Case 1:17-cv-02113-LTS-GWG Document 1 Filed 03/23/17 Page 1 of 21

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

ROBERT HUIZENGA,
No. 17-CV-2113
Plaintiff,
COMPLAINT
v.
JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
NYP HOLDINGS, INC. d/b/a the New
York Post, JOELLE GWYNN and DOES
1-20,
Defendants.

Plaintiff Robert Huizenga, professionally known as “Dr. H”, by and through his
undersigned attorneys, for his Complaint against defendants NYP Holdings, Inc. d/b/a the New
York Post, Joelle Gwynn, and DOES 1-20 (collectively, “Defendants”) alleges as follows:
SUMMARY OF THE CASE
1.

Dr. Robert Huizenga, famously known as “Dr. H”, is a world renowned health

expert and one of the most esteemed sports doctors of all time. Dr. H has spent a lifetime
building his reputation for being the best in his field and for being an extremely responsible and
ethical medical professional. Dr. H advocates for safe and effective weight loss methods, and
has championed his aggressive non-surgical, non-drug approach to obesity on the past 17 seasons
of the hit television series “The Biggest Loser” (the “Show”). The safety and well-being of
contestants on the Show are of utmost importance to Dr. H.
2.

On May 22, 2016 and May 23, 2016, respectively, the New York Post published

numerous false and defamatory statements about Dr. H in the following publications: (a) the

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story entitled, “‘Biggest Loser’ drugged us so we’d lose weight,” published on or about May 22,
2016 (the “May 22, 2016 Post”); (b) the story entitled, “‘Biggest Loser’ contestants demand
NBC cancel show,” published on or about May 23, 2016 (the “First May 23, 2016 Post”); and (c)
the story entitled, “‘Biggest Loser’ rigged weigh-ins by forcing contestants to eat baking soda,”
published on or about May 23, 2016 (the “Second May 23, 2016 Post”) (collectively, the
“Defamatory Posts”). The Defamatory Posts contain numerous false, fabricated, fictitious and
outright libelous statements about Dr. H and his treatment of past contestants on the Show,
including false statements by former contestant, defendant Joelle Gwynn. Among other things,
the Defamatory Posts falsely state that the Show employs “secret and brutal tactics, which
include providing illicit drugs to contestants and submitting them to questionable medical exams
by the [S]how’s resident doctor, Robert Huizenga, known as ‘Dr. H’.”
3.

Before the Defamatory Posts were published, Maureen Callahan, a reporter for

the New York Post, reached out to Dr. H for an interview or comment. In response, Dr. H’s
attorney informed Ms. Callahan that her factual claims about Dr. H, which later were reported in
the Defamatory Posts, were false and, if published, would be defamatory and cause substantial
harm to Dr. H. Despite this actual notice and knowledge of the falsity of the statements about
Dr. H, the New York Post published the false and defamatory statements about Dr. H in the
Defamatory Posts. Moreover, a reporter for the New York Post has been directly contacting third
parties, including but not limited to former Show contestants, implying that Dr. H’s medical
license be revoked.
4.

This lawsuit became necessary to protect Dr. H’s hard-earned reputation and

stature in the medical community, which he has spent the last several decades building and which
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he cannot allow to be destroyed within seconds by Defendants’ false statements in the
Defamatory Posts.
PARTIES
5.

Plaintiff is a resident of the City of Los Angeles, County of Los Angeles, State of

California.
6.

Upon information and belief, NYP Holdings, Inc. (“NYP”) is a Delaware

corporation with its principal place of business located in New York City, County of New York,
State of New York. At all relevant times, NYP did business as the New York Post and owned,
operated and published the New York Post and all of its corresponding webpages and websites,
including www.nypost.com.
7.

Upon information and belief, defendant Joelle Gwynn (“Gwynn”) is an individual

domiciled in the County of Oakland, State of Michigan.
8.

Plaintiff is presently unaware of the identity of the defendants sued herein as

DOES 1-20, and will amend this complaint to identify them once Plaintiff learns of their
identities.

NYP, Gwynn and DOES 1 through 20 are collectively referred to herein as

“Defendants.”
9.

Upon information and belief, Defendants, and each of them, were and are the

agents, licensees, employees, partners, joint-venturers, co-conspirators, owners, principals,
and/or employers of each other and each of them are, and at all times mentioned herein were,
acting within the course and scope of that agency, license, partnership, employment, conspiracy,
ownership, or joint venture. Upon further information and belief, the acts and conduct herein
alleged of each of the Defendants were known to, authorized by, and/or ratified by the other
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Defendants, and each of them.
JURISDICTION & VENUE
10.

This Court has personal jurisdiction over Defendants because they have minimum

contacts with the State of New York, and Gwynn has confirmed that she will not contest personal
jurisdiction in New York.
11.

The Court has subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)

because there is complete diversity of the parties to this action and the amount in controversy
exceeds $75,000.
12.

Venue is proper in this district pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 1391(b), in that NYP

resides in this District, and a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim
occurred in this District.
FACTS RELEVANT TO ALL CAUSES OF ACTIONS
13.

Plaintiff Dr. Robert Huizenga, famously known as “Dr. H”, is a world-renowned

health expert and one of the most esteemed sports doctors of all time.
14.

Dr. H’s aggressive non-surgical non-drug exercise-centric fat loss approach has

proven to be extremely safe and reproducibly effective across the life of the Show.
15.

Dr. H has authored multiple scientific abstracts and papers on his aggressive non-

surgical, non-drug exercise-centric fat loss approach. He has also presented the details of this
approach at multiple national medical conferences.
16.

The safety and well-being of contestants on the Show are of utmost importance to

17.

Dr. H has an impeccable reputation that he has spent the last several decades

Dr. H.

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building. Dr. H has a reputation for being the best in his field and for being an extremely
responsible and ethical medical professional.
18.

Dr. H is the former Los Angeles Raiders team physician whose groundbreaking

first book was adapted for the film Any Given Sunday. Dr. H was the valedictorian and an allcounty athlete in football, wrestling and track at his high school. He was an honor science
student and NCAA All-American wrestler at the University of Michigan. Dr. H then attended
Harvard Medical School, where he was an all-star rugby player. He did his medical residency at
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where he was appointed Chief Medical Resident
and entered a pulmonary fellowship before leaving to serve as the team physician for the Los
Angeles Raiders. Dr. H was also the national medical correspondent for Breakaway (FOX) and
The Home Show (ABC).
19.

