Two contestants from The Amazing Race are taking legal action against the companies behind the popular reality competition, alleging the show’s editing misrepresented one of them as an abusive husband and damaged their reputation.
According to People, Jonathan and Ana Towns, who appeared on season 37 of the CBS series, filed an $8 million defamation lawsuit on March 4 in Los Angeles Superior Court. The suit targets World Race Productions, CBS, parent company Paramount Global, ABC Signature, and Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
The couple claims the companies intentionally pushed a storyline that wrongly painted Jonathan as an abusive husband, spreading what they describe as a harmful narrative to the show’s huge audience.
In their complaint, the Towns accuse the production team of carrying out a “smear strategy so audacious and immoral that it would shock the conscience of even the most cynical propagandist.”
They argue the alleged defamation occurred through the “production, editing, marketing, and national broadcast” of the season. The couple is seeking a jury trial along with both compensatory and punitive damages.
The lawsuit stems from their appearance on season 37 of The Amazing Race, which was filmed between May and June 2024 and aired from March through May 2025. Jonathan and Ana ultimately placed third in the competition, where teams of two travel across the globe completing physical and mental challenges while navigating unfamiliar cities with limited budgets.
Hosted by Phil Keoghan since its debut, the series first premiered in 2001 and has grown into one of television’s most recognizable reality competitions, collecting multiple Primetime Emmy Awards over its more than two-decade run.
While the show is known for highlighting both teamwork and tension among contestants, the lawsuit claims producers deliberately cast Jonathan as the season’s main villain.
According to the filing, the show falsely portrayed him — “a private individual with no antecedent public profile” — as “a morally depraved, brutal and abusive spouse,” presenting that image to CBS’s “tens of millions of viewers.”
The complaint further alleges that producers possessed footage that could have shown Jonathan “accurately and completely,” but instead chose to withhold those moments and replace them with what the lawsuit calls a “constructed, false, and highly damaging portrayal.”
The filing also references difficulties during production, claiming Jonathan experienced a “meltdown” and “clear emotional anguish” at one point while filming.
According to the lawsuit, he raised concerns with human resources about what he believed was bias from members of the production team. He continued in the race after being reassured that the competition was being run fairly.
After filming wrapped, the couple says Jonathan was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The lawsuit argues that behaviors shown on the program were actually “behavioral manifestations” connected to that diagnosis, rather than “volitional acts of cruelty or intentional interpersonal aggression.”
The filing also claims production did not provide contestants access to a licensed mental health professional or “any support whatsoever of medical, psychological, or pastoral nature” during or after filming.
Jonathan says the show’s broadcast led to harassment, threats, and ridicule from viewers who “accepted the false portrayal as truthful.” Ana Towns also claims she suffered reputational harm and emotional distress as a result.
