Caroline Manzo sues Bravo, accuses 'Real Housewives' costar Brandi Glanville of sexual harassment (original) (raw)
Former Real Housewives of New Jersey star Caroline Manzo is suing Bravo and its affiliated companies over an alleged sexual misconduct incident involving former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Brandi Glanville that took place last year while filming The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip.
According to documents reviewed by EW, Manzo claims that during filming of season 4 of the Housewives spinoff series, the network would "regularly ply the Real Housewives cast with alcohol, cause them to become severely intoxicated, and then direct, encourage and/or allow them to sexually harass other cast members because that is good for ratings."
Both Manzo and Glanville left the series before production concluded. Insiders alleged Glanville kissed Manzo multiple times during a party without her consent, PEOPLE reported at the time.
Representatives for Bravo, Peacock, and NBC Universal — which are all named as defendants due to their involvement with the show — did not immediately respond to EW’s request for comment. Reps for Warner Bros. and Shed Media declined to comment.
"The networks should always be concerned about the safety of their employees. The housewives are not their pawns to abuse for ‘drama’ purposes," Manzo’s attorney Derek Smith told EW. "We believe this case is about the networks selfishly sacrificing the wellbeing of their talent for ratings and profit. Brandi Glanville stated she was simply doing what the producers told her to do. Reality TV is leading to severe emotional and physical harm of its talent. This must stop."
"We are outraged by Bravo, Peacock and NBC's conduct and look forward to having the issues decided by a jury," Smith continued. "Sexual harassment should never be entertainment!"
Caroline Manzo and Brandi Glanville.
Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty; Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty
Reps for Glanville did not immediately respond to EW’s request for comment; however, a rep did provide a statement to PageSix. "While filming, Brandi followed what the producers asked of her, and there was no sexual assault," Glanville’s rep told the outlet. "She is innocent of these absurd accusations that have weighed on her mental and physical health for far too long without a word of support from Peacock, Shed or Bravo…This painful storytelling seems endless and needs to stop. She is looking to move on and upward and get her life back."
The complaint specifically details an alleged incident wherein Glanville allegedly sexually harassed Manzo at a party; however, Glanville herself is not a defendant in the case. After multiple alleged non-consensual kisses, Glanville allegedly followed Manzo into the bathroom and assaulted her there, the complaint claims. The complaint says that the producers were listening to the interaction via audio and sent someone to "investigate" what was happening in the bathroom, but the person "never opened the door or took any other action to intervene and stop the sexual assault."
The documents refer to Manzo as a "victim of those harmful actions," and says she wants to "discourage" them from "continuing to sacrifice their cast members' safety for their own ratings and profits." It also alleges that Bravo "caused" and "allowed" Glanville's "acts of sexual harassment and assault."
The complaint says that Bravo should never have hired Glanville for the series in the first place due to “overwhelming prior notice of [her] prior deviant sexual proclivities and sexually harassing conduct." It also states that Glanville was not required to attend a mandatory sexual harassment training course.
The network said that it launched a review into the incident last year. "The safety and security of cast and crew while shooting is extremely important and we take all reports seriously," Peacock and Shed Media said in a joint statement with EW at the time. "In this situation, production immediately launched a comprehensive review and is taking appropriate action."
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