After serving eight years as the LA Raiders team physician and four years as

president and president-elect for the NFL Physician’s Society, Dr. H wrote his first book, You’re
OK, It’s Just a Bruise: A Doctor’s Sideline Secrets about Pro-Football’s Most Outrageous Team,
which provoked a national debate on anabolic steroids and other ergogenic (sport-enhancing)
aids as well as head injuries — decades before the Senate “steroid” and “CTE” (multiple
concussion) hearings.
20.

Dr. H continues to be active in the world of professional sports and was requested

to testify as an expert witness by the 2009 House of Representatives Judiciary Committee
looking into repetitive brain injuries (CTE) in football players.
21.

Dr. H has repeatedly been interviewed as a health expert on NBC, CBS and ABC

Evening News, Today Show, Nightline and Larry King Live, as well as in the New York Times,
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Los Angeles Times and other national print media. He has been called as a medical expert in
multiple high-profile cases, including both the criminal and civil O.J. Simpson trials. He has
recurring roles as writer, correspondent, advisor and doctor on numerous TV shows and movies
based on his sports medicine expertise and stellar reputation, including most recently:
a) Extreme Makeover (ABC)
b) Biggest Loser (NBC)
c) American Gladiators (NBC)
d) Workout (Bravo)
e) Student Body (MTV)
f) Dance Your Ass Off (Oxygen)
g) Fourth and Long (Spike TV)
h) Diagnosis Live (FOX)
i) Thinervention (Bravo)
j) Losing It (NBC)
k) Shedding For The Wedding (CW Network)
l) Love Handles (Discovery Network)
m) Extra Life Changers (NBC)
n) Dale Con Ganas (Univision)
o) Live To Dance (CBS)
p) Joan and Melissa: Joan Knows Best (WE TV)
q) The Doctors (FOX)
r) Inside The Vault (KTLA)
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s) Taboo (National Geographic)
t) Strong (NBC)
u) Beastmaster (Netflix)
v) Dr. Drew Show (TLC)
w) Dr. Oz Show (ABC)
x) Into The Wild (feature film)
y) Gone Girl (feature film)
z) Thirty Three Days (feature film)
22.

In 2008, Dr. H authored the book, Where Did the Fat Go? The Wow! Prescription

to Reach Your Ideal Weight and Stay There, about the radical exercise-centric obesity treatment
he first pioneered in over 766 overweight applicants to NBC’s The Biggest Loser, resulting in
over 20 published peer-reviewed medical abstracts, articles or major medical conference
presentations.
23.

Dr. H lectures throughout the country and runs The Clinic by Dr. H, a state of the

art, multi-disciplinary fat loss facility in Southern California.
24.

Dr. H has deep sports and science-writer roots. His father, John Robert Huizenga,

was an all-star basketball and baseball player before serving as a member of the Manhattan
Project and later receiving the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award (the U.S. Nobel prize) in nuclear
physics for his nuclear fusion research (including co-discovery of Einsteinium and Fermium,
element numbers 99 and 100).
25.

On May 19, 2016, Maureen Callahan, a reporter for the New York Post, sent Dr.

H’s representative an email, asking to speak with Dr. H or for a comment about a story that she
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was working on and, more specifically, the following false allegations supposedly made by
Show contestants:
a. “That contestants have passed out in [Dr. H’s] office right before the [Biggest
Loser season 2] finale weigh-in.”
b. “That contestants were starving themselves and using illegal drugs to lose
weight rapidly,” and that Dr. H “knew exactly what we were doing and never
tried to stop it.”
c. “In [Biggest Loser season 2] at least five people were rushed to the hospital.”
d. “That contestants, post-show, have begged [Dr. H] for help once the weight
comes back on, only to be given false promises or hear nothing.”
26.

On May 20, 2016, Dr. H’s attorney sent Ms. Callahan written notice that all of the

claims in her email were false and, if published, would constitute defamation, including libel per
se, and would cause substantial damages and harm to Dr. H. Despite receiving this notice from
Dr. H’s attorney, on or about May 22, 2016, the New York Post published the May 22, 2016 Post.
A true and correct copy of the May 22, 2016 Post is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
27.

The May 22, 2016 Post contains false statements of fact, of and concerning Dr. H,

including false statements made by Gwynn. Defendants knew the statements to be false at the
time the May 22, 2016 Post was published.
28.

Many of these false statements, including statements by Gwynn, were repeated in

the First May 23, 2016 Post and Second May 23, 2016 Post. Additional false statements of and
concerning Dr. H were made by Defendants in the First May 23, 2016 Post and Second May 23,
2016 Post. Defendants knew the statements were false at the time the First May 23, 2016 and
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Second May 23, 2016 Post were published. True and correct copies of the First May 23, 2016
Post and Second May 23, 2016 Post are attached hereto as, respectively, Exhibit B and Exhibit C.
29.

The false statements in the Defamatory Posts include, among others:
The May 22, 2016 Post
a. “almost all ‘Biggest Loser’ contestants regain massive amounts of weight…”
b. “[Dr. H] encouraged contestants to take street drugs while starving themselves
and to lie about how much weight they were losing.”
c. What’s missing from a recent study by Dr. Kevin Hall at the National
Institutes of Health (“NIH”) (done in collaboration with Dr. H) is “any
examination of the show’s secret and brutal tactics, which include providing
illicit drugs to contestants and submitting them to questionable medical exams
by the show’s resident doctor, Rob Huizenga, known as ‘Dr. H’.”
d. “‘People were passing out in Dr. H’s office at the [Biggest Loser season 2]
finale weigh-in,’ …‘[o]n season [2], five people had to be rushed to the
hospital. [Dr. H] knew exactly what we were doing and never tried to stop
it.’”
e. “Many contestants return with grave medical issues they never had before.”

f. Gwynn claims that she took an illicit yellow and black pill supposedly given
to her by a Show staff member, stating “‘I felt jittery and hyper’…‘I went and
told the sports medicine guy.

The next day, Dr. H gave us some lame

explanation of why they got added to our regimen and that it was up to us to
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take them…People chastise Bill Cosby for allegedly offering meds to women,
but it’s acceptable to do [sic] to fat people to make them lose weight. I feel
like we got raped, too.’”
g. “Dr. Rob Huizenga … urged contestants to take meds and go hungry.”
h. “Once eliminated, all contestants go home and are expected to keep losing
weight, with no support from the show.”
i.

“As for Huizenga’s participation in the NIH study, Dr. Freedhoff is
flummoxed. ‘Dr. Huizenga has said things that challenge my understanding of
obesity in general,’ he says. ‘He has a history of making rather ridiculous
statements…plus the defense of the techniques on the ‘The Biggest Loser’ as
do-able. It’s the worst thing to happen to sensible weight loss, ever.’”
The First May 23, 2016 Post

j.

