A Contestant from The Proposal Is Accused of Facilitating a Sexual Assault

ABC has announced that it’s pulling the second episode of its Bachelor-esque reality show The Proposal, after a woman accused one of its contestants of setting up a sexual assault.

ABC and Warner Horizon Productions released a joint statement about the allegations to People:

“While the accusation was not related to the contestant’s appearance on the program, we take it very seriously,” the statement read. “ABC and the producers of The Proposal are pulling the episode while this matter is under review.”

In a public Facebook post published on June 20 (read it in full below), a woman named Erica Denae Meshke, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, alleged that Proposal contestant Michael J. Friday invited her to a “get together” that led to her being sexual assaulted. “One of the men pictured here was directly responsible for my date rape,” Meshe wrote on Facebook. “After keeping this buried for nearly eight months, and seeing this man continue to succeed and not be held accountable for his actions, I’ve had enough.” The post continues:

In early November, this person found me on tinder and asked to meet me. I said it had to be in a public place. He invited me to a get together in the lobby/entertainment room of an apartment complex, Diamond Tower.

When I arrived, it was just him and two other 50ish year-old men whom he referred to as his “friends”. They poured me a drink, and then I was left alone with the two older men. The original guy never came back, despite me calling and texting. I was told by his friends that he would be back soon. So while I waited, I accepted another drink, which I know now was spiked.

I was taken to an apartment upstairs by one of the older men, and the things I endured for the next 5 hours were unspeakable.

I was threatened afterwards, and told that he was very “powerful” and would “find me” if I told anyone what he did.

A week prior to the episode’s cancellation, a contestant on ABC’s The Bachelorette was convicted of assaulting a woman, and another contestant was accused of being transphobic.

In her Facebook post, Meshke urged readers to boycott The Proposal, writing, “Protect your fellow women, and keep trash like this accountable for their actions.”