E!’s new docuseries, Dirty Rotten Scandals, takes a deeper look at iconic unscripted American TV shows such as The Dr. Phil Show, America’s Next Top Model and The Price Is Right. In the two episodes for Dirty Rotten Scandals: The Price Is Right, former Barker’s Beauties, Holly Hallstrom, Kathleen Bradley, and Claudia Jordan, break their decades-long silence to address the toxic workplace operations, sexual harassment, and discrimination they experienced during Bob Barker’s 35-year tenure on the iconic, #1-rated daytime television series.
Bradley made history as the first Black Barker’s Beauty on The Price Is Right, and Jordan, who succeeded her after Bradley’s wrongful termination, spoke with Blavity’s Shadow and Act about their experienced racism and inappropriate behavior behind the scenes on the show, which led them to form a uniquely strong bond.
You guys do a really good job, and everyone else who was involved in the docuseries who participated, of laying out how all of these issues were pretty prevalent from the start of the show. And one of the ways was through nepotism and sexism. They talk about a female producer who was not chosen over an inexperienced male producer, who was also the son of the executive producer of the show. He immediately got a salary higher than hers. Now, when you guys were on the show, even though I know it was during different times, would you say that the models were paid well on the show?
KB: Absolutely not, no, hell no. I was very surprised at the minimal pay that I was getting initially. What I think happened was really the show was not set up with the unions to have a union scale for that kind of modeling job, so it fell into a whole other pay scale of a lower range, like a model or a day player or somebody that would be on television, because they really did not have a category for a game show model for that particular time that I got on. So it was very low scale, but as time went on, of course, it went up just a little bit, but not that much.
CJ: We were paid the minimum. But it was after the rules changed. And it was absolutely the lowest you can get paid to be legally on television. And I think we got like a 3% raise, a cost-of-living raise, that went up in a year or so. We had all these followers and fans and people that love the show. Bob Barker, I think he was making $100,000 a day. And we got a bottle of water every day, and that’s it. We had to pay for everything, even lunch in the cafeteria. And I’ve never been on a show since where we had to pay for lunch because there’s always craft services.
And so, basically it was a vanity job?
CJ: Yeah.
Kathleen, you spoke about obviously making history as the first Black Barker’s Beauty. And even though that was a historical feat, you learned that even some of your colleagues and some of the models weren’t happy about you being there at the time. Talk to us a little bit about some of the stuff that you experienced and heard secondhand.
KB: It was just a whole big change of the guard, so to speak, when I got there. There had always been three models on the show for many years. And of course, as you can imagine, after being there 17 years, here comes the fourth wheel coming into play, which meant that they were not going to get as much airtime as they used to get, and it was a whole different kind of feeling going on with another model. And I don’t know if it had too much to do with me even being a Black model or not, because they knew at some point they were in acceptance, I hope, or thought that this day was going to come as time was changing and diversity was something imminent that had to happen. So they accepted it.
Regarding the models, I didn’t really feel any real negativity or any disdain or dislike for me at any point. And I think that they were all just really kind of OK with it at some point, and it just kind of worked out. I just didn’t feel anything at a certain point. But just coming into that realm when they were there for so long, it can be a little intimidating. But not for me because I had been traveling around the world and I was within their age range.
Some of the other younger models were a little intimidated even rehearsing or doing the shows, because of Janice and Holly and Dian having been there so long and because of their age. They were even auditioning some models that were even 20 years younger than the girls, so they didn’t quite fit in, and I don’t think Holly and Janice and Dian wanted a younger girl running around there showing them up.
There’s a lot of discussion about sexual harassment in the docuseries. At one point, Dian, you mentioned you took matters into your own hands and “accidentally” hit a producer who was harassing you in the groin with a golf club and he never bothered you again. Claudia, by the time you came, you were dealing with some of the stuff at an even more intense level, including being physically assaulted. What else did you notice that was going on?
CJ: There’s obviously a spirit of retaliation there. 100%. If you report someone, you better just count your days. I went to the female producer and told her that I was assaulted. And she acted like she was an ally and she was going to help me, but really she was just trying to use me to get him fired so she could get his job. She didn’t really have my back when I needed her to. And once I told on him, they started to keep a paper trail on me to be able to fire me, mainly by claiming I’d be late all the time, which I was not. I learned later that the producer told a security guard to communicate with him directly every time I pulled into work. There was even talk that the producer was changing the time on the clocks to make it appear that I was late.
There were other models that came in hungover, or even missed the show because they got drunk the night before. They didn’t get in trouble at all. But I would be in trouble for literally walking in and arriving 5 minutes allegedly late to the studio, not a meeting or anything. So once I noticed that, I just started documenting everything on my own for when the day came and it was time for me to make my exit, and eventually file a lawsuit.
