‘Squid Game: The Challenge’ contestants threaten to sue Netflix over nerve damage, hypothermia: report
Contestants on “Squid Game: The Challenge” are threatening to sue Netflix and producers after claiming they suffered hypothermia and nerve damage while filming, according to a report.
A British personal injuries law firm is representing two unnamed potential plaintiffs who say they suffered hypothermia and nerve damage while shooting in cold conditions in the UK, Deadline reported Monday.
Lawyers sent letters to Studio Lambert and The Garden, co-producers of Netflix’s “Squid Game: The Challenge,” a British game show where 456 contestants compete for a cash prize of $4.56 million — the biggest ever in reality TV history.
A rep for Netflix, Studio Lambert and The Garden told The Post on Friday: “No lawsuit has been filed by any of the Squid Game contestants. We take the welfare of our contestants extremely seriously.”
The show, which aired on Thursday, is inspired by Netflix’s South Korean dystopian hit drama series, “Squid Games,” where 456 players, all of whom are in deep financial hardship, risk their lives to play a series of deadly children’s games for the chance to win a hefty cash prize
The contestants’ allegations concern their experience shooting the show’s opening game “Red Light, Green Light,” in which players must evade the attention of a menacing robotic doll by freezing in position, Deadline reported.
The show was filmed at Cardington Studios, a former Royal Air Force base in Bedford, during a cold snap in England where temperatures dropped to 32 degrees, causing some contestants to collapse after playing the game for six hours, Variety reported Wednesday.
One contestant told the outlet: “Imagine you’re playing ‘Red Light Green Light’ for six hours. What game is that? This isn’t a game. The fun is now gone. You can’t tell people they have to stand in below freezing temperatures in just a tracksuit and two pairs of socks. Come on.”
“It’s not like we signed up for ‘Survivor’ or ‘Naked and Afraid,’” another player said. “The conditions were absolutely inhumane and had nothing to do with the game.”
Contestants griped that they weren’t allowed to wear warm clothing for the shoot — just the provided jumpsuits — and they were made to hold poses for up to 20 minutes, far longer than the 2 minutes they were initially told.
They also griped about 3:30 am wake-up calls and the fact that there wasn’t enough food provided by the studio after filming, adding that everyone participating in the show suffered from exhaustion.
Netflix confirmed to Variety that three of 456 contestants required medical attention.
Deadline reported in February that the show faced “an independent safety inspection after the medical incidents on set.”
Britain’s Health and Safety Executive — or HSE as it is more commonly known — investigated the conditions but decided that no further action was necessary.
