“Love Is Blind contestant Tran Dang is suing production companies Kinetic Content and Delirium TV, claiming she was sexually assaulted by her former fiancé Thomas Smith during the filming of Season 5, the latest season of the Netflix series. The couple became engaged during the season, but were not featured in the episodes. Dang is also claiming false imprisonment and negligence.
Kinetic Content and Delirium TV denied the claims in a joint statement after Variety obtained the lawsuit.
“We support and stand with victims of sexual assault, but Ms. Dang’s claims against the producers are without merit. We are documenting the independent decisions of adults who volunteer to participate in a social experiment. Their journey is not scripted, nor is it filmed around the clock. We have no knowledge or control over what happens in private homes when we are not filming, and participants can choose to end their journey at any time,” the companies said. “We take any and all concerns of our participants seriously and prioritise their well-being. Of course, we cannot address undisclosed concerns, and throughout the time that Ms Dang was involved in the production of Love is Blind, she never informed the producers of any alleged misconduct of any kind. Nor did she choose to end her participation in the experiment. Instead, Ms Dang continued in the experiment for weeks after the time her lawyers now claim an incident occurred. We deny the allegations and will defend ourselves vigorously.
Creator and CEO of Kinetic Content, Chris Coelen, also denied the allegations, insisting that the production was never informed that she felt unsafe. “If anyone ever came to us and said they felt unsafe in any way, we would immediately remove them from the experiment, talk to them and try to get to the bottom of it,” he said. “Unfortunately, in this case, that kind of sentiment was never expressed to us in any way, nor was any alleged wrongdoing ever brought to our attention.”
In her lawsuit, Dang claims she was sexually assaulted by Smith on 3 May 2022 during the holiday trip to Mexico. When contacted by Variety, Smith’s attorney, Kip Patterson, said his client denies the allegations, adding, “We do not comment on ongoing litigation.
Dang alleges that “Smith, without Ms. Dang’s consent, forcibly groped her, exposed himself naked, and repeatedly engaged in sexual contact over her express objections”. The lawsuit claims: “Due to [Kinetic Content and Delirium TV’s] 24-hour surveillance of the performers, most, if not all, of these traumatic acts were likely captured on film.
Coelen denied the claim to People, and previously told Variety in response to previous allegations made by contestants that they were not filming 24 hours a day. “They live their lives. They have a lot of moments where they are not being documented,” he said. “We don’t put cameras in bedrooms or bathrooms. We don’t have any of that. They know when we’re there. As a true believer in these real relationships, I want them to know what it’s like to be with their partner.
Coelen also told Variety that each season there are several couples who get engaged and are not followed. “Every season there are a lot of stories that we don’t tell, whether couples get engaged or not,” he said. “Some of them we even follow for a bit and don’t show their story on the show. It’s a bit of a judgement call.”
In the lawsuit, Dang also alleges that she was harassed by Smith during a phone call on 14 May 2022, and that he then called producers to complain that she had reported him. Dang claims that she tried to notify producers several times and decided to quit, but was forced to film a final scene.
Coelen denies the claims, repeating what he previously told Variety – that anyone who wants to leave the show is free to do so, as several cast members have done in the past.
Dang claims she was “forbidden to leave her hotel room without express permission”, something Coelen has said in the past was to “protect the integrity of the experiment”. During Variety’s interview with Coelen on 27 September, he responded to a similar allegation made by Nick Thompson by saying that the rules are in place to prevent cast members from seeing each other before they’re supposed to, and that there are staff members available if the cast needs anything at any time.
Variety contacted both Dang and Smith’s attorney, who did not immediately respond.
