“Bachelor” Racial Discrimination Lawsuit Documents Posted

It’s unusual that the actual lawsuit complaint gets posted on celebrity-related news stories. However, the “Bachelor” racial discrimination lawsuit filed by Nathaniel Claybrooks and Christopher Johnson is certainly getting some attention to the dismay of ABC and the “Bachelor” production companies.

Too bad that most reporters won’t go much further in analyzing the lawsuit complaint than posting it. I won’t be analyzing it today but I figured people would want some decent sources of information to read.

On the ELI Document Library, we have started the “Bachelor” Racial Discrimination Lawsuit Documents Collection.

So far, we have:

  • The Docket (Nearly no one posts this document but I think you will find it quite informative especially the number of lawyers working on the plaintiffs’ side. The docket will be updated periodically as new court documents and events are recorded.)
  • The Complaint (which is being posted by many news sites)

 

I looked for some “quality” video news stories because I specifically was looking at what was being said at the press conference. At this early stage, I only found a few video news stories that seemed half-way decent. It’s worth a few minutes of your time to view these short videos.

You better view these quickly because video news stories tend to have a shorter shelf life than text articles. They get removed fairly quickly. However, I do have backup copies to show should WKRN-TV remove them prematurely. (If anyone finds some good news videos of the story, please let email me at matt30060 at gmail.)

 

Some of the better news articles that go beyond the often-repeated “surface” story are:

I really think EW does a better job than the Hollywood Reporter in digging deeper. It has been the case regarding this new “Bachelor” lawsuit.

 

This unexpected new “Bachelor” lawsuit is a gift to the Reality Steve Lawsuit situation and could indirectly help Steve Carbone. There are now two simultaneous lawsuits going on relating to the “Bachelor” shows prior to the upcoming premiere of Emily Maynard’s season of “The Bachelorette”. The negative publicity of the racial discrimination lawsuit is damaging enough without even having to discuss the bullying and extortionate lawsuit of the Reality Steve Lawsuit.

Someone in celebrity media should be smart enough to make the observation that there are now TWO “Bachelor” lawsuits going on and neither of them makes ABC or upcoming “Bachelorette” series look any darn good.

I must say that no matter how I might feel about the legal merits of the racial discrimination case (which is somewhat low at this point), these lawyers are media-savvy and they are not afraid to get out in front of a camera and speak out on behalf of their clients. They had press releases lined up PRIOR to the lawsuit filing and nicely orchestrated the press conference after the lawsuit filing. The lawyers even prepared their clients to speak to the press. I was initially skeptical about these two guys seeing things through but obviously they have some big smart guns standing beside them while spending minimally (if any) on legal fees! Simply brilliant!

These are the type of lawyers I want on MY side fighting for me. They see the bigger opportunity for themselves as lawyers gaining nationwide publicity. Even if the lawyers get zero dollars in a settlement, the six lawyers got themselves and their law firm millions of dollars in free advertising and PR because they are media savvy. They know all the names and phone numbers of these lawyers are listed in the lawsuit complaint and happily shared by the news media like the Hollywood Reporter.

These lawyers fully understand that taking the fight to their adversary is not just about legal merits, filing motions, and legal paperwork. They understand there is an important PR element that puts the pressure of public scrutiny on their adversary. These lawyers have taken control of the story and they are painting an ugly picture for ABC.  And the biggest thing the lawyers have done is spend their time to file one complaint.

Even the listed order of the defendants on the lawsuit complaint is perfect. It is the exact order I would have listed them: by order of public visibility and influence. Note that ABC and Warner Horizon Television are at the top and NZK Productions and Michael Fleiss are at the bottom of the listed defendants.  The general public have heard of both ABC and Warner but not necessarily the other parties.

Few people know that ABC Network is owned by Walt Disney Company. And they HATE negative publicity like this. It tarnishes the squeaky-clean image of the Disney name. A racial discrimination lawsuit is just the thing that will make them want to settle this thing FAST, not fight it out for months on end in court.

I have always said that you don’t fight against a larger opponent on THEIR terms. You learn to change the rules of the fight so that they have to fight on YOUR terms. I am only mildly interested in the legal merits of this lawsuit at this point. For me, I want to see the lawyers and plaintiffs strut their stuff on the publicity front and watch how it impacts the outcome.  That is where the true learning is for me as a blogger, advocate, and entrepreneur.

 

 

2 Comments

  1. I don’t think their lawsuit has any merit, but I was also thinking it might get the media talking about Reality Steve’s case. That was the point of writing my second Squidoo lens on both of the ABC lawsuits. And thank you for SquidLiking my first lens.

    • I agree with you that the lawsuit is a bit weak on the legal merits but it is attracting a ton of publicity. I also agree with you that the “Bachelor” racial discrimination lawsuit could regenerate interest in the Reality Steve Lawsuit.

      FYI, I thought you did a fabulous job on your Squidoo lens. I think I pointed a link to it in one of my prior blog posts. In fact, you helped inspire me to expand my Squidoo presence with what you did. It is nice when other people chip into help as you did.

Leave a Reply