Arts & Entertainment
'MasterChef' Contestant Forced To Film While Suffering Stroke: Lawsuit
According to the suit filed pie chef Mary Jayne Buckingham, producers did not let her get the medical help she needed the day of her stroke.
LOS ANGELES, CA — A former "MasterChef" contestant has agreed to mediate or arbitrate her claims that the show's producers pressured her to keep filming for 14 hours and prevented her from getting medical care in 2020, even though she was showing signs of a stroke that she ultimately suffered the same day an episode was shot.
Mary Jayne Buckingham's lawsuit against Berkeley Productions Inc., Endemol Shine North America and One Potato Two Potato LLC was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in March 2022, alleging negligence and emotional distress.
Judge Lisa Jaskol signed an order approving the agreement between lawyers for Buckingham and the producers, who state in their joint papers that they will try mediation first, then proceed to arbitration if that fails.
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"If arbitration concludes with no resolution of this action, then defendants shall file a responsive pleading to plaintiff's complaint and a new trial date be assigned," the lawyers' joint papers state.
Buckingham is one of the top pie chefs in the nation, according to the suit, which further states that her Heath toffee pecan pie was the 2013 national champion and that her peachy key lime habanero pie won the same honor in 2015.
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Buckingham went to the "MasterChef" set at 4:30 a.m. in March 2020 and while on her way told representatives for the producers that she did not think she could make it that day, according to her suit, which further states that the companies instead "pressured her to continue because that day was a baking challenge, her specialty."
When Buckingham reached the set, she told the show's medic that she was in trouble, that she had difficulty moving her leg and that she needed help, but the show denied her request and again pressured her to continue, the suit alleges.
"Defendants not only refused to take action to aid Ms. Buckingham, they actively prevented Ms. Buckingham from receiving proper medical attention after they knew or reasonably should have known that she was having a stroke," the suit states.
City News Service
