A 260-pound teen is suing the "Rachael Ray Show" for the way she was treated during a segment that encouraged her to lose weight, according to TMZ.
After agreeing to do a segment in which Christina Pagliarolo was supposed to lose 70 pounds by her prom, she said she endured the worst training ever.
The lawsuit claims Pagliarolo's trainer forced her to hike up mountains, run, all while yelling and screaming at her.
The climax of her punishment came after her trainer allegedly forced her on a StairMaster, gradually turned up the speed, and waited until she fell off the machine. According to Pagliarolo, he then proceeded to scream at her for not being able to stay on the machine.
Pagliarolo claims the vigorous training caused her to experience sever injuries to her legs and other parts of her body.
The lawsuit has been issued for intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence.
This is not the show’s first run in with lawsuits. In 2008 Aaron Ferguson, who worked for the "Rachael Ray Show" and is an admitted anorexic, said his boss, accountant for the show Mary Kelly, made anti-anorexic comments, according to TMZ.
According to Ferguson, Kelly made comments about the show’s executive-in-charge Priscilla Taussig. Her comments about the executive ranged from “too skinny to do her job” to “Did you see Priscilla today…all you can see are her sickly bones.”
He claims that after bringing the issue to human resources, Kelly made his work environment unbearable. He later quit and claims he was offered a $4,000 separation waiver.
Instead he sued for $1.5 million in damages. He did not name the star of the show in the lawsuit.
In the case of Pagliarolo—unlike the Ferguson lawsuit—comment was offered from the “Rachael Ray Show”.
“We haven't received this purported lawsuit but if it does materialize we will defend ourselves against it vigorously and fully expect to prevail," a representative said Tuesday.
According to People Magazine, Ray also had her share of weight problems, but overcame them in 2009.
