A Utah women is suing the reality series, "Escaping Polygamy," for allegedly barging into her home without permission and pressuring her daughter to be a part of the show that depicts people who have left polygamous groups. The mother, Susan Nelson, claims in the lawsuit that her daughter was offered $5,000 per episode to appear on the Lifetime Movie Network show.
"Escaping Polygamy" premiered last summer and follows three sisters who left the Kingston clan, a secretive polygamist group based in Salt Lake City known as the Order. They escaped 10 years ago and now help other loved ones and strangers break free of the polygamous lifestyle that they describe as "abusive."
In Nelson's lawsuit, she describes a cameraman trespassing on her home while filming two women trying to persuade her daughter leave. Nelson's daughter, a young adult at the time, initially agreed to participate but then had second thoughts and didn't want to leave that day.
Even after the cast members and cameraman left the house, the suit claims they stayed on the property and tried to film Nelson and her daughter through the window. Police eventually took the daughter and the others in the home so she could collect her belongings and leave.
The incident occurred in December 2014 and aired in an episode in July 2015. Nelson filed the lawsuit this past week in a Utah federal court, suing A&E Network, which owns Lifetime Movie Network, and RIVR Media, which produces "Escaping Polygamy."
Nelson also alleges in the suit that "the show defamed her by implying that she refused to let her daughter leave and by suggesting her house smelled of rotten tomatoes." She also claims she has suffered from heart issues since the incident occurred and the episode aired.
The Kingston Clan aka the Order also goes by the names the David County Cooperative, the Kingston Group and The Co-op Society. They are all a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement. Charles W. Kingston officially founded the community in 1941, six years after his father was excommunicated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for preaching polygamy.
Lifetime Movie Network has not announced a second season for "Escaping Polygamy."