Latest disabled-rights suit against a reality TV show: “‘The Apprentice’ may be entertainment, but it also amounts to a protracted job interview, says James W. Schottel Jr., who filed a federal case in St. Louis claiming that audition rules demanding ‘excellent physical’ health are discriminatory.” (Peter Shinkle, “Trump’s show discriminates, lawsuit says”, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Feb. 8). In an earlier lawsuit, deaf and blind plaintiffs alleged that ABC violated accessibility rules by requiring the use of a touch-tone phone in the application process for its show “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” (see Jun. 21-23, 2002). Update Mar. 23: case settles.

Filed under: disabled rights