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'Storage Wars' staged, star claims in lawsuit
David Hester says he was fired after saying popular
A&E show is fake
"Storage Wars" star David Hester says in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was
fired after complaining that the reality show is staged.
In his lawsuit, Hester contends that the producers of the hit A&E series
routinely plant valuable items in the storage lockers seen on the show.
Competitors place bids on the lockers without knowing what is inside them,
hoping to come across forgotten treasures.
In one case, the lawsuit contends, A&E planted a pile of newspapers
reporting Elvis Presley's death. In another episode, according to the suit, a
BMW mini car was found buried under trash.
An A&E spokesman said the network does not comment on pending litigation.
The series is the most popular in A&E's history.
The lawsuit pulls no punches, alleging that "nearly every aspect of the
series is faked, even down to the plastic surgery that one of the female
castmembers underwent in order to create more 'sex appeal' for the show ..." The
lawsuit says the surgery was paid for by the show's production company, Original
Productions.
Hester also contends in the suit that Original Productions manipulates the
outcome of auctions by placing bids on behalf of "the weaker castmembers who
lack ... both the skill and financial wherewithal to place winning bids."
Hester's suit names A&E and Original Productions, which also produces the
spin-off show, "Storage Wars," based in New York and Texas. He says he suffered
more than $750,000 in damages because of what he considers his wrongful
termination.
Hester is represented by prominent entertainment attorney Marty Singer, who
also represented Charlie Sheen in his legal fight with Warner Bros. TV over his
firing from "Two and a Half Men."
Hester is known on "Storage Wars" for being one of the most disciplined
bidders. According to his A&E biography, he was sentenced to community
service in a Goodwill Store after a 2005 DUI conviction. He saw the potential in
the operation, and converted his own furniture store into a thrift store.
He is best known for selling art, and once paid $750 for a box lot that
included a painting by impressionist Jack Wilkinson Smith. It sold for $155,000,
according to his lawsuit.