‘My 600-lb Life’ lawsuit: Gina Krasley sued show before death
A little over a year before Gina Krasley died at the age of 30, the “My 600-lb Life” star sued the production company behind the TLC reality series, citing “emotional distress.”
Krasley was just one among nine other castmates who filed suit against Megalomedia, accusing the production company of “intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence,” according to court records.
Despite the production company’s attempt to dismiss the cases, a judge ruled in May 2020 to consolidate most of those suits into one parent suit at the request of the cast members, court records show.
Krasley’s lawsuit claims the company failed to require a psychological evaluation, nor did it provide adequate mental health services during filming, according to Starcasm, which was the first to report the lawsuit.
The Post has reached out to TLC and Megalomedia for comment. Texas attorney Tony Buzbee, who is representing the plaintiffs, declined to comment.
The late reality star also accused Megalomedia of failing to properly train employees for depression and the known risk of suicide that comes with the extreme weight loss diets the subjects were following.
In Krasley’s suit, she claims that the show was negligent in several aspects, including intentionally causing distress in order to achieve higher ratings, failing to provide counseling before administering her diet and for not providing health-care services while filming.
Specifically, Krasley claimed Dr. Younan Nowzaradan — the primary doctor on the show who specializes in vascular and bariatric surgery — had placed her on “an extreme weight loss diet,” according to documents obtained by The Post.
However, Krasley went on to allege that she was then required by production “to eat excessive amounts of food on-screen to portray her as someone who could not follow the diet.”
“Defendants created this narrative and then for Dr. Nowzaradan to express disappointment for failing to obtain the necessary amount of weight loss to be a candidate for the surgery,” the suit claimed.
Krasley was ultimately “not permitted to proceed under Dr. Nowzaradan’s care,” the suit stated.
The first lawsuit was filed by the family of James L.B. Bonner, who took his own life in 2018 after his appearance on the show’s sixth season.
Nicole Lewis, Maja Radanovic, Destinee Lashaee, Alicia Kirgan and Annjeanette Whaley are also among those suing the production company for a number of grievances, including fraud, negligence and more.
The combined parent suit had a trial date set for July 20 of this year, before it was postponed to a later date. A definitive date has not been set.
While Krasley’s official cause of death has not been revealed at this time, her obituary states that she passed away on Aug. 1 at her home in Tuckerton, NJ, “surrounded by her loving family.”
When reached by The Post for comment regarding Krasley’s death, reps for the show pointed to a tweet: “TLC was deeply saddened by the loss of Gina Krasley, who shared her weight-loss journey on ‘My 600-Lb Life.’ Our thoughts and prayers are with her family at this difficult time.”
