The Daily Advertiser is reporting that former 'Big Brother 2' contestant Krista Stegall has sued CBS over an incident in which another contestant held a knife to her throat last year.
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The lawsuit, filed by last week in Orleans Parish, LA, seeks unspecified damages from CBS Broadcasting and the companies that produced the show. The lawsuit seeks damages for negligence on the part of CBS and the producers, pain and suffering, mental anguish, medical bills, mental impairment and loss of enjoyment of life.
Stegall contends in the lawsuit that Justin Sebik, who put a knife to Stegall's throat while kissing her and asked if she would be mad "if I killed you," should not have been selected to live in the house because he had prior arrests on assault charges. "By failing to do a proper background check they placed all of the house guests, including Krista, in danger," said Stegall's attorney, Clayton Burgess.
According to the lawsuit, Sebik had also shown signs of aggression toward other guests before the incident, Stegall said in the lawsuit that show officials did not give her adequate psychological counseling after the show and had lawyers and psychologists interview her for what her attorney says was an effort to get information to minimize the show's legal liability.
Jam! Showbiz points out that Stegall's current stance on the issue seems to differ greatly from her public feelings on the issue when it first occurred. When Stegall was eventually voted out of the game in August of last year, she told "Early Show" host Hattie Kauffman that she has no memory of the incident that prompted "Big Brother 2" producers to remove Sebik from the show in July.
"When Julie asked me about this, I had no recollection of what she was talking about because we were basically joking around," Krista said. "They (the producers) blew that completely out of proportion. Justin is just a fun guy. I really don't have the memory of the knife. Maybe my eyes were closed at the time, but I never viewed him as a threat. So it wasn't part of my strategy. I just didn't remember it," Stegall said to Kauffman.
Stegall is now working as a morning radio personality for KSMB FM 94.5 in Lafayette.