Ramsay Blasts 'Kitchen Nightmares' Lawsuit By James Hibberd
Hells Kitchen star Gordon Ramsay broke his silence on a lawsuit accusing
the perfectionist chef of faking scenes in a New York eatery for his upcoming
Fox reality show.
I would never-ever-ever dream of setting anything up, Mr. Ramsay said by
phone from London on Friday. I want to sleep at night. We were issued a writ
because, God bless America, if the toilet paper is not thick enough and you
come out with a rash on your ass [youll get sued].
In his new show, Kitchen Nightmares, Mr. Ramsay visits struggling
restaurants and tries to help owners turn around their businesses.
Manhattan restaurant manager Martin Hyde was fired during the filming of a
Nightmares episode, then filed a $1 million lawsuit in U.S. District Court
against Mr. Ramsay and the shows producers in June. Mr. Hyde accused
Nightmares of planting spoiled meat, fixing a chair to fall apart and hiring
actors to pose as guests lending the appearance of a successful makeover.
Earlier this month, a judge tossed the suit into arbitration.
The idea of bringing moldy food in and planting actors is a f**king joke,
Mr. Ramsay said. Theres a man who got very scared and very embarrassed about
his lack of professionalism. For a man to waste lawyers time and taxpayers
money to get upset about something youre the cause of...
The lawsuit said Mr. Hyde urged his boss to invite Mr. Ramsays Nightmares
production to the restaurant, only to be singled out as a scapegoat by
producers who needed a camera-ready villain for the show.
[Mr. Hyde] wasnt the one in charge of the kitchen, said Mr. Hydes
attorney, Carl Person. The person responsible left the restaurant a week
earlier. Theyre going to make him appear he was the one in charge and he
wasnt. Theyre setting him up.
The New York lawsuit is similar to an allegation against the popular UK
version of "Nightmares," where a restaurant went out of business after the show
revealed rotting food in its kitchen. Mr. Ramsay won a lawsuit against a
newspaper that claimed the show was staged.
I dont want to start that kind of bullshit over here, he said. You know
it just scares me that litigation can just happen overnight, and then youre on
the defense.
A crew member on the U.S. version of Nightmares previously told
TelevisionWeek that restaurants aided on the show were so disgusting, we
didnt need to do anything" for them to look bad. The source also said the
production does help stock the restaurant with local patrons for some scenes,
but they werent told to lie about their experience, only to be entertaining
for the camera: If you like the food, then really like it. If you dont, then
really dont.
Both Mr. Ramsay and Mr. Person said the Nightmares raw camera footage will
vindicate their respective sides of the story.
We found extraordinary droppings from rats and the most unhygienic kitchen
Ive ever seen in my career, Mr. Ramsay said. There should be a government
health warning before the program saying all dinner should be consumed before
watching this program.
Mr. Person acknowledged there may have been sanitation issues at the
restaurant, which the lawsuit notes was closed by the New York Board of Health
about a week after the episode was shot. Every restaurant has mouse
droppings, he said. Mr. Person also said Mr. Ramsay to some extent, may not
know whats going on behind the scenes of his own show. But Mr. Person
maintained much of the production is showmanship and that his client was
unfairly targeted for humiliation.
Fox premieres Nightmares on Sept. 19, the same night as another fall
reality series attracting production controversy, CBSs Kid Nation. Though
Fox has been silent about the Nightmares lawsuit and declined to comment, Mr.
Ramsay has never been shy about speaking his mind.
Trying to say I set up a wobbly chair, Mr. Ramsay said, his voice full of
disgust at the lawsuit. This is supposed to be the most powerful nation in the
world, not the most pathetic.
A full interview with Gordon Ramsay about his career in reality television
will appear in the Sept. 3 issue of TelevisionWeek and online on Monday.
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