So much for ABC‘s new show The Proposal…
The reality TV show — which follows The Bachelorette and was starting to draw some intrigue based on its unique premise — is now canceling its second-ever episode after serious sexual assault allegations have come to light against one of the show’s participants.
Related: Bekah M. Walks Back Her Bad Look On Social Media…
Michael J. Friday, who appears on the show, was accused this week of facilitating date rape by a Milwaukee, Wisconsin woman named Erica Denae Meshke.
Meshke shared her allegations in a public Facebook post on Thursday afternoon, initially refusing to name which contestant was responsible, though she later confirmed Friday’s identity with a screenshot of his Instagram account in the post’s comments section.
In the public Facebook post, Meshke shares in detail the events that led up to her alleged sexual assault, as well as Friday’s alleged culpability, including this passage (below):
“After keeping this buried for nearly eight months, and seeing this man continue to succeed and not be held accountable for his actions, I’ve had enough. I’ve lost sleep, relationships, self esteem [sic], trust and countless other things because of that night. And I’m done keeping it quiet.”
According to Meshke, she matched with Friday on Tinder in early November, and they communicated to set up a date to meet in a public place — which ended up being the lobby/entertainment room at an apartment complex.
When Meshke arrived, Friday was there with two older men in their 50s, who he called “friends.”
Related: Lincoln Adim Lied About Assault & Battery Arrest
Friday then left Meshke alone with the two older men, who allegedly poured her a spiked drink (below) and then allegedly assaulted her for nearly five hours:
“They poured me a drink, and then I was left alone with the two older men. The original guy never came back, despite me calling and texting. I was told by his friends that he would be back soon. So while I waited, I accepted another drink, which I know now was spiked. I was threatened afterwards, and told that he was very ‘powerful’ and would ‘find me’ if I told anyone what he did.”
Unreal — and so horrifying.
Friday has yet to make a public comment about the allegations; his Instagram page was unavailable on Friday morning, and appears to have been taken down at some point over night.
Related: Don’t Lie To Becca…
For ABC’s part, they immediately pulled the second episode of the show — the one in which Friday appears — once the allegations came to light yesterday evening.
The network released a statement to the media about the incident, as well (below), confirming that Friday was eliminated in the first round of the show:
“An allegation has been made against a contestant on next week’s episode of The Proposal. While the accusation was not related to the contestant’s appearance on the program, we take it very seriously. ABC and the producers of The Proposal are pulling the episode while this matter is under review.”
That’s great and all… but this is now the second high-profile instance IN JUST ONE WEEK where a reality TV contestant on ABC has been improperly vetted amid some pretty serious legal troubles.
Figure it out, ABC!
[Image via ABC.]
Related Posts
