Update: MTV Settles Rape Lawsuit w/ "Real World's" Tonya Cooley

[JamesG]

"Real World" Star Tonya Cooley Sues MTV, Cast Members Over Alleged Toothbrush Rape
by Chris Harnick
posted Oct 28th 2011


Tonya Cooley, a cast member of "Real World: Chicago" and many "Real World/Road Rules" challenges, is suing MTV, Bunim/Murray Productions and reality stars Kenneth Santucci and Evan Starkman, saying the male cast members named in the suit sexually assaulted her.

According to TMZ, Cooley's lawsuit claims Starkman and Santucci sexually abused her with a toothbrush while she was passed out.



Warning, the details are a bit graphic.

The lawsuit says, Starkman and Santucci "took another male participant's toothbrush and rubbed the toothbrush around the plaintiff's genitals, including rubbing her labia and inserting the toothbrush into plaintiff's vagina."





Cooley claims cameras were rolling during the incident. The reality star said producers knew about the rape, replaced the toothbrush in question and never told her what had happened.

The suit also alleges female cast members were often stripped out of their bathing suits and producers encouraged the male cast members to "inappropriately touch female cast members' bodies, including in intimate areas."

The reality star said she and other cast members reported the sexual abuse, but the show turned a blind eye.



TMZ reports Cooley is suing for unspecified damages.
MTV and Bunim/Murray could not be reached by TMZ.

http://www.aoltv.com/2011/10/28/real-world-tonya-cooley-mtv-rape/

[born2late]

MTV is such a joke now. I stopped watching years ago when they put this mess on.

[ThomasE]

What's done in the dark will be brought to the light.

[JamesG]

MTV Settles Lawsuit With "Real World" Cast Member Who Alleged Rape (Exclusive)
10/24/2012
by Eriq Gardner


MTV has settled a lawsuit brought by Tonya Cooley, who claimed she was raped during the Thailand season of the "The Real World/Road World Challenge: The Ruins" and accused the network and Bunim/Murray Productions of violating employment laws by encouraging the behavior and retaliating against her.

The lawsuit was filed a year ago, and in her complaint, Cooley said she had become the victim of repeated sexual abuse, including being raped with a toothbrush by two other contestants while she was passed out.

Cooley charged producers with supplying contestants with unlimited alcoholic beverages and further encouraging scandalous behavior by providing perks such as being named team leaders and getting more air time. She says she brought her concerns to producers, who purportedly told her to "just deal with it" and eventually decided to send her home.







In January, MTV parent Viacom Media Networks answered her complaint by disputing that any employment relationship existed between it and Cooley and objecting that a Los Angeles Superior Court had jurisdiction over claims made by a non-California resident over things that happened outside of the state.

Viacom also said that Cooley had failed to exercise care herself in the injuries she suffered and told a judge that it had an "open door policy with complaint procedures."

Cooley failed to take advantage of this, said the defendant, which goes so far as to attribute some blame for what allegedly happened to the ex-reality star.







According to Viacom's papers, "In addition to failing to avail herself of VMN's policies and complaint procedures, Plaintiff failed to avoid the injuries of which she complains. For example, while she was a contestant on The Ruins, Plaintiff was frequently intoxicated (to an extent far greater than other contestants), rowdy, combative, flirtatious, and on multiple occasions intentionally exposed her bare breasts and genitalia to other contestants."

To counter charges that Viacom had encouraged sexual abuse on a reality show, it brought forth affirmative defenses including Cooley's assumption of risk, consent, a waiver, a release, and the argument that there were legitimate business reasons for sending her home -- that she was removed from the show because "she violently struck another contestant."







In her lawsuit, Cooley said that her slap of another participant "was far less offensive than the sexual battery" she endured from contestants who weren't likewise sent home. She believed it to be a retaliatory move.

There won't be any trial, though, to determine who was right and who was wrong. The parties last week informed the judge that the dispute has been resolved and have asked for a stay for time to effectuate the resolution. Details of the settlement have not been made public.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/real-world-rape-mtv-tanya-382809

[robyrob]

just another reason not to watch MTV or anything from Viacom - too "rapey"