'Bachelorette' Producer Sues Warner Bros. Over Bombshell Sexual Harassment Claims
Oct. 30 2017, Updated 9:07 p.m. ET
Sexual harassment claims against the Bachelor franchise have now extended behind the camera, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Becky Steenhoek, a former producer of The Bachelorette, says she was a victim of harassment on the show, and has filed a complaint against Warner Bros., the show’s production company and five producers.
According to the L.A. Times, Steenhoek, 31, said that while working on the 2016 season of The Bachelorette, featuring JoJo Fletcher, the producers repeatedly asked graphic personal questions about her sex life, including "Is your vagina shaved?" "Have you ever fondled testicles before?" and "Have you ever sat under a shower faucet or touched yourself to masturbate?"
“You could visibly tell it was very uncomfortable to me to witness, just because they did make comments like, 'Oh, Becky's blushing,' or 'Her ears are probably burning,'" Steenhoek told The Times. "It was a bit of a theme that carried on throughout the season ... it was a fun time for them to see me get embarrassed."
In the lawsuit, Steenhoek said that when she complained to her superiors, she was flatly told, “This is the way of the industry and world that we work in.”
As RadarOnline.com readers know, the Bachelor shows have a reputation for being a cesspool of smut.
“In the past during filming there has been sexual incidents – women touching penises, men pulling out their penis,” a source previously told RadarOnline.com. “Sex happened in front of people.”
It all culminated in a shutdown of production on the spinoff Bachelor in Paradise, when a boozy hookup between contestants DeMario Jackson and Corinne Olympios went too far.
And although BIP resumed filming after Warner Bros. found no evidence to support the claims of sexual misconduct, private investigations are ongoing.
As for Steenhoek, shortly after complaining, she was fired from the show. She is now suing for damages related to sexual harassment and hostile work environment, sex discrimination, retaliation, failure to prevent harassment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and wrongful termination.
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