Overview

• Season 7 contestant Stephen Richardson filed the proposed class action Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, naming Netflix, Kinetic Content and Delirium TV and seeking to represent contestants across recent seasons.
• The complaint alleges willful misclassification as independent contractors, asserting contestants should receive minimum wage, overtime, accurate wage statements and legally required breaks.
• Richardson says producers exerted extensive control over daily life during filming, restricting outside communication, seizing IDs and phones, limiting food and water, and regularly providing alcohol to influence behavior.
• The filing cites onerous nondisclosure terms with penalties of about $97,000, referencing earlier disputes including a $4 million arbitration claim against former contestant Renee Poche and a 2024 settlement tied to prior litigation revealing $1,000 weekly stipends.
• Kinetic Content and Delirium TV deny the allegations and call the suit meritless, as the action follows an NLRB complaint last year that said cast members were misclassified.