Court gets real about workers comp and reality TV

Cue cameras: Take that!

A former contestant on Australia’s Channel Seven network has won a landmark workers compensation case against the channel for a psychological injury suffered after producers cast her as a “mean girl” on the show, The Guardian reported on Tuesday.

In a decision with what watchdog groups say could have major ramifications for reality franchises across Australia, the New South Wales Compensation Commission found Nicole Prince was legally an employee when she appeared on the reality show “House Rules” in 2017, according to the news report.

To plead her case, Ms. Prince provided evidence that program directors “manipulated” the show’s plot to ensure she and a co-star “appeared to be hypercritical of other contestants, drawing not only their hostility, but also an avalanche of hateful social media comment,” according to media reports.

The commission ordered the network to pay Ms. Prince compensation for her psychological injury.