Andy DehnartIf you agree to interact with a Real World cast member, you might get an STD, according to the release given to people who appear on camera.
That clause, reproduced below, is in a release given to participants in a charity date auction last Wednesday night, as the Washington Examiner discovered. But the full release [PDF] looks a lot like what may be the show’s standard release, which is given to people who interact on-camera with the cast. The release doesn’t explicitly mention the auction, and has space for producers to identify the date and location the person was filmed.
Among other things, the release asks those people to sign it to certify that they’re not members of SAG or AFTRA (who, you know, get paid for appearing on camera and contributing to the financial bottom line of a show’s producers and the network on which it appears) and demands that they do “NOT disclose, authorize disclosure, publish, post, circulate or otherwise disseminate any information learned, disclosed to or obtained by me, of any kind, relating directly or indirectly to Producer, the Program, participants, cast members, events, production, story lines, Producer’s programming or services, or my participation hereunder,” which adds that they may “NOT make statements regarding Confidential Information to any participant, individual or entity, including without limitation, any members of the press or media service, including but not limited to, television, magazine, newspaper, radio and Internet sites, such non-disclosure being of the essence of this Agreement.”
If you talk to the media or post to Twitter about banging a cast member, you “will cause Producer irreparable injury entitling Producer to seek any and all remedies at law and equity, including but not limited to, injunctive relief, without posting any bond, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees and costs.” That’s quite the penalty.
The whole release is worth a read–particularly if you plan to sign it in exchange for appearing on MTV–but here’s the part about getting an STD (the emphasis here is mine):
” I UNDERSTAND THAT PRODUCER DOES NOT MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES ABOUT THE CAST MEMBERS IN THE PROGRAM OR OF ANY OTHER PERSON WHOM I MAY ENCOUNTER IN CONNECTION WITH MY PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAM, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE MENTAL OR PHYSICAL HEALTH OF ANY SUCH PERSON. IF I CHOOSE TO ENGAGE IN CONSENSUAL SEXUAL BEHAVIOR OR INTIMATE CONTACT. WITH ANY SUCH PERSON I DO SO VOLUNTARILY AND KNOWINGLY AND I ASSUME THE RISK THAT BY ENGAGING IN SUCH ACTIVITY I MAY CONTRACT CERTAIN SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES. PRODUCER MAKES NO WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION THAT ANY SUCH PERSON IS STD FREE. I AM COGNIZANT OF THE RISKS AND I SHALL BEHAVE IN A MANNER CONSISTENT WITH GOOD JUDGMENT AND CAUTION AS I WOULD IN MY DAILY LIFE. I EXPLICITLY INCLUDE ANY INJURIES OR HARM THAT I MAY SUFFER AS A RESULT OF ENGAGING IN SUCH CONDUCT WITHIN THE MATTERS FOR WHICH I AM RELEASING YOU FROM ANY CLAIMS OR LIABILITIES.”