Several contestants said that when they had sought out production staff members for assistance with medical care, food and hygiene issues, the staff members were often not helpful and appeared disorganized. Some staff members yelled and cursed at contestants, one participant said.

Despite reassurance that contestants’ medications would be distributed to them when needed, several contestants said they had not received their medication on time — including one contestant who needed insulin — instead receiving it hours, or even days, after their scheduled dosing times. One contestant said she had initially been denied the food she required to take her medication and had been told by staff members that she didn’t actually need to eat. After asking repeatedly, she was given half a banana.