http://igfculturewatch.com/2005/02/17/wife-swaps-lesson-in-homophobia/I'd never seen the show before.
Also:
Man sues ABC over gay "Wife Swap".
http://news.yahoo.com/s/po/20051122/...ergaywifeswap]
SUMMARY: An Oklahoma man is suing for over $10 million after the show "Wife Swap" exchanged his wife with a gay man.
An Oklahoma man is suing for over $10 million after the show "Wife Swap" exchanged his wife with a gay man.
Jeffrey D. Bedford of Haileyville filed his $10,225,000 suit in Muskogee's U.S. District Court, claiming that ABC Television misled him by not sending a woman from a heterosexual family to his home.
In his suit against Walt Disney (the parent company of both ABC and the show's producers, RDF Media), Bedford claims that when he conducted a Bible study for the Haileyville Baptist Church in his home, his gay "wife" invited a gay group as well.
But Bedford's suit does not focus solely on his queasiness about homosexuality. He also claims the producers of the show repeatedly told him his wife was leaving him, threatening not to reveal his wife's location if he did not participate.
Bedford said he became emotionally distraught, to the point of becoming physically and mentally ill, as a result.
He also blamed the producers of the show from forcing him out of a college class.
Bedford's suit seeks $5 million for mental distress that he claims caused him medical bills, public humiliation, embarrassment and undue grief.
He seeks another $5 million for punitive damage and $225,000 for other legal issues, including breach of contract.
ABC spokeswoman Annie Fort insisted the producers did not mislead Bedford.
"The show is meant to challenge a family's norms. Moreover, the agreement between the plaintiff and RDF specifically stated that the swapped spouse could be either male or female," Fort wrote in an e-mail to the Muskogee Phoenix.
Fort claimed there is no scheduled date for the unaired episode.
http://www.worldaffairsboard.com/world-affairs-board-pub/9391-man-sues-abc-over-gay-wife-swap.html