I have never been afraid to speak up. You’re not going to treat me anyway and think it’s okay. It took a toll on me mentally and physically. I was sick all the time. I was always having respiratory issues in that studio. It wasn’t healthy, and it just wasn’t a healthy place to be for your mental health. Imagine every day you don’t know what trick this producer is going to pull on me today because I spoke up about him grabbing my ass.
So you guys spoke a lot about the retaliation aspect of everything, specifically with it starting with Dian, who later came out publicly that she was in an actual relationship with Bob Barker. And everyone in the docuseries who was there at the time said the relationship was probably like the worst kept secret. Looking back now, would you say because of the power dynamic with Bob, was their relationship always doomed to turn out the way it did? And did the sexual harassment from Bob continue after that?
KB: What happened with Dian, it was a whole snowball effect leading up to a lot of different changes and other lawsuits and retaliation. Because when Dian accused Barker of sexual harassment and brought that lawsuit out, that changed his whole life, his persona, and it really tarnished his whole reputation. That was a dagger in his soul, and to his heart. He’d never ever had anything like that happen to him. Before that, he’d come into our dressing rooms and talk to us about needing to lose weight or we’d hang out with him at events and whatnot. That all stopped after Dian’s lawsuit. He didn’t want anyone to even think there could be something going on between him and other women on the show.
In terms of his relationship with Dian being mutual and she consented to it, I do believe that to be true. I know Dian very well, honey. She and I got the chance to really get to know each other very well. She and I were kind of alike in a way. We were both very flirtatious and nice looking and just they’re happy-go-lucky people. It was definitely consensual. Dian is the one who led Bob into the darkness. Bob would say, ‘Dian told me I needed a little hanky panky.’ And she did.
Bob’s wife was gone and who can resist this beautiful nice voluptuous Dian? It started before I got there. I know she did go down to his dressing room from time to time and they would meet out occasionally in a different place to have relations. She was very fond of him, and him with her as well.
Prior to everything blowing up, was Dian receiving preferential treatment because of her relationship with Bob?
KB: Yes, she had Bob’s ear. Pillow talk is a thing. If she ever got into an argument or disagreement with another one of the models, she’d tell Bob, and maybe the other model’s scenes would be cut, or something similar. He wanted to keep their sexual relationship going, so of course, he’d give in to whatever she wanted. Whether that was more camera time, or something else.
Bob Barker’s racism is also discussed. In the docuseries, it’s noted that Dian was fired reportedly after he discovered she’d had relationships with Black men, and he felt Black men were unhealthy. Claudia, you also speak to even the way producers would choose Black contestants, many of them were stereotypical archetypes. And some Black contestants, Bob didn’t even want to interact with. Talk to us about that.
CJ: It went even beyond the contestants. I remember when we would go over the script, and at first, I thought I was being paranoid about the prizes they would play for. Anything that had a Black connotation related to it, like a basketball hoop or a Cadillac or a barbecue grill, I was assigned to model that prize. It was an inside joke.
With the contestants, every time it was a Black woman, it’d be a larger woman in size with huge boobs, someone who was loud or overly animated. And it was Phil, the same producer who harassed me, who chose these contestants.
Claudia, why do you think your lawsuit was the one to really gain traction?
CJ: I am just never afraid of speaking up and telling the truth, no matter what’s on the line. But I wish I would have waited about three more months because if I had waited a little bit longer, I probably would have gotten more money. I had the same attorney Holly had. And Holly got a much larger settlement than I did. And later on, there were joint class action lawsuits that were settled. I basically received a settlement for what I missed out on financially for not working there for three years. I could have gotten a lot more. But I am proud of taking a stance.
It actually turned out to be a sad situation overall. I actually really enjoyed the job. It was such an easy job. We worked three hours a day for five days a week. Without all of the retaliation and harassment, it was a great place to be. But unfortunately, people in power abused it and created this impossible working environment. It got to the point where it was unbearable.
What do you want viewers to take from the show?
CJ: I just want it to be more common for women, and men too, to speak out against the powers that be. At the time Kathleen was on the show, it was much more difficult because of the time period. When everything happened to me, the tides were starting to turn. And now, it’s an even better time to speak up.
KB: I agree. And I learned a lot from participating in the documentary, specifically about Bob and how one’s legacy can be shifted once the full truth is out. People need to be careful and actually care about the way they treat people because the tables always turn. It may take a while, but they turn.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
The post ‘The Price Is Right’ Racism, Sexism Discussed By Claudia Jordan And Kathleen Bradley On E!’s ‘Dirty Rotten Scandals’ appeared first on Blavity.