“contestants were encouraged to go to extreme lengths to shed pounds, and
five people were taken to the hospital in [season 2 of the Biggest Loser] after
passing out.”

k.

“Joelle Gwynn, of Season 7, said of the show’s doctor, Rob Huizenga, told
them it was ‘up to us to take [the illicit drugs].’”
The Second May 23, 2016 Post

l. “‘The Biggest Loser’ tried to boost its ratings by pushing boring contestants to
ingest baking soda so that they would retain water and gain weight and get
booted off…”
m. “the NBC show’s doctor, Robert Huizenga, once told [a former contestant]
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and several other contestants they needed to take two tablespoons of baking
soda to battle dehydration. But it was just a ruse to eliminate them and make
room for ‘more exciting’ participants…”
30.

The foregoing false statements of fact were made by defendants with the intention

and knowledge that they were false and were likely to harm Dr. H’s personal and professional
reputation, and/or with reckless disregard for the truth of the statements. The false and libelous
statements had the foreseeable effect of severely harming Dr. H’s personal and professional
reputation, and/or were made by Defendants to intentionally interfere with Dr. H’s existing and
prospective business relationships.
31.

On May 31, 2016, Dr. H’s counsel sent letters to Defendants demanding that they

remove each of the false statements in the Defamatory Posts and publish a correction, apology
and retraction of those statements, and allowed Defendants a reasonable amount of time to do so.
Defendants failed to comply with Dr. H’s request, in whole or in part.
32.

Moreover, a reporter for the New York Post has been directly contacting third

parties, including but not limited to former Show contestants, implying that Dr. H’s medical
license be revoked.
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
33.

Plaintiff hereby repeats and realleges each and every allegation of Paragraphs 1

through 32 of this Complaint as if fully set forth herein.
34.

As described herein, on or about May 22, 2016 and May 23, 2016, Defendants

made, authored and/or published false statements about Dr. H in the Defamatory Posts.
35.

The false statements in the Defamatory Posts include, among others:
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The May 22, 2016 Post
a. “almost all ‘Biggest Loser’ contestants regain massive amounts of weight…”
b. “[Dr. H] encouraged contestants to take street drugs while starving themselves
and to lie about how much weight they were losing.”
c. What’s missing from a recent study by Dr. Kevin Hall at the National
Institutes of Health (“NIH”) (done in collaboration with Dr. H) is “any
examination of the show’s secret and brutal tactics, which include providing
illicit drugs to contestants and submitting them to questionable medical exams
by the show’s resident doctor, Rob Huizenga, known as ‘Dr. H’.”
d. “‘People were passing out in Dr. H’s office at the [Biggest Loser season 2]
finale weigh-in,’ …‘[o]n season [2], five people had to be rushed to the
hospital. [Dr. H] knew exactly what we were doing and never tried to stop
it.’”
e. “Many contestants return with grave medical issues they never had before. ”
f. Gwynn claims that she took an illicit yellow and black pill supposedly given
to her by a Show staff member, stating “‘I felt jittery and hyper’…‘I went and
told the sports medicine guy.

The next day, Dr. H gave us some lame

explanation of why they got added to our regimen and that it was up to us to
take them…People chastise Bill Cosby for allegedly offering meds to women,
but it’s acceptable to do [sic] to fat people to make them lose weight. I feel
like we got raped, too.’”
g.

“Dr. Rob Huizenga … urged contestants to take meds and go hungry.”
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h. “Once eliminated, all contestants go home and are expected to keep losing
weight, with no support from the show.”
i.

“As for Huizenga’s participation in the NIH study, Dr. Freedhoff is
flummoxed. ‘Dr. Huizenga has said things that challenge my understanding
of obesity in general,’ he says. ‘He has a history of making rather ridiculous
statements…plus the defense of the techniques on the ‘The Biggest Loser’ as
do-able. It’s the worst thing to happen to sensible weight loss, ever.’”
The First May 23, 2016 Post

j. “contestants were encouraged to go to extreme lengths to shed pounds, and
five people were taken to the hospital in [season 2 of the Biggest Loser] after
passing out.”
k. “Joelle Gwynn, of Season 7, said of the show’s doctor, Rob Huizenga, told
them it was ‘up to us to take [the illicit drugs].’”
The Second May 23, 2016 Post
l. “‘The Biggest Loser’ tried to boost its ratings by pushing boring contestants to
ingest baking soda so that they would retain water and gain weight and get
booted off…”
m. “the NBC show’s doctor, Robert Huizenga, once told [a former contestant]
and several other contestants they needed to take two tablespoons of baking
soda to battle dehydration. But it was just a ruse to eliminate them and make
room for ‘more exciting’ participants…”
36.

These false statements wrongly accuse Plaintiff of having made statements and
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acted in a manner that would subject him to hatred, distrust, contempt, aversion, ridicule and
disgrace in the minds of a substantial number in the community and were calculated to harm his
social and business relationships and did harm his social and business relationships and
potentially may even lead to the termination or suspension of his medical license.
37.

The false statements, individually and jointly, tend to so harm the reputation of

Plaintiff as to lower his reputation in the community and to deter others from associating or
dealing with Plaintiff.
38.

Furthermore, Defendants’ statements involve materially false implications.

39.

The statements made by Defendants were false, and no applicable privilege or

authorization protecting the statements can attach to them. The statements set forth above do not
involve matters of public concern.
40.

Defendants published the false statements to third parties, including but not

limited to the viewers and/or readers of The New York Post and/or www.nypost.com, Show
contestants, and third parties with existing and/or potential business relationships with Dr. H,
with knowledge of falsity of the statements and/or reckless disregard for the truth of the
statements.
41.

Plaintiff has been seriously damaged as a direct and proximate cause of the falsity

of the statements made by Defendants, in an amount to be determined at trial. The false
statements attribute conduct, characteristics and conditions incompatible with the proper exercise
of Plaintiff’s business and duties as a medical professional. Because the statements were widely
disseminated on the Internet, they were also likely and intended to hold the Plaintiff up to
ridicule and to damage his social and business relationships.
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42.

The above-referenced published statements constitute egregious conduct

constituting malice. Defendants’ acts were willful and malicious. As such, in addition to
compensatory damages and/or presumed damages, Plaintiff demands punitive damages relating
to Defendants’ making of the above-referenced defamatory statements, in an amount to be
determined at trial, but believed to be in excess of $75,000.
43.

