Former "Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Ruins" contestant Tonya Cooley and MTV have reached a settlement in the "toothbrush rape" lawsuit the reality star filed against the network last year, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Cooley sued "Real World" production company Bunim/Murray Productions and MTV's parent company Viacom in October of 2011, alleging that the she had been sexually assaulted with a toothbrush by male "Challenge" participants Kenneth Santucci and Evan Starkman, and that the show's producers neglected to stop the assault. Cooley was sent home from the 2009 competition in Phuket, Thailand the next day after slapping a female contestant, a move which she alleged was retaliation for reporting the incident.
In an initial court filing, MTV countered Cooley's claims by pointing to her own raucous behavior on the show. "Plaintiff failed to avoid the injuries of which she complains. For example, while she was a contestant on 'The Ruins,' Plaintiff was frequently intoxicated (to an extent far greater than other contestants), rowdy, combative, flirtatious, and on multiple occasions intentionally exposed her bare breasts and genitalia to other contestants."
The terms of the settlement were not made publicly available.
