Bob Barker spent decades as the reassuring face of daytime TV, the guy telling viewers to spay and neuter their pets before signing off from The Price is Right. But a new documentary is painting a much darker picture of what allegedly happened when the cameras stopped rolling.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the latest episode of E!’s Dirty Rotten Scandals features several former “Barker’s Beauties” accusing the late host of racism, retaliation, and helping create a toxic environment behind the scenes of the long-running game show.
Former model Claudia Jordan says Black contestants were quietly capped at two per taping — and that production staff marked contestant cards with a “B” so Barker would know who was about to “come on down.” Jordan says the order came directly from Barker himself.
Jordan also claims Barker often seemed uncomfortable around Black contestants once they reached the stage. A clip now making the rounds online appears to show Barker stepping backward as a Black contestant moves in to hug him after winning.
Jordan says she was routinely reduced to stereotypes, including being told to stand between two white models to create a “reverse Oreo.” She also alleges producers joked that she should handle prizes with “Black connotations,” turning her race into an inside joke rather than treating her like the same model everyone saw on screen.
Meanwhile, Kathleen Bradley, who became the first full-time Black model on The Price is Right in 1990, says she heard that racist language was being used during production meetings when the models were not in the room.
But it’s former OG Barker’s Beauty, Holly Hallstrom, who’s going viral for her comments.
Hallstrom connects Barker’s alleged views to his relationship with fellow model Dian Parkinson. According to her, Barker exploded after learning Parkinson had previously dated Black men. Hallstrom claims the argument spiraled into what she called “the screaming match of all time.”
After Parkinson stormed out, Hallstrom says Barker’s assistant chased after her and told her to apologize. Parkinson’s alleged response is to be heard to be believed, making the clip go viral.
Hallstrom says that the same fight led to Barker making a remark that Black men were “the most diseased people on Earth.” She later described Barker as “cruel and viciously vindictive,” claiming he went after employees who refused to support him publicly during his legal battles with Parkinson and others.
Hallstrom says she was eventually pushed off the show after refusing to back Barker during Parkinson’s sexual harassment lawsuit.
Barker, who died in 2023 at 99, denied wrongdoing throughout his life, and his longtime representative has pushed back hard against the new claims.
