A Former Bachelor Producer Is Suing Warner Bros for Sexual Harassment

According to the Los Angeles Times, Steenhoek apparently fielded questions from executive and cast producers on JoJo Fletcher’s season of The Bachelor that were graphic and inappropriate, like “Is your vagina shaved?,” “Have you ever fondled [testicles] before?” and “Have you ever sat under a shower faucet or touched yourself to masturbate?”

Steenhoek told the Los Angeles Times that the questions made her extremely uncomfortable: “You could visibly tell it was very uncomfortable to me to witness, just because they did make comments like, ‘Oh, Becky’s blushing,’ or ‘Her ears are probably burning,’” Steenhoek said to the LA Times. “It was a bit of a theme that carried on throughout the season … it was a fun time for them to see me get embarrassed.”

Caitlin Stapleton, one of the cast producers, allegedly told Steenhoek when she complained about the questions that This is the way of the industry and world that we work in.” Stapleton also said that the “locker-room talk” the “middle-aged white men” were engaging in was their attempt at bonding. Days after Steenhoek spoke about how uncomfortable she was, she was excluded from meetings and summarily fired a few days later for not being enough of a “bitch,” according the court filings. She’s suing for “damages related to sexual harassment and hostile work environment, sex discrimination, retaliation, failure to prevent harassment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and wrongful termination.”

Part of Steenhoek’s job on Fletcher’s season was to provide moral and emotional support for Bachelorette during her time on the show. “When I was hired for the job, the reason they told me I was being hired because I did have the morals and they felt I was a good person,” Steenhoek said. “And then here I am being fired because of that reason.”