinetic Content and Delirium TV said in their statement that Dang "never informed the producers of any alleged wrongdoing of any kind. Nor did she choose to end her participation in the experiment.”
“We take any and all concerns of our participants seriously and prioritize their well-being,” the production companies said in the statement. “Obviously, we cannot address undisclosed concerns."
“Instead, Ms. Dang continued in the experiment for weeks after the time her lawyers now claim an incident occurred. We deny and will vigorously defend the allegations against us," their statement read, in closing.
Dang’s attorney, Benjamin W. Allen, accused the production companies of delaying the ongoing case in a statement.
“The producers are throwing money at the problem by spending an inordinate amount of money on losing legal positions that do nothing but delay the parties from having their day in court. They lost on three distinct legal issues before the trial court and then filed three separate appeals to multiply the proceedings we have to wade through before finally trying this case," Allen's statement read.
“We are confident that Ms. Dang’s position will be vindicated once we get there and are committed to seeing it through all of the way. We have to hold the show producers accountable. We have an ethical duty to our client to do so, but also feel a moral obligation to the next generation of reality show participants," he continued, in closing.
"Love Is Blind" creator Chris Coelen responded to the lawsuit in a statement to People and reiterated that the show does not film 24/7.
"We are not filming around the clock. We are not mounting cameras in their personal living spaces. We don’t do that. We’re like a documentary," he said. "They are alone during periods of times, they are not under surveillance. We do not tell people what to say, what to do, we consistently tell people that this is their journey, this is their life to lead as they choose. We’re there to follow it.”
He also said Dang "did not make any kind of claim of assault of any kind."
“We would not continue filming with someone who was expressing that an incident of that sort had happened. We have round-the-clock psychologists, a highly trained production team, we have a whole battalion of people who’s job it is to make sure that we prioritize our participant’s well-being. But the participant has to be actively involved in that process," he said in the statement.
Coelen also responded to Dang's claims that she was "imprisoned" while filming "Love Is Blind."
In the lawsuit, Dang alleges she was isolated in her hotel room when the show wasn't filming. She said in accordance with Kinetic Content and Delirium TV's "sequester parameters" for the cast, she could not leave her hotel room without permission, go into another cast member's room or hang out in the common area of the hotel.
She noted that food was provided to them by production but said "on multiple days of filming," they would provide contestants with "several alcoholic beverages," while "providing limited amounts of food."
“This combination was designed to encourage the participants to engage in striking conversations and actions that would increase viewer ratings," her petition states.
However, Coelen says those allegations are “absolutely false.”
"It’s not true in any way ... we don’t push alcohol," he told People. "Everyone has consistent and regular access to food and water."
Coelen also said contestants "come and go" as they choose in his statement to People. Aaliyah Cosby notably chose to leave the pods in Season Five before Uche Okoroha could propose to her.
But Dang is not the first “Love Is Blind” contestant to compare the isolation to "imprisonment." Coelen responded to similar allegations from Season Two's Nick Thompson in a September interview with Variety, calling the comparison "insane."
“You’re asked to stay in your hotel to protect the integrity of the experiment,” Coelen said. “We disconnect their phones and internet so they can’t get online because people are tempted to look people up.”
Dang is seeking damages for “mental anguish,” “disfigurement,” medical expenses, attorneys’ fees and more.
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