Big Brother Contestants Can Sue For Wrongful Dismissal
NEVER let it be said that Big Brother and all other reality TV is not hard work – at least never let it be said in France, where reality TV agonist are salaried workers.
Reality TV is no longer slice of life stuff, allowing the viewer to spy on one of the reaple (real people) meandering through life between fridge, bed and telly. Reality TV is proper work.
The supreme court in France has awarded three contestants on l’Ile de la Tentation, the French version of the programme Temptation Island, €11,000 (£9,500) each in compo.
For those of you at work and unable to watch Temptation Island – and is watching it ever hard work – the show features couples canoodling with a group of singles in order to test the strength of their relationships. You may know it by one of its other titles: Holiday Rep, Emmerdale and Celebrity Bowls Club.
Having worked longer than 35 hours in a week – enduring oily massage, tag-team flirting and the onslaught of Jacuzzi bubbles – Anthony Brocheton, Marie Adamiak and Arno Laize were salaried workers, and as such were entitled to holiday pay, overtime and damages for wrongful dismissal.
Giving judgment, la Cour de Cassation, France’s highest court, ruled:
“Temptation Island constitutes a job and therefore justifies an employment contract.”
Maître Jérémie Assous, the lawyer for Mr Brocheton, Miss Adamiak and Mr Laize, opines:
“Production companies will no longer be able to dispose of contestants as they have done for years, 24 hours a day, making them do whatever they want.”
Now a throwaway line about Oxo Cubs and Indian slums is not just a chance for the liberal commentariat and tabloids to show off their vested interests but is a prelude to an employment tribunal.
A row and a hissy fit is a chance for hacks in the media business sections to write about how terrible reality telly is, how it has ruined society and join the chorus asking us to hate the contestants for getting to be famous and meet famous people, which as everyone knows, used to be the job of media workers…
Posted: 5th, June 2009 | In: Celebrities, Key Posts Comment (1) | TrackBack | Permalink