Plaintiff has complied with all notice requirements prior to filing this action by

informing Defendants of their defamatory statements and requesting a retraction, in letters dated
May 31, 2016, and allowing Defendants a reasonable amount of time to make such retraction.
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation Per Se)
44.

Plaintiff hereby repeats and realleges each and every allegation of Paragraphs 1

through 43 of this Complaint as if fully set forth herein.
45.

As described herein, on or about May 22, 2016 and May 23, 2016, Defendants

made, authored and/or published false statements about Dr. H in the Defamatory Posts.
46.

The false statements in the Defamatory Posts include, among others:
The May 22, 2016 Post
a. “almost all ‘Biggest Loser’ contestants regain massive amounts of weight…”
b. “[Dr. H] encouraged contestants to take street drugs while starving themselves
and to lie about how much weight they were losing.”
c. What’s missing from a recent study by Dr. Kevin Hall at the National
Institutes of Health (“NIH”) (done in collaboration with Dr. H) is “any
examination of the show’s secret and brutal tactics, which include providing
illicit drugs to contestants and submitting them to questionable medical exams
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by the show’s resident doctor, Rob Huizenga, known as ‘Dr. H’.”
d. “‘People were passing out in Dr. H’s office at the [Biggest Loser season 2]
finale weigh-in,’ …‘[o]n season [2], five people had to be rushed to the
hospital. [Dr. H] knew exactly what we were doing and never tried to stop
it.’”
e. “Many contestants return with grave medical issues they never had before. ”
f. Gwynn claims that she took an illicit yellow and black pill supposedly given
to her by a Show staff member, stating “‘I felt jittery and hyper’…‘I went and
told the sports medicine guy.

The next day, Dr. H gave us some lame

explanation of why they got added to our regimen and that it was up to us to
take them…People chastise Bill Cosby for allegedly offering meds to women,
but it’s acceptable to do [sic] to fat people to make them lose weight. I feel
like we got raped, too.’”
g. “Dr. Rob Huizenga … urged contestants to take meds and go hungry.”
h. “Once eliminated, all contestants go home and are expected to keep losing
weight, with no support from the show.”
i.

“As for Huizenga’s participation in the NIH study, Dr. Freedhoff is
flummoxed. ‘Dr. Huizenga has said things that challenge my understanding
of obesity in general,’ he says. ‘He has a history of making rather ridiculous
statements…plus the defense of the techniques on the ‘The Biggest Loser’ as
do-able. It’s the worst thing to happen to sensible weight loss, ever.’”

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The First May 23, 2016 Post
j. “contestants were encouraged to go to extreme lengths to shed pounds, and
five people were taken to the hospital in [season 2 of the Biggest Loser] after
passing out.”
k. “Joelle Gwynn, of Season 7, said of the show’s doctor, Rob Huizenga, told
them it was ‘up to us to take [the illicit drugs].’”
The Second May 23, 2016 Post
l. “‘The Biggest Loser’ tried to boost its ratings by pushing boring contestants to
ingest baking soda so that they would retain water and gain weight and get
booted off…”
m. “the NBC show’s doctor, Robert Huizenga, once told [a former contestant]
and several other contestants they needed to take two tablespoons of baking
soda to battle dehydration. But it was just a ruse to eliminate them and make
room for ‘more exciting’ participants…”
47.

The false statements, individually and jointly, tend to so harm the reputation of

Plaintiff as to lower his reputation in the community and to deter others from associating or
dealing with Plaintiff and potentially may even lead to the termination or suspension of his
medical license.
48.

The false statements constitute libel per se because the false statements disparage

and discredit Plaintiff in the way of his profession and trade as a doctor and medical professional
and falsely impute the commission of a criminal offense to Plaintiff.
49.

Furthermore, Defendants’ statements involve materially false implications.
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50.

The statements made by Defendants were false, and no applicable privilege or

authorization protecting the statements can attach to them. The statements set forth above do not
involve matters of public concern.
51.

Defendants published the false statement to third parties, including but not limited

to the viewers and/or readers of The New York Post and/or www.nypost.com, Show contestants,
and third parties with existing and/or potential business relationships with Dr. H, with knowledge
of falsity of the statements and/or reckless disregard for the truth of the statements.
52.

Plaintiff has been seriously damaged as a direct and proximate cause of the falsity

of the statements made by Defendants in an amount to be determined at trial. The false
statements attribute conduct, characteristics and conditions incompatible with the proper exercise
of Plaintiff’s business and duties as a medical professional. Because the statements were widely
disseminated on the Internet, they were also likely and intended to hold the Plaintiff up to
ridicule and to damage his social and business relationships.
53.

The above-referenced published statements constitute egregious conduct

constituting malice. Defendants’ acts were willful and malicious. As such, in addition to
compensatory damages and/or presumed damages, Plaintiff demands punitive damages relating
to defendants’ making of the above-referenced defamatory statements, in an amount to be
determined at trial.
54.

Plaintiff has complied with all notice requirements prior to filing this action by

informing Defendants of their defamatory statements and requesting a retraction, in letters dated
May 31, 2016, and allowing Defendants a reasonable amount of time to make such retraction.

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THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION
(Intentional Interference with Prospective Economic Relations)
55.

Plaintiff hereby repeats and realleges each and every allegation of Paragraphs 1

through 54 of this Complaint as if fully set forth herein.
56.

Plaintiff has, and had, valid business relationships with various third parties.

These third parties include but are not limited to: (a) Plaintiff’s patients, (b) Plaintiff’s expected
patients, (c) producers and/or studios for TV shows and projects on which Plaintiff has an
ongoing and/or recurring role as writer, correspondent, advisor or doctor (including but not
limited to ABC, NBC, Bravo, MTV, Oxygen, Spike TV, FOX, CW Network, Discovery
Network, Univision, CBS, WE TV, KTLA, National Geographic, Netflix, and TLC); (d) third
parties with whom Plaintiff has valid expected business relationships, based on his expertise and
qualifications as a health expert (including but not limited to current and expected patients, ABC,
NBC, Bravo, MTV, Oxygen, Spike TV, FOX, CW Network, Discovery Network, Univision,
CBS, WE TV, KTLA, National Geographic, Netflix, and TLC); and (e) third parties with whom
Plaintiff has any valid existing and/or expected business relationships for endorsements. These
business relationships were reasonably likely and probable to result in Plaintiff’s economic
advantage.
57.

Defendants had knowledge of these valid business relationships and expectancies.

58.

