Former models on The Price is Right have shed light on the allegedly toxic and sexually charged workplace environment they endured during their time on the classic game show, then hosted by Bob Barker.
The late Barker, who died at 99 in 2023, served as the show’s longtime host from 1972 to 2007. While the series largely appeared happy and wholesome on the surface, behind the scenes, a darker truth was reportedly unfolding.
In the latest installment of E! News’s Dirty Rotten Scandals docuseries, two models, referred to as “Barker’s Beauties,” opened up about the sexual harassment they allegedly faced from the men on set.
“When I initially started the show, everybody was pretty cool, really friendly, especially the crew. But over a course of time, I kind of noticed the guys were kind of talking, looking, gawking at the girls. I found out this is a little more commonplace than I thought,” Kathleen Bradley said in a teaser clip.
She recalled an instance when one of the men “was a little too friendly.”
“He would rub up against us, joking around,” she remembered. “It’s totally inappropriate. I learned the stagehand had been around on the set for a long time and was probably doing it to all the other girls.”
Bradley claimed that when she reported the incident to producers, “to my surprise, no action was taken. I was really taken aback. This was really sexual harassment. So I took matters into my own hands.”
She shared that on one of the days, there was a set of golf clubs on set. She said she invited the stagehand to stand behind her to practice a swing. “I backed up and accidentally hit him right in the groin — accidentally on purpose, that was,” she laughed. “We were so exhausted and tired of the treatment. You just have to do what you have to do.”
Fellow model Holly Hallstrom added that if anybody tried to complain to Barker, he “would have told her to get over it or look for a new job.”
Eventually, the network received so many complaints about staff hitting on the models that a “10-second rule” was implemented, allowing a person no more than 10 seconds to openly stare at a model.
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“There was no one monitoring how long the guys were staring at the models,” Hallstrom said. “It was a joke. It was an appeasement. They did things that made it look like they were taking action, so you will stop complaining and go away.”
In 1994, Barker was sued by model Dian Parkinson, who accused the host of coercing her into a sexual relationship out of fear of being fired. Barker denied the allegations, claiming their relationship was consensual. Parkinson ultimately withdrew her lawsuit the following year, citing its impact on her mental health.
“It took a toll,” Hallstrom said of Barker’s and Parkinson’s alleged relationship. “There was fighting on the sets, yelling, and it was massive. And it ultimately, I think, destroyed The Price is Right.”
Dirty Rotten Scandals: The Price Is Right premieres Wednesday, March 18 at 9pm ET/PT on E!.
