Corey Feldman has filed a lawsuit against the executives and producers of Marriage Boot Camp: Family Edition, making a range of claims, including that he and his family were held hostage during filming and that the experience caused him “severe emotional trauma,” The Blast is reporting.
“The show was initially ‘sold’ to Mr. Feldman on the premises of being able, through guidance from licensed medical professionals, to help heal the tumultuous relationship Mr. Feldman had with his brother Eden over the years. Instead, of healing this brotherly relationship the (show) instead created questions and exercises that would focus and would reveal past sexual assaults on the celebrities and how such sexual trauma affected them and their lives,” The Blast quotes from the lawsuit, which has been filed in LA County court.
The actor and musician appeared on the show’s 13th season with his wife Courtney and younger brother Eden to repair the brotherly relationship. (On the show, Eden shared that the two have sometimes gone years without speaking).
“We are hoping that this truly is a therapeutic experience, an honest experience, and that it’s not done for sensationalism,” Corey said in a trailer for the season that aired last fall on WEtv.
According to the lawsuit, the experience wasn’t therapeutic or honest for the Feldmans. Instead, the suit alleges, the family was held against their will during the taping, Corey was portrayed as a liar and his history of abuse was exploited for ratings. All of that is having a negative impact on his career and work as an advocate for victims of sexual abuse (the former child actor is currently promoting the documentary “My Truth: The Rape of 2 Coreys”), the lawsuit alleges.
The producers, “Knowingly put (Corey) in mental anguish and physical danger, treating and portraying (him) as a joke and a liar, through public victimization and discrediting him throughout the world not only causing severe emotional harm to him but also putting Mr. Feldman in disrepute, greatly diminishing his earning potential as both an actor and a musician and causing further destruction of his life’s work and his documentary,” the suit reads.
On the show, Corey and Eden talked about the abuse they suffered at the hands of their mother. Corey also told fellow cast members about the sexual abuse he experienced as a child actor and how that led to him becoming an addict.
Producers, according to the suit obtained by The Blast, “Intentionally included and uprooted emotional trauma from the childhoods of their ‘celebrity participants,’ almost glamorizing the abuse by making light of it, and forcing the trauma survivor to forcibly discuss life-altering traumatic episodes for the mere purpose of sensationalization and ratings.”
Corey also blasted those behind the show for using one of his “most traumatic moments” in commercials, which were replayed over and over.
In a “Crew Tells All” video exclusive, show producers talked about Corey’s life experiences and acknowledged the impact those experiences had on him during the show’s production.
“Corey, of course, is very distrustful, as we’ve seen all season long, which, in his defense, he’s been persecuted in his past, he’s had a tough life,” executive producer Adam Freeman said.
Corey claims that his wife, brother and entire family were also distressed by their experience on ‘Marriage Boot Camp.’
WeTV has yet to comment publicly on the lawsuit.
Watch the “Crew Tells All” video below.
(Photos: JC Olivera/Getty Images; WEtv; Instagram)
It’s ironic that he’s always whining about being exploited, since his entire adult life has been built on exploiting and abusing others, all day, every day. Childhood abuse does not give us a license to abuse others.
He needs to be sitting in a jail cell with Aaron Carter.
Please don’t give this guy the attention.
Boy, stop! You were not held hostage! There was no gun to your head, you were not tied up. You have two legs, you could have used them and walked out the door. What the hell do these people think is going to happen when they go on these shows they get PAID money to go on?