The Bachelor franchise is absolutely fkn wild, in every sense of the word. Wild episodes, wild contestants, wild behind-the-scenes tea. Wild, wild, wild.
But as wild (doesn’t even sound like a word anymore, does it?) as our Bachie is, the U.S. Bachie is far more w i l d. Brace yourselves for this one, kids.
A 2019 Bachelorette contestant by the name of Luke Parker has reportedly been ordered to pay (US)$100,000 to NZK Productions, Inc. for breaching his contract, according to court documents obtained by Page Six.
Parker was a contestant on Hannah Brown’s season, which aired in 2019. (Credit: ABC)
The production company is accusing Parker of making media appearances without their consent, even though his contract states that he cannot do so without checking with them first. He now must pay a fine of $25,000 for each appearance.
What’s got me about this whole thing is the fact that contestants from Australian Bachie do this literally all the time and the punishment doesn’t seem nearly as severe (if at all).
An anonymous contestant from Locky Gilbert’s season did a spicy interview with Daily Mail Australia recently where she claimed that Ten and Warner Bros. told her that she would have “no chance” of being cast in Bachelor In Paradise if she broke her contract (which is ironic now, for obvi reasons).
“They said to me: ‘If you do this, you might as well rule out any future appearance on any other Warner Bros. show’,” the unnamed contestant told the site.
She claims the girls were warned not to speak to any magazine, website or podcast about their experiences during filming without the written permission of Warner Bros. They were also told their social media posts had to be approved by producers.
“If you are caught posting something they don’t like, you have to delete it immediately,” the insider added.
“They continually remind you of your signed agreement and ask if you want to return for Bachelor in Paradise.”
She said, “We have a bit more freedom once we are get kicked off the show.”
This alleged warning was likely in response to the absolute public shitstorm that was Bachelor In Paradise, plus all the drama that was unfolding for everyone to see on The Bachelor this year.
According to the court docs, Parker first signed a contract with the company in January 2019, which stated that he would not “make any media appearances [from January 2019] through one year after the date of the initial broadcast of the final episode of the series.”
Season 15 of the show ended on July 30, 2019, but the company claimed that he made four appearances in September and October 2019, according to the docs.
The contract also prohibited him from sharing “any information or events he witnessed or learned as a contestant… or make any negative or disparaging remarks about the series and/or its principals, employees or affiliates, at any time” — a provision the company claims he also violated, court docs show.
Are you kidding me!? This literally happens EVERY. SINGLE. SEASON. of EVERY. SINGLE. Bachie show here in Australia.
Remember that Nadine Kodsi character who got ousted from this year’s Bachelor during the first cocktail party, then proceeded to leak the winner on her Instagram and continuously spill top secrets about the show, all for the sake of Instagram followers?
These are just a couple of examples of the many, many times Bachie AU contestants have done exactly what a Bachie US contestant is being fined $100K for.
Dang, our guys better be bloody stoked that their contracts aren’t as intense as the ones over in the States, ‘cos woof.
