Fallen 'Idol': Employees Sue Hit Show
Reality TV show workers have long complained about being overworked and underpaid. Now, accusations and a lawsuit have hit the biggest reality TV show of all: Fox's "American Idol."
Three former employees have filed a big class-action lawsuit against "Idol" producer FremantleMedia North America, claiming that they were told to work overtime without overtime pay, as well as sign off on fictional time cards.
The suit contends workers had to work 10, 12 and even 20-hour days six or seven days a week--sometimes without meals or other breaks.
This isn't the first time that reality TV editors and workers have complained or sought legal action. The Writers Guild of America recently settled two class-action lawsuits for $4 million for many similar problems. The suits were filed in 2005.
Plus, there have been grumblings about "Idol" before. Last summer, the Writers Guild of America did a month-long publicity campaign against Fremantle, holding protests around the country outside "American Idol" auditions.
The suing "Idol" workers have worked on other reality shows: Twentieth Television's syndicated game show "Temptation," Oxygen cable network's "The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency" and Fox's upcoming "Osbournes: Reloaded."
A Fremantle spokesman had no comment.
Recent MediaDailyNews Articles
-
Consumers Tag Costco, Movado As Most Promising Brands June 18, 6:09 p.m.
Costco, Cisco and Movado are the three most financially promising pure-play, publicly traded brands in the ... -
'Voice' Sings To Consistent Beat June 18, 5:57 p.m.
One of the biggest shows on broadcast television finished its spring edition pretty close to where ... -
Motorola Hires Digitas For Global Media Account June 18, 5:43 p.m.
Google-owned Motorola has appointed Publicis Groupe’s Digitas to handle global media duties, according to sources. Those ... -
'Jimmy Kimmel,' Myspace Promote Musicians June 18, 2:56 p.m.
Select artists that appear on TV late-night show “Jimmy Kimmel Live” will get to perform an ... -
W+K Amsterdam's Heineken Ad Wins Cannes Lions Grand Prix, Creative June 18, 11:31 a.m.
A Heineken ad campaign from Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam, the brand’s first global campaign effort, has ... -
Millennials Split In Attitude, Teens Less Upbeat, But Resilient June 18, 10:56 a.m.
MTV says younger U.S. millennials are a bit more pessimistic than older millennials.New millennials ages 14 ... -
Scripps Launches TV Everywhere With TWC June 17, 6:01 p.m.
Scripps Networks has a TV Everywhere deal with Time Warner Cable, allowing viewers access to on-demand ... -
Cannes Lions, Gates Foundation Partner For Global Initiative June 17, 5:51 p.m.
It sounds like a cliché from a beauty pageant, where the contestants talk about the lofty ... -
After TV, Sports Fans Up Coverage On Mobile, Social Nets June 17, 4:27 p.m.
While TV remains the No. 1 platform for sports fans, the second-screen TVs of sports -- ... -
Public Trust In Newspapers Dips Again June 17, 2:19 p.m.
In addition to their well-publicized financial woes, newspapers have a credibility problem, as Americans’ confidence in ...
Be the first to comment on "Fallen 'Idol': Employees Sue Hit Show"
Leave a Comment