Was 'Bachelorette' Contestant Sexually Assaulted During Production?
by EG
An alum of the fourth season of The Bachelorette says that she was drugged and sexually assaulted by a masseuse who worked for the production. Meredith Phillips says she didn't come forward sooner because she wanted to "protect the franchise," and she didn't want to lose her job on the show.
Via People.
Meredith Phillips, star of The Bachelorette‘s season 2, is claiming a female masseuse drugged and sexually assaulted her during production of the ABC show in late 2003.
Phillips made the allegations for the first time in an episode of the Reality Steve podcast, which aired on Wednesday. PEOPLE has not independently corroborated Phillips’ claim and reps for ABC and Warner Bros. told PEOPLE they had “no comment” to share regarding her accusations.
Phillips did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for further comment.
Recalling feelings of fatigue during the filming of season 2, Phillips alleged she was “roofied” and “kind of accosted” by an unidentified female massage therapist, who she said was hired by the show.
“I just assumed it was an aspirin or something to loosen up my back, or Tylenol, or something. And it definitely wasn’t that, that’s for sure,” Phillips said during the podcast episode.
“The last thing I remember was she got naked and she was in the tub with me, and rubbing my back and rubbing areas probably she shouldn’t have. And then I was put in bed. I woke up naked. Don’t remember much,” said Phillips, who was on the fourth season of The Bachelor, starring Bob Guiney, and came in third place.
As for why she did not report the allegations during her time on the show, Phillips said she “wanted to protect the franchise, which is f—ed-up.”
Get the rest of the story at People.
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