The Season 37 contestants are seeking $8 million, citing reputational, emotional and professional harm caused by the defendants
Credit: Sonja Flemming/CBS
NEED TO KNOW
- ‘Amazing Race‘ season 37 contestants Jonathan and Ana Towns filed a defamation suit against World Race Productions, CBS, Paramount, ABC Signature and Jerry Bruckheimer Films
- The couple alleges the show falsely portrayed Jonathan as abusive, and claims the production defamed him through manipulated editing and omissions
- They are seeking $8 million, citing reputational, emotional and professional harm caused by the broadcast portrayal
Amazing Race alumni Jonathan and Ana Towns filed an $8 million lawsuit against production companies affiliated with their season.
The Towns starred in season 37 of the CBS competition series and filmed from May through June 2024. They earned third place, and the season aired from March through May 2025.
On Wednesday, March 4, they filed a defamation lawsuit against World Race Productions, CBS, its parent company Paramount, ABC Signature (which was absorbed by 20th Television in 2024) and Jerry Bruckheimer Films. ABC Signature is a Disney Television Studios company.
Paramount offered no comment when contacted by PEOPLE.
PEOPLE reached out to Jonathan Towns, World Race Productions, CBS, ABC Signature and Jerry Bruckheimer Films for comment.
Jonathan and Ana, who are representing themselves, allege the defendants created a “smear strategy so audacious and immoral that would shock the conscience of even the most cynical propagandist,” according to the Los Angeles Superior Court complaint obtained and shared by Deadline.
They are seeking a jury trial, compensatory and punitive damages as well as injunctive relief and “all other available remedies” from the defendants' alleged “systematic, deliberate, and malicious defamation” of Jonathan, in connection with the defendants' “production, editing, marketing and national broadcast” of The Amazing Race season 37.
They state that the lawsuit isn't about "editorial judgment or discretion," and instead allege that the defendants “falsely portrayed Jonathan Towns, a private individual with no antecedent public profile, as a morally depraved, brutal and abusive spouse” and distributed it to CBS’ “tens of millions of viewers.”
Credit: Paramount+
The complaint alleges that the defendants had the necessary evidence to portray Jonathan “accurately and completely,” but rather opted for the “deliberate determination to suppress those materials and to substitute in their place a constructed, false, and highly damaging portrayal.”
Jonathan and Ana claim that he tried to leave the competition after suffering a "meltdown" and "clear emotional anguish," due to the alleged "psychological toll of production personnel bias." He went to human resources, the lawsuit alleges, and was reassured that the competition was being administered fairly. Jonathan, in "reasonable reliance" on HR's response, continued in the race.
The suit then claims that after filming, the Jonathan and Ana learned that he was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. They claim that Jonathan’s “behavioral manifestations” were “not volitional acts of cruelty or intentional interpersonal aggression," but rather a result of the diagnosis.
The complaint alleges that production did not provide access to a licensed medical health professional, or "any support whatsoever of medical, psychological, or pastoral nature" during and after filming; nor did they make any changes to his portrayal that was broadcast in light of his diagnosis.
The defendants made the “deliberate editorial determination to designate” Jonathan as the “singular negative narrative focus of Season 37,” by allegedly excluding “all competing positive content,” and including “negative content of other cast members," the lawsuit alleges.
Credit: Paramount+
Jonathan claims the “defamatory broadcast” resulted in previous and ongoing “harm of a reputational, professional, psychological, and economic character” and that he “suffered severe and irreparable damage to his personal and professional reputation.”
He says he's been the target of harassment, threats, mockery and hostility from members of the public who "accepted the false portrayal as truthful" while Ana has experienced her own reputational harm and emotional distress from the show, according to their filing.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Both have “sustained harm to their familial relationships, professional opportunities, and personal wellbeing” and are attending “ongoing professional psychiatric and therapeutic treatment.”
The pair is requesting a trial by jury.
Read the full article here
