Disney Sued Over Wife Swap

[Loomis]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/po/20051122/co_ ... aywifeswap

SUMMARY: An Oklahoma man is suing for over $10 million after the show "Wife Swap" exchanged his wife with a gay man.

An Oklahoma man is suing for over $10 million after the show "Wife Swap" exchanged his wife with a gay man.

Jeffrey D. Bedford of Haileyville filed his $10,225,000 suit in Muskogee's U.S. District Court, claiming that ABC Television misled him by not sending a woman from a heterosexual family to his home.

In his suit against Walt Disney (the parent company of both ABC and the show's producers, RDF Media), Bedford claims that when he conducted a Bible study for the Haileyville Baptist Church in his home, his gay "wife" invited a gay group as well.

But Bedford's suit does not focus solely on his queasiness about homosexuality. He also claims the producers of the show repeatedly told him his wife was leaving him, threatening not to reveal his wife's location if he did not participate.

Bedford said he became emotionally distraught, to the point of becoming physically and mentally ill, as a result.

He also blamed the producers of the show from forcing him out of a college class.

Bedford's suit seeks $5 million for mental distress that he claims caused him medical bills, public humiliation, embarrassment and undue grief.

He seeks another $5 million for punitive damage and $225,000 for other legal issues, including breach of contract.

ABC spokeswoman Annie Fort insisted the producers did not mislead Bedford.

"The show is meant to challenge a family's norms. Moreover, the agreement between the plaintiff and RDF specifically stated that the swapped spouse could be either male or female," Fort wrote in an e-mail to the Muskogee Phoenix.

Fort claimed there is no scheduled date for the unaired episode.

[Escapay]

TEN MILLION DOLLARS?

You'd think the gay man kicked him in the crotch!

Ridiculous lawsuit. Don't these people KNOW what they're getting into by subjecting themselves to this reality garbage? I've seen Wife Swap a few times, and those families are THERAPY WAITING TO HAPPEN. Sure, the show was coy in having a "slight" mention that the swap can be a male or a female, but that's what the friggin families signed up for! They signed up for a COMPLETE STRANGER to come live with them for two weeks.

I hope they air this episode, simply so I can see just how low families will go to get 15 minutes of fame...

Escapay

[MadonnasManOne]

This is ridiculous. First of all, when you appear on these type of shows, you sign a contract, which states you cannot sue, for any reason. I don't understand why people are still trying to sue.

Second, this doesn't surprise me. He lives in Oklahoma! I live in Oklahoma, and I can tell you, the majority of straight men, here, are very closed minded. It is sad.

I hope this guy loses this case, and that he has to pay ABC 10 million dollars! There needs to be some justice in the world!

[Zoltack]

Well they guy I'm guessing doesn't have 10 Million but that doesn't mean that ABC can garnish his salary.

And they really need to stop running these shows, they're stupid. It's basically the same as FOX's show Trading Spaces. I'm just sick of these shows they need somemore good fictional TV series than reality shows.

[Wonderlicious]

Should we blame the production company? Should we whine about the gay man? Should we slam the homophobic contestent?

My answer to all these questions is "yes". The reason for this each and everyone of them has to blame for such trashy reality TV shows getting somewhere. Sorry.

[Loomis]

I also blame the public at large for continually accepting this trash as television.

It's like the old story: if you are stuck in the desert, and sombody offers you boot polish or petrol to drink, you will probably accept one or the other, because you are dying of thirst.

However, we as the viewing public need to switch off our sets, stand up and demand water, coke, bourbon, wine...something good! Networks continue to peddle cheap TV because the public just blindly goes along with being treated like idiots. Then when it suddenly goes all wrong and impacts on our myopic world views (in this case, a straight man confronted with a gay man; our Big Brother got complaints for bits of nudity etc) it is suddenly bad...

[GhostHost]

this type of tv is pure flith. Having it on ABC disgraces the Disney name.

[Zoltack]

this type of tv is pure flith. Having it on ABC disgraces the Disney name.

I thought NBC was affiliated with Disney. But I'm not sure you could be right.

[JiminyCrick91]

this type of tv is pure flith. Having it on ABC disgraces the Disney name.

I thought NBC was affiliated with Disney. But I'm not sure you could be right.

