Woman Sues Reality TV Show For Fraud, Assault
(CBS) LOS ANGELES A young woman who alleges she was duped into playing a cheating spouse in a Spanish-language reality television show sued the director and the station that aired the show.
Elizabeth I. Anderson filed her lawsuit Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. Among the defendants are Hearst-Argyle Television Inc., the owners of Spanish-language KCRA, and Alejandra Duque, producer/director of the series “Secretos.”
Anderson alleges fraud, misrepresentation, negligent supervision, intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation and assault and battery.
She is asking for unspecified general, medical and punitive damages.
“Secretos” is about a team of private investigators led by J.C. Uribe who track down unfaithful spouses and friends to uncover their secrets. Uribe also is named as a defendant.
Anderson’s suit alleges the series implies that the cast members are real people who cheat on their spouses. In reality, the show is scripted, and the characters are actors who have no idea they will be on “Secretos” and portrayed as they are, the lawsuit stated.
The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles because scenes involving Anderson were filmed in the city, including a “confrontation” on Melrose Avenue in which Anderson was assaulted and suffered a concussion, according to the lawsuit.
Officials with Hearst-Argyle were unavailable for immediate comment.
According to the lawsuit, Anderson, who is fluent in Spanish, was hired for an acting assignment by the defendants in January 2005 when she was 20 and a recent graduate of New York University. She was not told she was going to appear in an episode of “Secretos,” the lawsuit stated.
The first scenes were shot at the home of a friend of Duque, where Anderson and a male actor were told they were going to act out an implied sex scene in which she would remove the man’s shirt, the lawsuit stated.
But when the cameras started rolling, Duque and the cameraman started telling Anderson to take off her clothes, the lawsuit stated.
Anderson objected and started to walk off the set, but Duque apologized and persuaded her to stay, the lawsuit stated.
A rehearsal for the next few scenes occurred on Melrose Avenue, the lawsuit stated. There, Anderson and the same male actor were met by three “Secretos” investigators, according to the lawsuit.
Another male actor who was playing Anderson’s jealous husband then attacked the man she was walking with, the lawsuit stated. Anderson was hit in the face and head and fell unconscious to the ground, according to the lawsuit.
The “Secretos” crew members told Anderson to stop crying and gave her $60 to see a doctor, the lawsuit stated.
Anderson was so traumatized she quit acting and moved away from Los Angeles, the lawsuit stated.
