'The Price Is Right' models allege harassment during Bob Barker era

Not all was right on the set of "The Price Is Right."

In the "Dirty Rotten Scandals" docuseries, former models Kathleen Bradley, Holly Hallstrom, and former producer Barbara Hunter opened up about the alleged culture of sexual harassment that existed on the game show during its early years.

Bradley, one of the models known as "Barker's Beauties," said that many men on the set regularly gawked at the woman during the time the late Bob Barker hosted.

"I was in the elevator, and one of the men just stuck their hands right on my boobs," Hunter, who worked as a producer on the show during the mid-1970s, said in a clip from the series, shared by People on Tuesday, March 17. "I had to push him away, I didn't say anything. It became instinct to know how to handle it."

Hunter said a particular stagehand had a long reputation for being too inappropriate and handsy with women on the set, adding: "Rub up against us, playing around."

"When I reported this guy to the producers, to my surprise, no action was taken. I was really taken aback. This was really sexual harassment," she said before revealing she once used a set of golf clubs to hit that man in his groin to take matters into her own hands.

Fremantle, the production company of "The Price Is Right," declined to comment.

In a statement to USA TODAY Wednesday, Barker's longtime representative, Roger Neal, denied any allegations of sexual misconduct against Barker or the show.

"Barker was and is beloved, and people to this day love him," Neal said.  "He was part of the fabric of American pop culture. He was the greatest MC in TV history. I was honored to have represented him."

Holly Hallstrom reveals '10 second' staring rule on set

Holstrom, who was a "Barker's Beauties" model from 1977 to 1995, said production loosely implemented a "10-second rule" limiting the amount of time someone could stare at another on set after several complaints of sexual harassment were made.

"There was no one monitoring how long the guys were staring at the models," she said. "It was a joke. It was an appeasement. They did things that made it look like they were taking action, so you will stop complaining and go away."

Holstrom accused Barker, who retired in 2007, of silencing women who complained about harassment.

"If anyone had gone to Bob because Bob was in charge of the show and said, 'I have a problem. I have a complaint.' He would have told her to get over it or look for a new job," Holstrom said.

She also acknowledged an alleged affair between the host and former model Dian Parkinson when Barker was still in a relationship with Nancy Burnet, whom he started seeing in 1983, until his death on Aug. 26, 2023. "It took a toll. There was fighting on the sets, yelling, and it was massive. And it ultimately, I think, destroyed 'The Price is Right.'"

The two-episode docuseries will air on E! on Wednesday, March 18, at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Bob Barker was sued by Dian Parkinson, Holly Hallstrom

The TV game show, currently in its 54th season, has a long history of legal battles, with Barker previously at the center of them.

In 1994, Parkinson filed an $8 million sexual harassment lawsuit, though Barker denied the charges, and Parkinson withdrew the suit a year later. Other former models on the series alleged age and weight discrimination, which Barker said were unfounded.

Barker later sued Hallstrom for libel and slander after she told news outlets that she was fired because she gained weight through medication. He eventually dropped the lawsuit 48 hours before trial, and Hallstrom later countersued him for wrongful termination and malicious prosecution.

"It was pure stubbornness because I knew I had the truth. That I could win. That I could beat him with the truth, and I did," Hallstrom told TV Insider about the long legal battle and the new docuseries. "I’m so grateful for this documentary, so that everyone, but especially the fans can hear what really happened. And that I was not the fat lying, difficult to work with person that nobody liked as I was portrayed to be."

This story has been updated to add new information.

Contributing: Edward Segarra, USA TODAY