In a March 6, 2015 decision, the New York Supreme Court recently dismissed “Dating Naked” contestant Jessie Nizewitz’s $10 million lawsuit against Viacom.
In sum, plaintiff alleged that although defendants promised her “that all frontal and genital nudity would be blurred out when the show was broadcast”, defendants “did not blur out her vagina and anus, which were fully exposed to all viewers” during a “wrestling takedown of her date” depicted on the show’s third episode. She asserted claims of breach of oral contract, invasion of the right to publicity in violation of NY Civil Rights Law 51, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and emotional distress.
Judge Singh cited the participation agreement plaintiff signed (in which the phrase “partially or fully nude” is in bold and underlined) and noted that plaintiff “expressly understood the nature of her participation and the manner in which the production could be exploited.”