[Echoes]

Quote:

Moms, Girls, Say TV Show Abused Them By BRIDGET FREELAND CHICAGO (CN) - Mothers of child beauty pageant contestants claim they and their daughters were battered, insulted and humiliated by the Tribune Broadcasting Company and its TV star Bill Cunningham, host of "The Big Willie Show." The mothers say that after promising to "portray them in a positive light," the WGN show falsely accused them of physically and sexually abusing their daughters, and encouraged the audience to bait and harass them with even tawdrier accusations. One mother claims that the show's producer, Elizabeth Howard, had her daughter change into a bathing suit backstage in order to bring her onstage and humiliate both mother and daughter. In doing so, the mom says, Howard had "touched her [the mother] and [the daughter] in an unwanted fashion." The mothers say, "the producers and staff of 'The Big Willie Show' then began kicking in the door to the greenroom in an attempt to force the plaintiffs back on stage after the plaintiffs had locked themselves in the room in an attempt to protect their children." In their complaint in Cook County Court, the mothers claim that Howard induced them to be on the show by promising that it "would focus on girls that appear in children's beauty pageants and their parents," and would "portray them in a positive light." Instead, the five mothers and daughters say, the show encouraged the audience to harass them and accuse them of "teaching their children to dance in a sexually suggestive manner so as to 'entice pedophiles to attack them.'" On member of the audience asked a mother, "So now you sell your daughter for sex at age 6?", and another audience member said the mothers "are no different than pimps and your daughters are no more than whores," according to the complaint. The mothers claim the show and its employees misrepresented the real purpose of the show to entice them to go to Chicago, and accused one mother "of breaking her child's arm because of a poor pageant performance." The show was taped on June 11 and is scheduled for broadcast this Friday, June 25. The mothers say they "escaped the studio" and left Chicago, and that unless enjoined from broadcasting the footage, they and their daughters will suffer irreparable harm. They demand damages for battery, emotional distress, negligent misrepresentation and violation of the Right of Publicity Act. They want Tribune enjoined from broadcasting the show, and the film destroyed. They are represented by Jay Paul Deratany.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/06/21/28239.htm

[nataliam1976]

Stop pimping your children at beauty pageants and TV shows and you wont have such problems.

[DC-Cutie]

Originally Posted by nataliam1976

Stop pimping your children at beauty pageants and TV shows and you wont have such problems.

pretty much!

[ayla]

Wow awkward all around.

Has anyone actually seen this show ?

[Echoes]

No, but in another article they say it's a replacement for Springer and employs much of his former staff. Which explains a lot.

[Echoes]

Quote:

Beauty pageant moms sue over talk show fracas Eriq Gardner Tue Jun 22, 2010 12:55am EDT LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The mothers of some beauty pageant contestants say they were tricked into appearing on a TV talk show and then accused of physically and sexually abusing their children. Five women are claiming in a new lawsuit filed in Illinois county court that the Tribune Broadcasting Co. and producers of "The Big Willie Show" fraudulently induced them to appear by claiming the show would portray them in a positive light. The talk show appears on WGN in Chicago and is hosted by Bill Cunningham. On June 11, the moms allegedly were filmed getting ready for a pageant. The next day, they arrived at the studio for the show's taping. Then came the surprise allegations as the studio audience allegedly verbally accosted the plaintiffs. Then it got even weirder. According to the complaint, the children were backstage as the mothers suffered the wrath of the studio audience. Cunningham then wanted to bring the children out. Unfortunately, they had gone missing. The mothers searched the greenroom. They say they eventually found their children as one of the show's producers "intentionally touched (a child) in an unwanted fashion." The mothers refused to go back out. Producers then "began kicking in the door to the greenroom in an attempt to force the plaintiffs back on stage after the plaintiffs had locked themselves in a room to protect their children," according to the complaint. The women are now suing Tribune, Cunningham, the producer and others for battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent misrepresentation, and violating their rights of publicity. They demand at least $50,000. The episode was one of the first of the new "Big Willie Show," being advertised by WGN as filling the void of Jerry Springer's departure. In fact, according to the show's web site, Springer's old staff is working on the show.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUST...e=domesticNews

[natalie78]

I've never even heard of that show. And why would anyone agree to go on any talk show when the topic is so debated? No matter what the show, you know most of the questions will be negative.

[Jahpson]

Originally Posted by nataliam1976

Stop pimping your children at beauty pageants and TV shows and you wont have such problems.

and thats that!

next

[lurkingsmirk]

Originally Posted by nataliam1976

Stop pimping your children at beauty pageants and TV shows and you wont have such problems.

Meh, that's sort of victim-blaming isn't it? Grown women who dress in a revealing manner are still protected from sexual harassment, why should children be any different. I can only imagine how frightened the kids were getting screamed at on stage, and then hiding in the greenroom while someone was trying to kick down the door. So the moms made some poor decisions, they did try to protect their girls in the end.

[nataliam1976]

Originally Posted by lurkingsmirk

Meh, that's sort of victim-blaming isn't it? Grown women who dress in a revealing manner are still protected from sexual harassment, why should children be any different. I can only imagine how frightened the kids were getting screamed at on stage, and then hiding in the greenroom while someone was trying to kick down the door. So the moms made some poor decisions, they did try to protect their girls in the end.

The real victims for me here are the kids, not the mums and I am not blaming the kids. I find children beauty pageants and shows like that involving children distasteful and harmful and I do think mums have some responsibility in what happened, its not exactly rocket science. JMO.

[HauteMama]

Then the question is why did they go on the show? Did they not look into what the show was before going there? This strikes me as people who go on the Jerry Springer show suing that they were baited to fight or called names. That's what the show IS. No matter how sympathetic the show might say they are to your story, no one is treated with respect on that show. If that was the sort of show these parents brought their children to, then they're not terribly bright.

[Bradysmum]

^^Any publicity is good publicity?

[ILuvShopping]

I feel bad for the kids if they actually had to experience any of that stuff. shame on their parents for not researching this show.

and who would go a show called "the big willie show" anyways!?!

[twinkle.tink]

Originally Posted by HauteMama

Then the question is why did they go on the show? Did they not look into what the show was before going there? This strikes me as people who go on the Jerry Springer show suing that they were baited to fight or called names. That's what the show IS. No matter how sympathetic the show might say they are to your story, no one is treated with respect on that show. If that was the sort of show these parents brought their children to, then they're not terribly bright.

As I understand, this is a brand new show...so they did not know what it was going to be like.