Former ‘Price Is Right’ model says she was fired for refusing to defend Bob Barker

A former model on “The Price Is Right” is breaking her silence, alleging she was pushed off the long-running game show in 1995 not because of her weight, the official explanation at the time, but because she refused to publicly defend host Bob Barker amid a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a fellow model.

Holly Hallstrom, who appeared on the show from 1977 to 1995 as one of the so-called “Barker’s Beauties,” is speaking out in a new episode of E!’s documentary series “Dirty Rotten Scandals,” which premieres Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET. The episode examines allegations that the beloved daytime staple was marred by a hostile work environment, sexual harassment and discrimination.

Ms. Hallstrom’s firing followed fellow model Dian Parkinson’s 1994 sexual harassment lawsuit against Barker, in which Ms. Parkinson alleged she had been coerced into a sexual relationship out of fear of losing her job. Barker denied the allegations and maintained that their relationship was consensual. Ms. Parkinson withdrew the suit in 1995, with her attorney citing the emotional, financial and physical toll of the legal battle.

Ms. Hallstrom said Barker pressured the models to appear on talk shows and vouch for him publicly during the controversy — an effort she declined to join. When she appeared on “The Suzanne Somers Show” and declined to call Ms. Parkinson a liar, tabloids falsely reported that she had, she said. She demanded and received a retraction, but the damage to her relationship with Barker was done.

“That was the beginning of the big rift between Bob and me,” Ms. Hallstrom told Fox News Digital. “I would not change my testimony to suit Barker. That’s when I was told my weight was a problem. I was off the show.”

Ms. Hallstrom also alleged in the documentary that producers had earlier pressured her to get breast implants to keep her role, and that she was required to pay for the procedure herself.

The firing set off nearly a decade of litigation. Barker sued Ms. Hallstrom for libel and slander after she told news outlets she had been let go over medication-related weight gain. She countersued, with USA Today reporting claims of wrongful termination and malicious prosecution, and Fox News reporting additional claims of defamation, emotional distress and discrimination. Ms. Hallstrom said she was effectively blacklisted in the entertainment industry during that period and was pushed to the financial brink, but declined settlement offers that, according to her account, would have required her to sign a nondisclosure agreement.

Two days before the case was scheduled to go to trial, Barker and CBS agreed to settle. The network reportedly paid Ms. Hallstrom a sum in the millions, though the exact terms were not disclosed. Settlements do not constitute an admission of wrongdoing.

Also featured in the E! documentary is former producer Barbara Hunter, who worked on the show during the mid-1970s and described a culture of rampant harassment on set. Ms. Hunter alleged that a stagehand repeatedly made unwanted physical contact with female staff, that her complaints to producers were ignored, and that she ultimately struck the man in the groin with a set of golf clubs. Former model Kathleen Bradley also appears in the episode.

Ms. Hallstrom said the show’s response to harassment complaints was largely performative, describing a so-called “10-second rule” limiting how long crew members could stare at models, a policy she said went entirely unenforced.

“It was a joke. It was an appeasement,” Ms. Hallstrom said. “They did things that made it look like they were taking action, so you will stop complaining and go away.”

Barker, who hosted the show for 35 years before retiring in 2007, died in August 2023 at age 99. His longtime representative, Roger Neal, denied any allegations of sexual misconduct against Barker or the show in a statement to USA Today. Fremantle, the production company behind “The Price Is Right,” declined to comment.

Ms. Hallstrom said she has no regrets about her years on the show, even as she looks back on them with complicated feelings.