Sex Workers Say ‘Life-Changing’ Relativity Show Never Delivered

Three women who allege they were repeatedly promised “life-changing” experiences by Relativity Media LLC as part of a short-lived reality show say the bankrupt Hollywood studio’s empty pockets should not let it off the hook for its empty promises.

In a lawsuit filed last month in Texas, three Houston-area sex workers say Relativity never delivered on housing, health care, legal services and other assistance promised for their participation in the controversial A&E reality series “8 Minutes.”

And in a complaint filed Sunday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, the three women, who want their case heard by a jury, asked a bankruptcy judge not to allow Relativity to escape their lawsuit as part of its ongoing chapter 11 case. Filing for bankruptcy temporarily freezes all litigation and allows for some types of lawsuits to be discharged, though exceptions are made when the suit involved certain kinds of fraud.

A spokesman for Relativity declined to comment Monday.

Producers for “8 Minutes,” which aired earlier this year before being canceled amid widespread criticism, allegedly offered the women a way out of the sex trade and a shot at a better life. The purpose of the show was to help “women in the life,” referring to women involved in sex work, and “to provide the necessary support if the women would like to leave,” court papers say.

But after filming interviews with the women, Relativity never delivered on the help it promised, according to suit. The complaint also claims Relativity assured the women their faces would be concealed during the nationally-broadcast series and then failed to do so.

The women, identified only as Jane Doe I, Jane Doe II and Jane Doe III, were sought out based on ads they placed on escort websites, court papers show.

Jane Doe 1 says she paid $250 for her appearance on the show but told that the “real” value would be the resources provided following her appearance. Lawyers for Jane Doe 1 say she was told that the network and Relativity “will do what it takes to get you and your family back on their feet.” But the assistance never materialized, her lawyers say, leaving her “economically and emotionally devastated.”

Jane Doe II was recruited for the show at a substance abuse rehabilitation program and was similarly assured an escape from sex work, according to the complaint. But the young woman never received the help she expected despite the producers proclaiming, wrongly, that Jane Doe II and her daughter were “safe in a new location” and “currently receiving services” at the end of the episode.

Lawyers for Jane Doe III say she was “bombarded by phone calls” from family, friends and acquaintances after being featured on “8 Minutes.”  Because the episode did not conceal her identity, she “has suffered incessant humiliation and embarrassment which continues to this day,” according to the complaint.

According to court papers, the women are now seeking more than $1 million in damages for “willful and malicious injuries.” The complaint filed Sunday names both Relativity and Long Pond Media LLC, an affiliate headed by Tom Forman.

Relativity filed for chapter 11 protection in July, plagued by a string of box-office flops and a heavy debt load. A bankruptcy judge last week approved a sale of the company’s TV studio to senior lenders. The deal is expected to close by Oct. 20.

A group of investors led by founder and Chief Executive Ryan Kavanaugh are set retake control of what remains of Relativity under a plan that call for company to reorganize around its film and other divisions by early next year.

Write to Tom Corrigan at tom.corrigan@wsj.com