‘The Amazing Race’ Contestants File $8 Million Lawsuit Against Paramount, CBS, Disney and More

The Amazing Race Season 37 contestants Jonathan and Ana Towns have filed an $8 million lawsuit alleging they were the victims of a “smear strategy so audacious and immoral that would shock the conscience of even the most cynical propagandist.”

The Townses, who are representing themselves, filed suit against Paramount, CBS, World Race Productions and producers Jerry Bruckheimer Films and ABC Signature (which is now 20th Television, a part of Disney Television Studios) on Wednesday, seeking a jury trial, according to the Los Angeles Superior Court complaint obtained by Deadline.

The Townses, who came in third place on Season 37 last year, accuse the defendants of having “falsely portrayed” Jonathan “as a morally depraved, brutal and abusive spouse” to “tens of millions of viewers.”

In the complaint, Jonathan and Ana claimed that the defendants could have portrayed Jonathan “accurately and completely” with the footage they had, but rather decided to “suppress those materials and to substitute in their place a constructed, false, and highly damaging portrayal.”

The couple alleged that Jonathan attempted to leave The Amazing Race after experiencing a “meltdown” and “clear emotional anguish,” due to the alleged “psychological toll of production personnel bias,” but was reassured by human resources that the race was being administered fairly.

The suit also claims that Jonathan was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder after filming, with the Townses claiming that his behavior was “not volitional acts of cruelty or intentional interpersonal aggression,” but a result of his diagnosis.

The Amazing Race alum also claimed that production didn’t provide “any support whatsoever of medical, psychological, or pastoral nature” during or after filming, nor did they change the way Jonathan was depicted on the show following his diagnosis.

Jonathan claimed the “defamatory broadcast” resulted in “harm of a reputational, professional, psychological, and economic character” and that he has “suffered severe and irreparable damage to his personal and professional reputation,” including harassment, threats, mockery and hostility from members of the public.

Ana alleged that she also suffered similar harm and emotional distress, while both said they “sustained harm to their familial relationships, professional opportunities, and personal wellbeing” and are attending “ongoing professional psychiatric and therapeutic treatment.”

None of the defendants have commented publicly on the lawsuit at this time.