Defendants’ intentionally interfered with these valid business relationships and

expectancies, inducing and/or causing the termination of valid relationships and expectancies,
including but not limited to, Dr. H’s role on The Biggest Loser, a role for Dr. H as a medical
expert on a national network news show, and a production deal for a reality TV show based upon

19

 Case 1:17-cv-02113-LTS-GWG Document 1 Filed 03/23/17 Page 20 of 21

www.truthfulbrain.com, by making false, fabricated, fictitious and outright libelous statements
about Dr. H in the Defamatory Posts.
59.

Defendants’ conduct has intentionally interfered with these valid business

relationships and expectancies, inducing and/or causing the termination of the valid relationships
and expectancies by making false, fabricated, fictitious and outright libelous statements about Dr.
H and his treatment of past contestants on the Show and the revocation of Dr. H’s medical
license.
60.

As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ conduct, Plaintiff has suffered

damages in an amount to be determined at trial.
61.

Defendants’ actions constitute egregious conduct constituting malice or other

dishonest, unfair or improper means. Defendants’ acts were willful and malicious. Plaintiff
demands punitive damages relating to Defendants’ conduct in an amount to be determined at
trial.
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiff demands trial by jury.
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully requests:
(a) An award of damages to Plaintiff in an amount to be determined at trial but
believed to be in excess of $75,000;
(b) An award of punitive damages to Plaintiff in an amount to be determined at
trial;
(c) An order requiring Defendants to make a public retraction of the false
20

 Case 1:17-cv-02113-LTS-GWG Document 1 Filed 03/23/17 Page 21 of 21

statements;
(d) An order granting preliminary and permanent injunctive relief to prevent
Defendants from making the same or further defamatory statements about
Plaintiff; and
(e) An award of such other and further relief as the Court may deem just and
proper.

Dated: March 23, 2017

Respectfully submitted,
By: /s/ Charles Harder
Charles J. Harder, Esq.
HARDER MIRELL & ABRAMS LLP
132 S. Rodeo Drive, Fourth Floor
Beverly Hills, California 90212
Tel. (424) 203-1600
By: /s/ Mark J. Rosenberg
Mark J. Rosenberg, Esq.
TARTER KRINSKY & DROGIN LLP
1350 Broadway
New York, NY 10018
Tel. (212) 216 - 1127
Counsel for Plaintiff

21

 Case Document 1-1 Filed 03/23/17 Page 1 of 11

EXHIBIT A

Case Document 1-1 Filed 03/23/17 Page 2 of 11

a NEW mm POST

 

Suzanne Mendonca. a former contestant on "The Biggest Loser." holds a suze 4 dress she used to wear after she lost her weight on the reality show. She has
since gained it all back.

00?9?

?Biggest Loser? drugged us so 

we?d lose weight

By Maureen Callahan May22.2016 I 5:05am I Update-ti

Lezlye Donahue survived Hurricane Katrina. Going on ?The Biggest Loser," she says.
was worse than that.

 

?It's my biggest nightmare,? she says, ?and it's with me to this day."
Banker plunges to his death after
eating magic mushrooms

Following a controversial study that claims to -
explain why almost all "Biggest Loser" contestants mu: a. ?w?rm-lx 
Document title: 'Biggest Loser' drugged us so we'd lose weight New York Post

Capture URL: 
Capture timestamp (UTC): Tue, 24 May 2016 00:10:32 GMT

Case Document 1-1 Filed 03/23/17 Page 3 of 11

Lezlye Donahue survived Hurricane Katrina. Going on "The Biggest Loser." she says,
was worse than that.

 

?it's my biggest nightmare," she says. ?and it's with me to this day."

Banker plunges to his death after

.. Following a controversial study that claims to eating magic mushrooms
exp-lain why almost all ?Biggest Loser? contestants
regain masswe amounts oi weight. numerous ex-
Losers reached out to The Post to dispute Its
?ndings exclusively revealing that the show
encouraged contestants to take street drugs while
themselves and to Ire about how much

weight they were losing.

 

The federally funded study, conducted by Dr. Kevin
Hall at the National institutes of Health and

Restaurant owner found guilty of
death by chicken tikka maeala

published two weeks ago, says changing metabolic
rates, hormone levels, and genetic predispositions
explain post-show weight gain.

What?s missing, former Losers tell The Post, is any
examination of the show's secret and brutal tactics.
which include providing illicit drugs to contestants
and submitting them to questionable medical exams

by the show's resident doctor, Rob Huizenga, known Lezlye Donahue in 2002 I tried to kill myself after the NFL 
as ?Dr. here's what happened next

   

Huizenga collaborated with Hall on the NiH's study.

?People were passing out in Dr. H?s of?ce at the finale weigh?in." says Season 2's
Suzanne Mendonca. ?On my season, five people had to be rushed to the hospital. He
knew exactly what we were doing and never tried to stop it."

Many contestants return with grave medical issues they had never suffered before. a 5
"That show is so corrupt," a source close to production says.
. DONATE Now

I: r"-In

A?enich

IT ALI. COMES BACK

Fox . . - - 
ms smuceu to KEEP WEIGHT on it its-r ?:25

 

Document title: ?Biggest Loser? drugged us so we?d lose weight New York Post
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Case Document 1-1 Filed 03/23/17 Page 4 of 11

Ma IT ALL COMES BACK I 
Haws ma STRUGGLE to Kit? waom on i net 1th

 

This source con?rms that show trainer Bob Harper and one of his assistants have
supplied contestants with Adderall and "yellowiackets" pills that contain ephedra
extract. Ephedra is used to promote weight loss and boost energy, and was banned by
the FDA In 2004.

?Bob Harper was my trainer," says Joelle of 2008's ?Couples" season. "He goes
away and his assistant comes in. He's got this brown paper bag that's bundled up. He
says, ?Take this drug, it'll really help you.? it was yellow and black. I was like. 'What the 
Is this?? 

says she took the pill, once.

feltjittery and hyper,? she says. ?i went and told the sports medicine guy. The next day.
Dr. gave us some lame explanation of why they got added to our regimen and that it
was up to us to take them . . . People chastise Bill Cosby for allegedly offering meds to
women. but it's acceptable to do to fat people to make them lose weight. ifeel like we
got raped, too."

       

i in"

I
I 
Er. Rob Hulzenga (left) and trainer Bob Harper allegedly urged contestants to take meds and go
ungry.

i
'l

Huizenga denied the claim in an email to The Post.

