MTV pauses production of the dating contest Are you the one? after a former contestant claims she was drugged and sexually assaulted during filming.
Gianna Hammer, a season 5 contestant, which aired in 2017, tells The Daily Beast that she was given prescription medication to calm her after an argument with a cast member. (Her doctor told her not to take the medication while she was drinking alcohol, but the producers reportedly told her it was “not high enough” to be a problem.) Shortly after, Hammer blacked out and don’t remember what happened, but other participants later told her that she got into bed with a male cast member and said “no” before being pulled out of bed by her fellow participants.
The next day, according to Hammer, producers asked her if she wanted the male cast member kicked out, insisting that “it would be a lot to send him back.” They eventually decided to put the male cast member in a different bedroom and stop him and Hammer from drinking alcohol for the rest of the shoot, Hammer claims. “I suspect [I] really thought about it and was like, ‘Wow, that was really damn’, ”she tells The Daily Beast. “They should never have left me in an unsafe position. After all, I am definitely a changed person. “
MTV, which was planning a ninth season of the show, said in a statement, “We are taking these issues very seriously and have paused production / casting to conduct an independent investigation into the allegations, the third-party production company and to further review our internal security protocols. ”Hammer’s season of Are you the one? has also been pulled from all streaming platforms, including Paramount +.
The show’s production company Lighthearted Entertainment has denied Hammer’s allegations, claiming that “during the show’s eight seasons, no contestant has reported an incident of sexual assault to Lighthearted.” However, they also say they welcome MTV’s investigation and “will cooperate with full transparency.”