Judge weighs the merits of a lawsuit alleging 'Real Housewives' creators abused a cast member
The lawyer for a former cast member of the “Real Housewives of New York” has told a judge that the First Amendment cannot shield the show's creators from a lawsuit alleging the show's participants were subjected to a “rotted workplace culture.”
NEW YORK (AP) — The lawyer for a former cast member of the “Real Housewives of New York” told a federal judge Thursday that the First Amendment cannot shield the show’s creators from a lawsuit alleging that the show’s participants were subjected to a “rotted workplace culture.”
Attorney Sarah Matz said the lawsuit brought by Leah McSweeney earlier this year should advance to the stage where evidence can be gathered for trial.
Adam Levin, a lawyer for defendants including entertainer Andy Cohen, one of the show’s producers, and the Bravo channel, told the judge that the lawsuit’s allegations were protected by the First Amendment and that it should be dismissed at a stage in which the judge is required to assume the allegations are true.
The judge did not immediately rule on the future of the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages for mental, emotional, physical pain along with impairment of life's joys and lost future earnings.