?Nothing could be further from the truth," it read. ?Contestants are told at the start of the

Document title: 'Biggest Loser' drugged us so we'd lose weight New York Post
Capture URL: 
Capture timestamp (UTC): Tue. 24 May 2016 00:10:32 GMT

 

 

  

5

Starbucks barieta mixes up Helen
Hunt and Jodie Foete 

Mark Buffalo responds to criticism of
Flint comments

Angelina Jolie adds professor to her
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SEE All. 

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DECIDER

 

 

?Game Of Thronee? Recap, Season 6
Episode 5: The End Of The Road-or
For Hodor

SEE All 




Case Document 1-1 Filed 03/23/17 Page 5 of 11

 

Dr. Rob Huizenga {left} and trainer Bob Harper allegedly urged contestants to take meds and go ?Game Of Thrones? Recap, Season 6
hungry Episode 5: The End Of The Road-or

For Hodor

Huizenga denied the claim in an email to The Post. 

?Nothing could be further from the truth." it read. ?Contestants are told at the start of the 
"up.

show that there is zero tolerance for any weight-loss drugs. Urine drug screens and the 




1' 
3 5..


evaluation of serial weights are repeatedly used to flush out possible illicit use."

Harper, says, told her off-camera to lie about how much she was eating and

losing. In keeping her daily log, says Harper told her, "Lie and say you were a

following the directive of intaking 1,500 calories but I want you to do 800 calories or Em? the 
AG 

as little as you can."

?People would take amphetamines, water pills, diuretics, and throw up in the bathroom,"
Season 2's Mendonca says. ?They would take their spin bikes into the steam room to
work up a sweat. vomited every single day. Bob Harper tells people to throw up:

?Good,' he says. ?You?ll lose more calories.? 

 

Huizenga told The Post that contestants ?rarely" get to the point of dizziness or fainting.

?Furthermore, I educate contestants that proper caloric intake is essential to fat loss
both over the short and long term," he said in the email.

Harper did not return requests for comment.

The NIH directed The Post to NBC, the network that has aired the show for 17 seasons.
NBC also declined to comment. but the show's producers issued a statement to The
Post.

 

The shocking future of virtual reality

?The safety and well-being of our Contestants is, and
always has been. paramount,? it reads. ?We prohibit

 

 

the use of any Illegal substances, in addition to the 
many other rules and procedures of the show that Bill COlby for TRENDING 
are designed to ensure safety." .
offonng ?The Hilla' cast reveal
?That show is an atrocity," says Dr. Yoni Freedhoff at to theirfakeat storylines
the University of Ottowa, who specializes in obesity. but it": acceptable
?This approach is not endorsed by anyone in the Chris Brown upset by
medical community. NBC [has] made an awful lot of do to fa, POOP.O daughter's tutu
money off of damaging these individuals." to make than 
. 
Freedhoff knows both Huizenga and Hall at the NIH. . ful llke 
He says the study?s findings aren't conclusive. we 90" ate at myaoul
too.?
?This show permanently damages people's
metabolic rates," Freedhoff says, "but it's impossible 

to say why this has happened.?

Freedhoff says it's extremely rare for an obese person to permanently lose half their
body weight through diet and exercise: Surgery is the only way, so there will never be a

Document title: ?Biggest Loser' drugged us so we'd lose weight New York Post
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Case Document 1-1 Filed 03/23/17 Page It- 

?This show permanently damages people's
metabolic rates," Freedhoff says, "but it's Impossible - Joe'le 
to say why this has happened."

Freedhoff says it's extremely rare for an obese person to permanently lose half their
body weight through diet and exercise: Surgery is the only way, so there will never be a
control group to prove the study's thesis.

"One of the reasons this adaptation seems to be so severe and irreversible," he says,
?could be due to stress."

Every contestant who spoke to The Post cites this very factor in their post-show weight
gain.

?The Biggest Loser' doesn't save lives," Mendonca says. ?It ruins lives. Mentally.
emotionally, financially you come back a different person. Half the people from my
season have gotten divorced. The ripple effect isn't just weeks or months. it's years."

For some contestants, the torture begins well before filming.

?When I was going through the applicant process,

they told me, ?You're not fat enough,? Mendonca

says. She was S-foot-G and says she weighed 229
pounds, morbidly obese by NIH standards.

?They said. ?You need to gain 40 pounds. Keep
eating.? Mendonca entered the show at 255 pounds.

 

"They manipulate you.? says Lezlye Donahue. A single
The brutal were?, behind mom to one young son. Donahue Was depressed, In
'Tho Loser' debt and vulnerable when casting directors spotted
her. She was given a free consult with Huizenga.

?He says to me, ?If you don't do something today, you are going to die.? After Katrina,
the 5-foot-5 Donahue had gone from 135 pounds to 250. ?Then he made a fist and
opened his hand very and said, 'This is your heart. It won't open all the way, and
the reason Is: You're fat.? 

Like all participants, Donahue was separated from family and friends, contact completely
out off. For her season, producers installed contestants in a former hospital
and put 12 obese contestants in one bedroom In the LA heat, with no air conditioning.

?It was hot as hell, and the smell was horrible," Donahue says.

The contestants were forced to shower together with no curtains or barriers of any kind.
There were also no working toilets during Donahue?s season, so producers made these
severely overweight contestants squeeze into Port-a-Potties a challenge even for thin
people, and yet another humiliation.

Donahue?s daily food Intake consisted of seven asparagus sticks and 3 ounces of turkey.
Once eliminated, all contestants go home and are expected to keep losing weight, with

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Case Document 1-1 Filed 03/23/17 Page 7 of 11

The contestants were forced to shower together with no curtains or barriers of any kind.
There were also no working toilets during Donahue?s season. so producers made these
severely overweight contestants squeeze into Port-a-Pottles a challenge even for thin
people, and yet another humiliation.

Don ahue's daily food intake consisted of seven asparagus sticks and 3 ounces of turkey.
Once eliminated. all contestants go home and are expected to keep losing weight, with
no support from the show. They're contractually obligated to weigh in on the show's
?nale.

wasn't going to go. but they threaten to sue you." Donahue says.

Since the show, she's
gained all the weight back.
She says she lost herjob.
suffers from depression.
and has thousands of
dollars in medical bills as a
result of the trauma her
body went through.

read that study, and
there's so much more that
people don't know." she
says. ?There are nurses

 

Suzanne Mendonca regained her weight and no longer has her
lab as a cap. sitting there [?lling people]

with packs. I took away
an eating disorder. I have
nightmares about it."

Numerous contestants told The Post that they were contacted throughout the years by
Hulzenga. who said he was working on a study and asked them to fly to LA so he could
evaluate them.

