Tonya Cooley, a cast member on several of MTV’s “Real World/Road Rules” challenges, has filed a lawsuit against MTV, Bunim/Murray Productions, and cast members Kenneth “Kenny” Santucci and Evan Starkman alleging that she was raped while cameras were rolling for 2009’s “The Ruins” season of MTV’s long-running reality competition game show, according to an online report.
TMZ.com reports that Cooley alleges in her lawsuit that Santucci and Starkman “took another male participant’s toothbrush and rubbed the toothbrush around plaintiff’s genitals, including rubbing her labia and inserting the toothbrush into plaintiff’s vagina” while she was unconscious.
Even more shocking, Cooley claims that “producers not only knew about the rape, they even replaced the toothbrush, but never told her what happened,” according to TMZ.
But a spokesman for the show’s production company denied the claims.
“After a thorough investigation, we have found Tonya Cooley’s claims to be completely baseless,” a spokeswoman for Bunim/Murray said Friday.
Cooely squarely places blame on the producers of the series, who allegedly encouraged male cast members to “inappropriately touch female cast members’ bodies, including in intimate areas,” TMZ reports.
Cooley, who first appeared in MTV’s “Real World: Chicago” in 2002 is suing for unspecified damages.
When reached by Fox411.com, a representative for Bunim-Murray Productions would not comment on TMZ’s report, explaining that they don’t comment on pending litigation