VH1 Has A Pretty Great Defense For Their ‘Dating Naked’ Lawsuit

VH1's reality show Dating Naked suffered a major blow to its credibility when it was hit with a $10 million lawsuit following their failure to blur out contestant Jessie Nizewitz's asshole and vagina. But fear not, because according to The Hollywood Reporter (link below), VH1's legal team presented the judge in the case with a pretty airtight defense.

Like anyone that follows sports will tell you, the best defense is a good offense, and VH1 has chosen to basically throw Nizewitz's own words back in her face. 

The producers retort that when Nizewitz —"a former actress, model, and stripper" — applied to be on the show, she explained her comfort with the show's premise, saying the “nude thing isn’t a big deal to me, I’m very comfortable being naked and with my body in general.” And Viacom points out that in the episode in question, she mocked another participant's shyness, saying "Honestly, being naked to me really means absolutely nothing."

"Since unfettered nudity was a crucial aspect of the program, the Production Defendants were careful to document the participants’ consent," states the memorandum.

Yeah, I kind of have to agree with VH1 on this one. What did she think was going to happen when she appeared on a show called Dating Naked? Still, you're going to feel really bad for Nizewitz when you read another portion of her contract that she signed to appear on the show, namely the portion that forces her to pony up large sums of money should she choose to bring legal action against the show's producers.

What's more, Nizewitz agreed to pay defendants' attorney fees and costs if she ever brought a lawsuit. See the participant agreement below — a whopping 33-page contract that details the type of onerous conditions that reality TV wannabes must consent to before appearing, including $2 million in liquidated damages for breaching the contract.

In most cases involving reality show contestants, plaintiff's lawyers might seek to argue the unconscionability of the waivers, but here, Nizewitz's attorney bypassed mention of those releases to instead rely upon a claim that the producers breached an oral contract by allegedly promising repeatedly to blur.

Ah, so they breached an oral contract. I thought only pornstars had those. Sorry. Sorry. 

You can read the full contract for yourself over at The Hollywood Reporter