Work on the upcoming ninth season of MTV’s reality series Are You the One? has been put on hold in the wake of a Daily Beast story Sunday, in which former contestant Gianna Hammer accused the producers of drugging her and covering up a sexual assault during the filming of Season 5 in 2017.
“We take these issues very seriously and have paused production/casting to conduct an independent investigation into the allegations, the third party production company and further review our internal safety protocols,” an MTV spokesperson said in a statement.
In the story, Hammer claims that she had been on anti-anxiety medication when she joined Season 5 of the show, filming in the Dominical Republic. She details the events of one night during shooting at an alcohol-fueled cast party. Hammer alleges that the producers gave her an extra doze of her medication after she had a confrontation with another cast member despite her protests that the medication should not be mixed with alcohol. She alleges that she blacked out after that but fellow contestants later told her that they had to pull her out of a bed she was in with a male cast member because they’d heard her saying “no.” Hammer claims that the producers allowed the male contestant to remain on the show after the incident. Are You the One?, which had been casting for next season, is produced by Lighthearted Entertainment.
Hammer had been alluding to her experience on social media for awhile. According to sources, MTV had done two internal reviews, the latest of which was in February 2021. Now the network will now be bringing an independent third party to probe the incident.