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The television studios behind the reality TV version of Netflix's smash-hit show Squid Game has lashed out at their contestants, dubbing their complaints as 'simply untrue'.
Studio Lambert and The Garden, the production companies behind the Squid Game: The Challenge, rubbished claims the games were rigged and contestants suffered through harsh conditions during filming.
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"We care deeply about the health of our cast and crew, and the quality of this show. Any suggestion that the competition is rigged or claims of serious harm to players are simply untrue," their statement read, as per Variety.
"We’ve taken all the appropriate safety precautions, including after care for contestants – and an independent adjudicator is overseeing each game to ensure it’s fair to everyone."
A January 24 article by The Sun revealed that those who participated in the real-life version of the deadly, fictional games tournament did not have the best of times as they battled it out for the eye-watering £3.7million (AUD$6.4 million) cash prize.
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Thankfully, unlike the Netflix version set in South Korea, the 456 players were not slaughtered if they lost or dropped out.
Several players have since lashed out at showrunners for putting contestants through 'inhumane' and freezing conditions during the games.
One contestant said, as per Variety: "Imagine you’re playing ‘Red Light Green Light’ for six hours. What game is that? This isn’t a game. The fun is now gone.
"You can’t tell people they have to stand in below freezing temperatures in just a tracksuit and two pairs of socks. Come on."
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'Red Light, Green Light' was filmed during a cold snap in the UK, contestants claimed.
As temperatures hit freezing, players reported that jackets and hand warmers were confiscated.
Another contestant said: "It’s not like we signed up for Survivor... The conditions were absolutely inhumane and had nothing to do with the game."
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She added that during 'Red Light, Green Light', in which players have to freeze when the song stops and any movement results in elimination, the freeze period lasted for nearly half an hour.
"I saw in my left peripheral vision that this girl was swaying. Then she just buckled, and you could hear her head actually hit the ground," the contestant told Variety.
"But then someone came on the [microphone] and said to hold our positions because the game is not paused. After that, people were dropping like flies."
The same contestant claimed medics were called 11 times and four people collapsed during filming.
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Netflix has previously said that three people required medical attention.
Other contestants told Rolling Stone that the game was rigged.
"It was just the cruelest, meanest thing I’ve ever been through. We were a human horse race, and they were treating us like horses out in the cold racing and [the race] was fixed," one player said.
Netflix, Studio Lambert, and The Garden have been approached for further comment.
Topics: Netflix, TV and Film
Rachel Lang