?This Is without a doubt the most important research project I have ever been involved
in.? Hulzenga wrote to Mendonca, who shared an email dated Dec. 2, 2010. with The
Post. He goes on to promise ?a wild Hollywood party to follow."

"After the show. I was so physically lil that it took a while to address the 
rami?cations," says Kai Hlbbard (Season 3). She never saw drugs on set: ?Not my
season.? she says. "l've heard the stories about other seasons, but can't con?rm."

Before his Season 2 ?nale. San Francisco Police Officer Mark dumped 17 pounds
of water weight. was probably near death," he says.

Months earlier. after he was sent home but before the finale. experienced
unbearable pain. ?i had my gall bladder removed," he says. "I?d never had Issues with my
gall bladder before the rapid weight loss."

More alarming: "The day after my surgery. I ran ?ve miles.? he says. ?My doctor was very
angry. But that's how brainwashed was."

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Case Document 1-1 Filed 03/23/17 Page 8 of 11

Months earlier. after he was sent home but before the finale. Yesitls experienced
unbearable pain. ?i had my gall bladder removed," he says. ?i'd never had issues with my
gall bladder before the rapid weight loss."

More alarming: ?The day after my surgery. I ran five miles," he says. ?My doctor was very
angry. But that's how brainwashed I was."

Yesitis has suffered from depression. ?i see a lot of bad stuff." he says. "i?ve seen
people's brains outside their heads."

And, yes. you guessed it: ?Being on ?The Biggest
Loser' Is worse.?

you're like a weight victim." 
says. ?The weight rapidly came back on. Your
metabolism Is all screwed up, but you think it's you."

?You don't know how messed up you are until it
becomes incredibly obvious,? says Jen Watts
(Season 2). When she got off the show. thought, 'i
can't work eight hours a day because i have to train
eight hours a day.? i started taking Zoloft and Xanax
for the anxiety and depression. My marriage that
only took a couple of years to disintegrate."

Watts blames her months-long sequestration and
her obsession with food and exercise for her family's
struggles. "We were making this the most popular
show in the United States." she says. "They should
really give people help."

?i personally have tried exceptionally hard to give
contestants the information they need to be
successful in continuing their weight loss Journeys at
home with their local health care providers,"
Huizenga told The Post.

 

Joelle in 2009.

NBC refused to confirm whether "The Biggest Loser' will return for Season 18. Last
season. which aired from Jan. 4 to Feb. 22, got a low 1.06 rating among viewers ages 18
to 49.

On May 13, Bob Harper, the trainer, went on the ?Today" show to discuss the NIH study.
He called it ?super-interesting.?

As for Hulzenga's participation in the study. Dr. Freedhofi is ?ummoxed.

?Dr. Huizenga has said things that challenge my understanding of obesity in general." he
says. ?He has a history of making rather ridiculous statements . . . plus the defense of
the techniques on ?The Biggest Loser' as do-able.

?It is the worst thing to happen to sensible weight loss. ever."
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Case Document 1-1 Filed 03/23/17 Page 9 of 11

A5 for HUIzenga's In the NIH stuay, Ul'. IS 

?Dr. Hulzenga has said things that challenge my understanding of obesity in general," he
says. ?He has a history of making rather ridiculous statements . . . plus the defense of
the techniques on 'The Biggest Loser' as do-able.

?It is the worst thing to happen to sensible weight loss. ever."

 

?use entree HEALTH. Nut; THE BIGGEST LOSER. WEIGHT toss

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A

Donald Trump Fires Back at Clinton Should Concede to Robert Shapiro Reveals

 

George Clooney Sanders Before Reveals What QJ. Whispered to Him
Brettbarl.com Findings People.com
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'Biggest Loser' Bartolo Colon's
drugged us so double life with
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EXHIBIT 

Case Document 1-2 Filed 03/23/17 Page 2 of 7

a a NEW yank pasr ll 

 

00693

?Biggest Loser? contestants "mm?
demand NBC cancel show

By Maureen Callahan and Danika Fears May 23. 2016 12:1Sam

 

Banker plunges to his death after
eating magic mushrooms

 

Restaurant owner found guilty of
death by chicken tikka maeala

 

 

Former 'The Blggest Loser' contestants Joelle Suzanne Mendonca and Kal Hibbard.

"The Biggest Loser? is a big fat failure and it's

tlme for NBC to do away with the extreme-dletlng
show. disgusted former contestants say.

 

?The show needs to be done. canceled. destroyed," ?Vi? to after 

Season 2's Suzanne Mendonca told The Post on hereewhat happened next

Sunday.

 

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Case Document 1-2 Filed 03/23/17 Page 3 of 7

"The Biggest Loser? is a big fat failure and it's
time for NBC to do away with the extreme-dieting
show, disgusted former contestants say.

?The show needs to be done, canceled, destroyed."
Season 2's Suzanne Mendonca told The Post on
Sunday.

 

?They look at us like we?re failures today. but we
were not going to succeed. They threw us away like
yesterday's garbage." she said on the day The Post
reVealed allegations that some or the show's

'Biggest Loser' drugged us
so we?d loee weight

workers pusher! illegal tile! pills or: i 

while encouraging them to starve themselves

 

Season 3's Kai Hibbard also called for an end to the reality show. which has run for 17
seasons.

"The show should've been canceled 10 years ago," the ex-contestant said.

She said she hopes a recent National Institutes of Health study on the show will bring
change. The study suggested contestants often regain lost weight because their
metabolic rates were permanently damaged after being on the show.

?To continue this body-shaming physically and
damaging monstrosity with future

contestants in light of this current study and others ""107 throw 
is irresponsible and unconscionable." Hlbbard said. away 
I
Mendonca said she and about 10 to 15 other former 
contestants are shopping around for a lawyer to 

bring a class-action lawsuit against the show.
- Suzanne Mendonca

?Nobody should be able to get away with this stuff,"
she said.

- NOW ON

 

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I tried to kill myself after the NFL --
here's what happened next

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Document title: ?Biggest Loser' contestants demand NBC cancel show New York Post
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Case Document 1-2 Filed 03/23/17 Page Mendonca said she and about 10 to 15 other former 5 

contestants are shopping around for a lawyer to rbago.? Starbucks barieta mixes 
9a Hunt and Jodie Foster

bring a class-action lawsuit against the show.
- Suzanne Mendonca

?Nobody should be able to get away with this stuff." Mark Buffalo responds t? crmcism Of

Flintoommente
- she said.
Angelina Jolie adds professor to her
Hibbard said such a lawsuit wouldn't be ?unreasonable," but asked, ?How do you put a resume

price on a permanently damaged metabolism and the long term 
repercussions?" SEE All. I

In Sunday's Post, Mendonca said that contestants were encouraged to go to extreme

 

to shed pounds, and that five people were taken to the hospital in her season - NOW ON

after passing out. DECIDER

A source close to the production said show trainer Bob Harper and an assistant doled
out Adderali and pills with FDA-banned ephedra extract to contestants to help them lose
weight.

