Beverly McLendon’s teenage daughter responded to a request on the Tyra Banks Show’s website seeking sex addicts to appear on the talk show in 2009. She was then contacted by the show on her cellphone, where she arranged to be picked up in a limo, driven to the airport and flown to New York, where she stayed alone in a hotel room after appearing on the show. She was paid for her appearance, and the discussion of her supposed sexual addiction appeared on live television.
And her mother had no idea it was happening until it was over. She filed a missing person’s report when she realized her daughter was gone, and now she’s filed a lawsuit against Warner Brother’s television, the executive producers of the show and Tyra herself. The suit accuses the show both of violating McLendon’s privacy by airing the episode featuring her minor daughter without her consent and of negligence for flying a minor to Manhattan without a parent or at least a parent’s consent. The suit also claims personal damages because of the exposure that the girl has received in connection with the very adult subject matter and seeks to bar the episode from being aired again on television or the internet.
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and asks for $1 million in compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages. The talk show may have also violated labor laws by paying a minor for her appearance, again without the supervision or approval of a parent.
While this sounds like just another potential nightmare to add to the already hair raising list of possible ways your teen could get into trouble, think of it as a teachable moment. Talking to your kids (in a non-judgmental manner) about the real dangers behind doing things like running away to the Tyra Banks show – let your kids learn from Ms. McLendon’s daughter’s mistakes.
