Popsquire

Jasmine Fiore was murdered.  The primary suspect, Ryan Jenkins, hanged himself.  So, what’s the legacy of this story?

It’s a lesson for reality tv producers, at the very least.

Since the outset of this story, many have wondered how Jenkins landed roles on two VH-1 reality shows — “Megan Wants A Millionaire” and “I Love Money 3″ — in light of his violent past.  Meanwhile, executives from both VH-1 and 51 Minds, the production company behind both shows, likely have been thanking their lucky stars that Jenkins did not harm anyone on either show.

That would have been a civil liability disaster…and they barely dodged that bullet.

It turns out that VH-1 and 51 Minds did not conduct a background search on Jenkins before he participated on “I Love Money 3.”  A 51 Minds rep tells Popsquire:

Network policy is that background checks are good for six months, so since Jenkins had been checked just three months earlier for “Megan,” a second check for ILM was not requested.

This makes little sense, given that: (a) three months is enough time for someone to commit a crime; and (b) a background check conducted before “Megan” failed to turn up Jenkins’ 2005 Canadian assault charge. The 51 Minds rep explains that mishap as follows:

To conduct background checks on potential cast members for “Megan Wants a Millionaire,” 51 Minds Entertainment hired a well-respected investigative firm called Collective Intelligence, which has done similar work for more than 90 production companies involving hundreds of TV shows on virtually every major network. According to Collective Intelligence, Ryan Jenkins’ criminal record in Canada escaped notice not because of any lapse on their part but as a result of an error by a Canadian court clerk.

Translation: Everyone did their job, except for the Canadian court clerk.

Fine…but what about when Jenkins was cast on the subsequent show, “I Love Money 3?”  Had 51 Minds and VH-1 requested an additional background check, Collective Intelligence might have learned that Jenkins allegedly hit Fiore in April and was supposed to stand trial in December for “battery constituting domestic violence.”

Most networks are apprehensive about casting anyone with a violent past, especially on a dating show.  So, if VH-1/51 Minds had ordered that second background check, then Collective Intelligence likely would have learned of the new legal charge against Jenkins and VH-1/51 Minds likely would not have cast him on the show.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that Jasmine Fiore would still be alive.  Nonetheless, it does mean that VH-1 and 51 Minds might have avoided being part of this story.

Just a friendly, lawyerly observation.

Technorati Tags: 51 minds, collective intelligence, i love money 3, megan wants a millionaire, pop culture law, reality tv producers, ryan jenkings hanged, ryan jenkins background check, vh-1 background check policy

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 23rd, 2009 at 9:03 pm and is filed under Ryan Jenkins. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.