‘Are You the One?’ Production Paused Over Past Contestant’s Sexual Assault Claims
Production on MTV’s Are You the One? has paused after a former cast member, Gianna Hammer from Season 5, claimed she was “drugged and sexually assaulted” during her time on the show.
Hammer has posted a series of videos on TikTok about her alleged ordeal four years ago.
“We take these issues very seriously and have paused production/casting to conduct an independent investigation into the allegations, the third party production company and further review our internal safety protocols,” MTV said in a statement to The Daily Beast.
In the videos she shared, Hammer said that while she was on Are You the One? she was taking the drug Zoloft for depression and anxiety. She claims that one night she got ‘trashed” and the next day producers told her that there had been a “situation” with her and a male castmate.
“I was seen in bed with him and I was heard saying ‘no’,” before other people on the show pulled her out of bed, she claims.
According to Hammer, the producers told her “nothing happened.” But she said that she felt like they pressured her to agree to let the male contestant involved in the alleged incident stay rather than send him home.
@giannahammerPart 4/10♬ original sound – giannahammer
Hammer told The Daily Beast that following that night, she and the male cast member were not allowed to drink for the rest of production and he slept on the couch instead of in the house bedroom.
“We deny the allegations made by the former contestant; throughout the eight seasons of the show, no contestant has reported an incident of sexual assault to Lighthearted,” the production company, Lighthearted Entertainment, said in a statement.
MTV has removed Hammer’s season from streaming services, such as Paramount+.