Yes it is....
ABC = Disney
NBC (was on its own for years but now is part of...) = Universal

[Lazario]

A few things to keep in mind:

1. The show's producers did what they wanted to, no law against that
2. This lawsuit is a MAJOR joke, the man deserves NO financial compensation whatsoever
3. The man is a small-minded moron, and obviously a homophobe who cracked under the pressure of pretending to be a decent American citizen on-TV and having to treat his "new wife" with civility
4. The man posing as the "new wife" has no shame, but it took a lot of guts to do what he did
5. Reality TV shows lost their respectability many years ago, though the format is still in it's infancy - creatively speaking, no point in spouting out the same old cliches about it now
6. None of us will ever see it, so who even cares?
7. Oklahoma? They should see their own musical more often, then they'd be more gay-friendly...

[2099net]

6. None of us will ever see it, so who even cares?

I believe it shown on UK Channel 4 about 2 months ago. Although I never saw it. Apparently, the guy had a thing for punishing his kids by hitting them with a wooden paddle, for such minor things too such as "not eating their greens". I won't shed any tears for him, if this is the same episode.

[Lazario]

Ha ha ha. Oh yeah, those poor kids. Those darn crazy Baptists will never learn...

[AwallaceUNC]

If the contract really was violated and the man really was misled, then I'd say he might have a case. (A $10k case? Doubtful. But a case nonetheless). Of course I haven't seen that contract, but I wouldn't put it past this kind of reality show to not always be on the up-and-up. But really, who volunteers for this show?

-Aaron

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

WAIT A MINUTE! Do you mean to tell me people ACTUALLY CHOOSE to go on this show!



Ever since these "reality" shows started with shows like Survivor and Fear Factor, I always thought they were rubbish! Not because they were terrible shows(even thought they are), but because how there seems to be no way this show could work without a script! Personally I thought these so called "contastants" were just actors trying to make show buissness and that they all knew these "obstacles" were coming. I mean there is NO WAY these things could work without people rehearsing.

So overall if you decided to go on a "reality" shows, expect ANYTHING to happen! That's why this lawsuit is bogus!

[Siren]

The husband can only blame himself. He knows that he will likely get the opposite of what his wife is.

So is his wife is a Christian, you can bet they are giving him an athiest, satanic, or wiccan wife....Whatever would bother him the most. And they ended up giving him a gay "wife". He signed up for the show. Would it have been just as bad if they have him a heterosexual Satan worshipper? Is it simply for the fact that he got a guy? If so, the only one who looks like an arse is him. Prejudice twit. He doesn't get an ounce of my pity. He chose to do this show. Its what he has to live with. He deserves all the "emotional pain". He asked for it.

[Maerj]

.

He also claims the producers of the show repeatedly told him his wife was leaving him, threatening not to reveal his wife's location if he did not participate.

Bedford said he became emotionally distraught, to the point of becoming physically and mentally ill, as a result.

I think that if the above statement is true, then he could have a case. He signed a contract, got the gay spouse, okay. But if they really did lie to him about his wife leaving him, etc., then he might be able to get a jury to agree with him.

Really these kind of shows should end but they won't. They're too cheap to produce and they appeal to people's voyeuristic instincts.

[Lazario]

I know. They're just serving up what the sick public wants to see. It's kind of funny, even if a lot of people disagree with it, that it's like: majority wins and the majority thinks this kind of TV is entertaining.

[2099net]

I know. They're just serving up what the sick public wants to see. It's kind of funny, even if a lot of people disagree with it, that it's like: majority wins and the majority thinks this kind of TV is entertaining.

Well, normally I'd agree. But there's a world of difference between watching "celebs" peeing by their bed or eating Wallby Peni (is Peni the plaural for Penis?).

For instance, if this is the same Wife Swap with the presense of a gay couple, the experience certainly had a benefit for some participants.

I was told that the woman stayed with one of the gay couple who were living with two daughters, and she saw that thier children were happier and more normal than their own children. When she went back, she insisted the paddling stopped (as well as some other changes). More importantly, she realised that everything she had been told about gay couples was nothing more than propaganda, and her views and opinions have changed, most probably for life.

[Isidour]

considering that this sewing is kind of impossible to succed...don´t you think that it would be a smart strategy to burst the raiting?

I mean, someone who heard about this could say "And Disney made this? I really have to watch it" or something like it?

[Lazario]

Why would they? Anyone likely to say something like that would know that Disney has their own channel.