Former models and crew members ofThe Price Is Rightare speaking out about the uncomfortable culture on set during theBob Barkerera of the show.
Though the CBS game show has promised fun for the whole family since it began its run in 1972, several women who worked on the show insist that the work environment was far from family-friendly. In a clip from E!'s new docuseries,Dirty Rotten Scandals, Kathleen Bradley and Holly Hallstrom detail some of the behavior that made life very difficult for them and their fellow models (nicknamed "Bob's Beauties"), back when the show was hosted by Barker.
"When I initially started the show, everybody was pretty cool, really friendly, especially the crew," Bradley began. "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."
Barbara Hunter, who came aboard as a producer just a few years into the show's run, said that such bad behavior wasn't just targeted at the models.
"It became common knowledge to stay away from this person or stay away from that person," she said of her own experience. "There was stuff going on where you had to say, 'Hey, stop that.' One time, I was in the elevator and one of the men just stuck their hands right on my boobs. I had to push him away."
She added, "I didn't say anything. It became instinct to know how to handle it."
Bradley recounted a similar experience, sharing that there was "one guy in particular" who was "too friendly" with the women.
"He would rub up against us, joking around. It's totally inappropriate," she explained. "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 took the issue to the show's producers, nothing changed. "To my surprise, no action was taken," she stated. "I was really taken aback. This was really sexual harassment. So I took matters into my own hands."
Bradley recounted a day when there were golf clubs on set, prompting her to call over the offender for a demonstration.
"I said, 'Do you know how to play golf?' He said, 'Yeah, I play a little bit. Come here. Let me show you,'" she recalled. "So I let him get behind me. And I backed up and accidentally hit him right in the groin — accidentally on purpose, that was."
She added, "We were so exhausted and tired of the treatment. You just have to do what you have to do."
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Hallstrom then criticized Barker, the show's host of 35 years who retired in 2007 anddied at 99 in 2023after battling Alzheimer's. The former model claimed that if anyone complained to Barker, who she said was "in charge of the show," that he would tell her "to get over it or look for a new job."
The women shared that the complaints eventually did make their way up the ladder, but claimed that CBS' solution was to institute a "10-Second-Rule" stating that no one was allowed to "openly stare at a model for more than 10 seconds."
Hallstrom slammed this move as "a joke," explaining, "There was no one monitoring how long the guys were staring at the models… It was an appeasement. They did things that made it look like they were taking action, so you will stop complaining and go away."
She added that the situation grew more complex after Barker allegedly began an affair with model Dian Parkinson, one of the longest-serving models on the show.
"It took a toll," she said of the relationship. "There was fighting on the sets, yelling, and it was massive. And it ultimately, I think, destroyedThe Price is Right."
Entertainment Weeklyhas reached out to representatives at CBS for comment.
Barker hostedThe Price Is Rightfrom its premiere on Sept. 4, 1972 through his June 2007 retirement. Across that period he won 14 Daytime Emmy Awards as the show's host and four more as an executive producer, in addition to a lifetime achievement Emmy in 1999.
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Barker did face a few public scandals relating to the show's on-set culture, though they had little impact on his popularity as the face of the beloved game show. In 1994, Barker was sued for sexual harassment by Parkinson, prompting him to publicly confirm their affair, claiming that she initiated the relationship. Parkinsondropped the lawsuita year later, stating that it was hurting her health.
Hallstrom later publicly called out Barker andThe Price Is Right,claiming that she was dismissed from the show because of slight weight gain caused by her prescription medication. Barker denied the allegations, though Hallstromstands by her claimsin the upcoming docuseries.
Dirty Rotten Scandals: The Price Is Rightpremieres on E! with two back-to-back episodes on March 18.
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