An employee of the Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) in Tanzania is suing CBS, broadcasters of
The Amazing Race, for footage of her the show used when they visited the country in 2004.
Stella Mwanyika "is employed as a ground hostess at (Kilimanjaro International Airport)" and claims CBS "without any lawful cause infringed the fundamental human rights of the Plaintiff," and she "has suffered loss and damage to feelings and dignity and likely to suffer further loss and damage," according to a report in the weekly Tanzanian publication The Arusha Times.
She is suing the broadcasting giant for $2-million.
So what actually happened? Why is Mwanyika so upset?
Firstly, the context: it was sometime during the 7th or 8th leg of
the 5th Race (which was later won by
Chip and
Kim McAllister). The teams flew into KIA via Kenya from Egypt, and later left via the same airport.
The leg was memorable for an incident involving race villain
Colin Guinn (of Colin and
Christie fame), in which he refused to pay a taxi driver the agreed-upon fare and was almost arrested for it.
At some point the contestants stopped by at KIA and Mwanyika was filmed and included in the final footage.
In her civil suit against CBS she says photographs of her were taken against her will, they were published on the Race against her will, and in fact the entire broadcast of the show was done so without her consent.
That's right. It says so right there in her submission: "...broadcasting the documentary 'The Amazing Race' without her consent or knowledge."
Apart from special and general damages, Mwanyika is claiming aggravated and exemplary damages in view of "the fact that the defendants (CBS) gained profits from the said publishing and broadcasting worldwide."
Ever heard anything like that?
She may have had a case if she wasn't a) lying, or b) a whackjob. CBS, no doubt, intend to prove both if called upon to actually do so.
Responding on behalf of CBS, REX Attorneys of Dar es Salaam claim that, "the raw footage we have reviewed does not include your client's refusal to be tapped.
"Instead, it shows her staring directly into the lens of at least one of the production crew's very large and visible cameras without any objection and also smiling and acknowledging the camera.
"She among other things, asked whether she could get a copy of the tape for herself ... all of which amount to a very clear implicit consent for the program to tape and use her image."
Accordingly, the attorneys concluded, CBS will not agree to meet the demand to pay her that amount of money.
Hearing of the case is scheduled for May 31 this year.