Olivia Black To Sue ‘Pawn Stars’ Production Company Over Nude Photo Firing
Former Pawn Stars cast member Olivia Black is suing the series’ production company, Leftfield Pictures, for discrimination after she was fired last year.
Black, who was hired to work at Gold and Silver Pawn in the series’ fifth season, was fired after naked photos of her emerged last December. Black went by the name “Belladonna” when she modeled for SuicideGirls.com, a soft-core porn/pin-up model website, before she was hired at the pawn shop.
“Intolerance for online nude photos seems to be only subjected to female television personalities, and because of that Olivia has been advised to sue Leftfield Pictures for this discrimination,” Black and her reps said in a press release.
“Olivia has missed seeing her fans from Pawn Stars as much as they’ve missed seeing her,” Black’s representative said. “Her firing was abrupt and unfortunate and I think the public deserves more answers. Olivia is ready to address this situation and she will still be moving forward with her national tour.”
Rick Harrison said he had no part in the decision to fire Olivia Black, and that he made it a point to keep her on as a member, just off-camera.
“I never fired her. She’s out doing her own thing now,” Harrison said. “It’s just the production company did not want her working there anymore. What she does in her personal life…is her business.”
Black’s lawsuit isn’t the first for Pawn Stars. Former manager Wayne Jeffries sued the cast for unspecified damages for an alleged breach of contract. In early 2012, Jeffries leaked news that A&E had commissioned a new pawn shop series, Cajun Pawn Stars. When the network found out about the leak, executives reportedly pressured the Pawn Stars cast to cut ties with Jeffries.
Rick Harrison said of the lawsuit, “The more money you make, the more times people sue you. People are always going to…eventually go to sue you for something.”
The Pawn Stars cast recently signed on for 80 more episodes of the series.
The History Channel had no comment on Olivia Black’s lawsuit.
[Photo credit: Miss Olivia Black / Facebook]
