Love Is Blind Contestant Slaps Netflix with Bombshell Lawsuit, Alleging Inhumane Working Conditions

Well, here we go again: Love Is Blind is back in court. A season 7 contestant is suing the show and the companies behind it, and the allegations go beyond messy reality TV drama and straight into labor law territory.

Who is suing whom, and where

Stephen Richardson, who appeared on Love Is Blind season 7, filed a proposed class action on Monday in California Superior Court. He is going after Netflix along with producers Kinetic Content and Delirium TV.

What the lawsuit says

Richardson claims the production treated cast members like employees while labeling them as independent contractors, then put them through working conditions he calls unsafe and isolating. The lawsuit argues that the producers controlled schedules and conduct on set so tightly that the cast should have qualified for the protections California law gives employees.

• Misclassification: Richardson says cast were willfully labeled as independent contractors even though production controlled when and how they worked.
• Unpaid wages: He alleges they were not properly paid for their time.
• Working conditions: The suit describes the environment as unsafe and claims contestants were cut off from outside communication.
• Damages: No dollar figure is listed yet for what Richardson is seeking.

'Willfully misclassified as independent contractors.'

The NDA angle

Reality TV NDAs are notoriously aggressive, and Richardson says he was forced to sign one that threatens nearly $100,000 in penalties for any breach. If that sounds familiar, it is: another Love Is Blind alum, Renee Poche, previously sued over emotional distress and alleged labor code violations. That case did not go her way after she violated her NDA, which became a big problem for her side.

The bigger picture

This is more than a one-off complaint; it lands squarely in the long-running debate over how reality shows treat the people on camera. The allegations here — pay issues, control, isolation — are the kind of inside baseball stuff that suggests the sausage-making might be uglier than the final edit. It does not do any favors for reality TV's reputation.

Where it stands now

As of now, Netflix and Kinetic have not responded to the lawsuit, per Variety. We will see if Delirium weighs in and whether the court lets this move forward as a class action.