“After a thorough investigation, we have found Tonya Cooley's claims to be completely baseless,” a spokeswoman for Bunim/Murray said.
According to TMZ, Tonya Cooley filed a lawsuit against MTV, Bunim/Murray Productions and reality stars Kenneth “Kenny” Santucci and Evan Starkman alleging that she was raped with a toothbrush during the 2009’s filming of “The Ruins” season of MTV’s reality competition game show.
In her suit Tonya Cooley described the graphic details of her toothbrush rape claiming that while filming “The Ruins” in Phuket, Thailand in May, 2009, she and other cast members became “very intoxicated” around the pool by drinking hard liquor. Later that night, cast members Santucci and Starkman “took another male participant’s toothbrush and rubbed the toothbrush around plaintiff’s genitals, including rubbing her labia and inserting the toothbrush into plaintiff’s vagina” while she was unconscious.
Moreover, Tonya Cooley stated that MTV and Bunim/Murray Productions “not only knew about the rape, they even replaced the toothbrush, but never told her what happened,” according to TMZ.
Tonya Cooley, a Washington native, squarely places blame of the sexual assault on the producers of the series, who supposedly encouraged male cast members to “inappropriately touch female cast members’ bodies, including in intimate areas,” TMZ reports.
Ironically, the former “The Real World Chicago” star was kicked off the show after she reportedly got into a fight with another contestant and ended up slapping the participant, a violation of rules prohibiting offensive physical contact between cast members.
Referring to the incident, Tonya Cooley added in her lawsuit that the show’s producers “further mistreated [her] by subjecting her to stricter disciplinary rules than male participants” and that the producers consistently encouraged a misogynistic culture on the long-running reality series.
"[The defendants] took no action to stop mistreatment of females," the reality star said in the lawsuit, according to E! News. "[MTV and producers] created an environment in which degrading and harassing behavior toward the female contestants was openly tolerated and even encouraged."
Tonya Cooley, who first appeared in MTV’s “Real World: Chicago” in 2002 is suing the channel and production company on 14 counts of sexual harassment, discrimination, assault, battery, and negligence. She is seeking unspecified damages.
Source: allvoices
