Former “Price Is Right” model Holly Hallstrom was hellbent on exposing late host Bob Barker even before she was asked to appear in E!’s new “Dirty Rotten Scandals” docuseries.
“My plan was to find a journalist and tell them the whole story from my experience,” the 73-year-old tells Page Six.
“And that was it — just put it out there once,” she says. “It would be there for anyone to see.”
But Hallstrom’s plan changed thanks to journalist David Kushner, who wrote the 2024 Business Insider piece about the allegations of sexual harassment against Barker.
“David hooked me up with these people who were doing a documentary on the history of the MeToo movement, and the ‘Price Is Right’s place in that history,” Hallstrom explains.
“But after they started looking at just ‘The Price Is Right,’ they said, ‘We’ve got to do a documentary just on ‘The Price Is Right.’ There’s so much there.’”
In the docuseries, which premiered on E! on March 18, Hallstrom exposed the truth behind her firing from the game show in 1995.
Hallstrom claimed she was told she was terminated because she gained weight, but she said the real reason that she and other models on the show lost their jobs was because they refused to testify in court on Barker’s behalf after fellow model Dian Parkinson, who was having an affair with the host, sued him for sexual harassment in 1994.
After Hallstrom took her story to the press, Barker sued her for defamation, but he later dropped the lawsuit just days before they were set to go to trial in 2000.
Hallstrom, in turn, sued Barker for malicious prosecution. She received a multimillion-dollar settlement out of court in 2005.
Hallstrom tells Page Six that she had to wait until after Barker, who hosted the show from 1972 to 2007, died at 99 in August 2023 to fully speak out against him.
“Bob Barker slapped that bogus lawsuit on me and dragged me through court for ten years until I had nothing left,” she says.
“If he was alive, he would do it again in a heartbeat.”
After saying in the doc that she “hates” Barker, Hallstrom elaborated to us on how she really feels about the late TV icon.
“Hate is such a strong word. There’s a very specific reason I do not dwell on him,” she explains. “And that was because Bob Barker was mean. There are a lot of people in Hollywood in positions of power that are ruthless and deceitful. But he was also mean.”
Hallstrom continues, “He was cruel and he was viciously vindictive. He wasn’t happy just firing you and you lose your job and your income and your house and your career and your reputation. He wanted to destroy you. And so many people lost their jobs because they did not lie under oath. And that’s why I strongly dislike him.”
The former “Barker’s Beauty” also explained why she can’t blame fans of the beloved game show for previously standing by the host despite the allegations.
“As far as the public opinion went, the public had heard 90 percent of Barker’s side of the story and almost nothing of ours,” she notes.
“So there would be no reason for them not to believe that he was the Santa Claus that they believed him to be,” Hallstrom adds.
Hallstrom also believes it “would be foolish” if anyone from Barker’s camp speaks out about the docuseries.
“If they opened up that door, we would just drive a truckload of court documents and testimonies backed with proof, evidence and videotape,” she tells Page Six.
“Remember, it’s on videotape. That would be a very foolish mistake for them to make.”
Reruns of “Dirty Rotten Scandals: The Price is Right” are airing on E! and the series is now available to stream on demand on Fandango at Home.
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