ABCA former Bachelor and Bachelorette producer has filed a complaint against the show's production company and five producers alleging she was sexually harassed on set, E! News can confirm.
In court documents obtained by E! News, Becky Steenhoek filed a complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court Monday morning where she claims that she was repeatedly asked questions about her sex life while working on season 12 of The Bachelorette.
She is 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. Warner Bros., which produces The Bachelor franchise, is named in the complaint.
"We take all allegations of workplace harassment very seriously. These allegations were brought to our attention and were thoroughly investigated earlier this year," Warner Bros. said in a statement to E! News. "Our findings did not support the plaintiff's characterization of the events claimed to have taken place, which is why we are disappointed by the filing of this lawsuit."
According to Becky, five of the show's executive and cast producers allegedly asked her graphic personal questions including, "Is your vagina shaved?," "Have you ever fondled [testicles] before?" and "Have you ever sat under a shower faucet or touched yourself to masturbate?"
"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,'" Becky told the Los Angeles Times who first broke the story. "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."
Becky claims in her lawsuit that when she turned to a cast producer to complain about the questions, she was told that it was "locker-room" talk. Weeks after complaining, Becky was told she would not be needed for the remainder of the season.
"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," Becky shared with The Times. "And then here I am being fired because of that reason."
Since being fired from the show, Becky has moved to Texas where she lives with her family. As for if she has any regrets about reporting it, the former producer stands by her decision.
"If you report it, you get retaliated against, you get fired because then you're not a team player. If you don't report it, then it was essentially me not being me," she claimed to The Times. "I would have had to sacrifice my values and my morals for something I didn't think was right, and I'm not gonna do that."