Joelle of Season 7. said the show's doctor.
Rob Huizenga, told them it was ?up to us to take
them.?

 

Harper said in a statement Sunday that the claims

?Game Of Thronee? Recap, Season 6

are "absolutely false and are in direct conflict with Episode 5: The End Of The ?03er
my lifelong devotion to health and fitness." For Hodor
?Safety is paramount in my training regimen. and. SEE All. i

while demanding. my approach has always focused
on the overall well?being of contestants.? he said.

 

 

[b

Huizenga has also denied the claims, saying Slee re?ux for gOOd

contestants are told ?there is zero tolerance for any
Rob Huizenga weight-loss drugs." 0..



The show?s producers said illegal substances are
prohibited. and ?the saiety and well-being of our contestants is, and always has been, 
paramount."

For full pitlenl information. visit milnxfortle corn or
wwjoraxmedicatcom.
ABUSE onuss HEALTH. NBC. oessm'. THE BIGGEST LOSER. WEIGHT Loss

 

  
   

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Document title: 'Biggest Loser' contestants demand NBC cancel show New York Post
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Capture timestamp (UTC): Tue, 24 May 2016 00:17:48 GMT

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Document title: ?Biggest Loser? contestants demand NBC cancel show New York Post
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Capture timestamp (UTC): Tue, 24 May 2016 00:17:48 GMT

Case Document 1-3 Filed 03/23/17 Page 1 of 6

EXHIBIT 

Case Document 1-3 Filed 03/23/17 Page 2 of 6

Em NEWYUBKPUST om

 

0 0 9 3

?Biggest Loser? rigged weigh-ins "mm?
by forcing contestants to eat I- 
baking soda

By Kate Sheeny May 23. 2016 102mm

 

Casey Anthony allegedly paid her
lawyer with sex

2 ,865

 

Suzanne Mendonca was a contestant on Season 2 of 'The Biggest Loser.?

 

?The Biggest Loser" tried to boost Its ratings by
pushing boring contestants to Ingest baking soda so 12-year-old who set himself on ?re
that they would retain water and gain weight and did itfor 

get booted off, a former participant claims.

"They definitely tried to manipulate the game for
ratings. and If they could do it with contestants'
weight, they'd do it.? Suzanne Mendonca. who
appeared in Season 2, told The Post Monday.

 

'Biggeet Loeerl drugged ue
eowedloae The show uses weekly weigh-ins to help determine

who stays and who goes.

Mendonca said the NBC show's doctor. Robert Huizenga, once told her and several
other contestants they needed to take one to two tablespoons of baking soda to battle

Document title: 'Biggest Loser' rigged weigh-ins by forcing contestants to eat baking soda New York Post
Capture URL: 
Capture timestamp (UTC): Thu. 26 May 2016 00:22:12 GMT

Case Document 1-3 Filed 03/23/17 Page 3 of 6

UVEIHIIL. HIE, 

appeared in Season 2. told The Post Monday.
'Biggoet Loser' drugged us

9? weight The show uses weekly weigh-ins to help determine
who stays and who goes.

Mendonca said the NBC show's doctor. Robert Huizenga, once told her and several
other contestants they needed to take one to two tablespoons of baklng soda to battle
dehydration.

But it was just a ruse to eliminate them and make room for ?more exciting" particlpants,
she charged.

?There are contestants who are more outspoken. cause more drama, are more exciting.
so why not want to keep those contestants around?" Mendonca said.

?You're going to go with who's going make a better TV show.?

Mendonca, who was eliminated in Week 5, said she never took the baking soda.

 

- NOW ON

Page Six

 

She and several other tax-contestants made troubling allegations against the show In Gisele if ?ghting illegal animal
Sunday's Post. accusing staffers of encouraging participants to use Illegal diet pills. trafficking

starve themselves and lie about their wei ht loss. .
9 Rob Lowe reportedly In talks to pm

Mendonca, a former cop from Franklin Square. Ll. on Monday called the show's ?tness Live

trainer. Bob Harper. a ?monster" and the ?puppet master" behind the practices. Lil' Wayne and Birdman bot $10,000
on video games

She said that when she would throw up daily after workouts, Harper would cheer. ?Keep

vomiting. You're going to lose calories, and maybe we'll win a weigh-in." SEE All. i

Harper rereleased a statement Monday saying, "These allegations are absolutely false
and are also in direct con?ict with my lifelong devotion to health and fitness." - NOW ON

Huizenga has denied offering illegal diet pills. Neither he nor his rep replied to a request DECIDER

for comment Monday on the baking-soda claim. 

Document title: 'Biggest Loser' rigged weigh-ins by forcing contestants to eat baking soda New York Post
Capture URL: 
Capture timestamp (UTC): Thu, 26 May 2016 00:22:12 GMT

 

Case Document 1-3 Filed 03/23/17 Page 4 of 6

She said that when she would throw up daily atter workouts. Harper would cheer, "Keep
vomiting. You're going to lose calories, and maybe we'll win a weigh-in.? SEE ALI. 

Harper rereleased a statement Monday saying, "These allegations are absolutely false

 

and are also in direct con?ict with my lifelong devotion to health and fitness." - NOW ON

DECIDER

Huizenga has denied offering illegal diet pills. Neither he nor his rep replied to a request
for comment Monday on the baking-soda claim.

Mendonca said she plans to ?le a lawsuit over the show.
want blood." she said.

NBC did not immediately return a request for comment.

 

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Document title: ?Biggest Loser' rigged weigh-ins by forcing contestants to eat baking soda New York Post
Capture URL: 
Capture timestamp (UTC): Thu. 26 May 2016 00:22:12 GMT

Case Document 1-3 Filed 03/23/17 Page 5 of 6

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Document title: 'Biggest Loser' rigged weigh-ins by forcing contestants to eat baking soda New York Post
Capture URL: 
Capture timestamp (UTC): Thu, 26 May 2016 00:22:12 GMT

Case Document 1-3 Filed 03/23/17 Page 6 of 6

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Document title: ?Biggest Loser? rigged weigh-ins by forcing contestants to eat baking soda New York Post
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Capture timestamp (UTC): Thu. 26 May 2016 00:22:12 GMT