Love Is Blind Season 5 Contestant Suing For Sexual Assault; Producers Call Claims 'Meritless' — Read Statement

Tran Dang, who participated in the fifth season of Love is Blind but is not featured in any of the episodes, is suing production companies Kinetic Content and Delirium TV for negligence, claiming that she was sexually assaulted on the show's set.

Dang alleges that she was assaulted by fellow contestant Thomas Smith, to whom she reportedly became engaged over the course of Season 5, while filming the show in Mexico on May 3, 2022.

According to the suit, "Smith, and without Ms. Dang's consent, forcefully groped her, exposed himself in the nude, and repeatedly made sexual contact over her express objections. ... Because of [Kinetic Content and Delirium TV's] 24-hour surveillance of cast members, most, if not all, of these traumatic acts were likely captured on film."

Dang claims to have reported the assault, but alleges that an assistant producer "gaslighted her, implying that she was at fault for what had happened with Thomas Smith by not communicating effectively or somehow not taking the 'relationship' seriously."

Love is Blind creator Chris Coelen has responded to the suit, insisting that the incident was never brought to the show's attention, otherwise appropriate actions would have been taken.

"If anybody ever came to us and said they felt unsafe in any way, we would immediately remove them from the experiment and talk to them, and try to get to the bottom of it," Coelen tells People. "Unfortunately, in this case, that kind of sentiment was never addressed to us in any way, nor was any alleged wrongdoing brought to our attention ever."

He continues, "We strongly encourage people to speak out but we can't be accountable if someone doesn't tell us that they have a concern. Those two things can mutually coexist."

Kinetic and Delirium also released a joint statement: "We support and stand with victims of sexual assault, but Ms. Dang's claims against the producers are meritless. We document the independent choices of adults who volunteer to participate in a social experiment. Their journey is not scripted, nor is it filmed around the clock. We have no knowledge or control over what occurs in private living spaces when not filming, and participants may choose to end their journey at any time."

Hosted by Nick and Vanessa Lachey, Love is Blind is a social experiment in which contestants are sequestered in pods and encouraged to develop romantic relationships without meeting face-to-face. If two contestants decide to get engaged, they're sent to a resort where they can get to know each other better.

Season 5 is currently streaming Netflix. New episodes drop every Friday, leading up to the Oct. 13 finale.