Price Is Right Model May Lose $8.5M Win For Post-Pregnancy Firing

Is the price right or not?

According to E! News, Price is Right model Brandi Cochran was awarded nearly $8.5 million in a wrongful termination suit against the show's producers. A jury decided she was discriminated against when she wasn't allowed to return to work after maternity leave.

Brandi sued the show in 2010, claiming she got pregnant and then had to endure insults from the producers, who reportedly called her "Wide Load." She was ultimately fired. Brandi was given $775,000 in compensatory damages, and $7.7 million in punitive damages. However, according to E!, the defense argued that the judge should've instructed the jury to determine whether pregnancy discrimination was a "substantial motivating factor" in the producers' decision to prevent Brandi from returning. The court agreed, and a Los Angeles Superior Court judge has ordered a new trial. So it's possible Brandi may not walk away with such a major victory.

As producers said, in a previous statement to E!, “We believe the verdict in this case was the result of a flawed process in which the court, among other things, refused to allow the jury to hear and consider that 40 percent of our models have been pregnant and other important evidence to our defense.” The defense claims Brandi’s pregnancy had nothing to do with the firing; they were just happy with the models they already had working with host Drew Carey.

So the showcase showdown will continue...

Source: E! News