90 DAY FIANCE Luis threatens to sue ‘those bastards’ at TLC
Molly Hopkins’ Dominican fiance-turned-husband-turned-ex Luis emerged as one of the 90 Day Fiance franchise’s biggest villains this season, and now he is threatening to sue TLC for making him look so bad. Oh, and he’s also not happy about not getting paid — which is the case with all the non-American cast members on the show.
Luis shared his feelings on Instagram with an angry text graphic and caption:
In case you were unaware, one of the things that makes 90 Day Fiance one of the most brilliant concepts in the history of reality TV is the fact that producers are not legally able to pay non-US residents, or at least that is what they claim. Either way, each cast member signs a contract with their compensation (or lack thereof) spelled out. (More on that in a minute.)
A comenter pointed out to Luis that TLC might not legally be able to pay him, but he was having none of it:
COMMENTER: Maybe because you have not the card, so you can’t work and they don’t pay you. Omg….lo siento por ti [I’m sorry for you]
LUIS: f**k them i have passport and the person can get social society with the visa k1 so they are p*ssy lier
More from the comments section:
COMMENTER: I said I dont disagree with him. What I do disagree about is saying yes to doing a show where they tell you straight up that he wont be receiving payment as he is not a citizen of the United States.
LUIS: the more important for her it is the show not me, i said that to her but she never want to leave the show bc its more important than me for her
LUIS: in reality they do not present anything good about me or anything of the bad of the American couple only the bad of the immigrants and on top of that they do not pay
Luis’ argument that 90 Day Fiance producers have a bias against the non-American cast members as far as editing goes seems WAAAAY off base. As any viewer of the show is well aware, more times than not it is the American half of the relationship who usually comes off as, um, the less appealing of the potential spouses.
Speaking of the American half being less appealing, Luis’ dream of receiving monetary compensation from TLC due to how he was represented on the show seems misguided at best because there is a clear legal precedent. 90 Day Fiance Season 3 star Mark Shoemaker (The 58-year-old American guy who married his 18-year-old Filipino fiancee Nikki) sued TLC for the same thing and the lawsuit was tossed out. A judge ruled that Mark and Nikki signed contracts that explicitly granted TLC the right to edit the show however they liked and precluded any lawsuits. From the ruling, in which Mark was the plaintiff:
Based on the documentary evidence presented, including the agreements and releases provided, Plaintiffs clearly waived their right to bring this action and are precluded from doing so. Plaintiffs expressly consented to permitting Defendants to retain broad discretion to edit, alter the contents of the footage and fictionalize it, even if such alterations resulted in Plaintiffs being depicted in an embarrassing, humiliating and denigrating manner. As discussed by Defendants, courts have consistently upheld such releases and agreements in similar circumstances. As such, the court determines that Plaintiffs knowingly and voluntarily entered into the agreements and they are precluded from bringing this action. As such, Plaintiffs’ amended complaint is dismissed.
Speaking of 90 Day Fiance franchise villains, an unlikely source offered up a response to Luis’ complaints in a Facebook post. From Before the 90 Days star Paul Staehle:
Wait, what? The non-American Before the 90 Days stars get paid? Now I’m really confused. (Paul has since deleted his Facebook page, so perhaps TLC wasn’t too happy with his take on the matter.)
As a fan of the 90 Day Fiance franchise, my advice to Luis is to go on ahead and sign up for a season of Happily Ever After and try to redeem himself. Will it work? Not at all, but it sure will be fun to watch!
***EBUL LAUGH*** ?
