Ben Waddell has been announced as one of the three men looking for love on the upcoming season of The Bachelor Australia, alongside former NRL star Luke Bateman and Wesley Senna Cortes.
Waddell, a model and filmmaker with a passion for the environment and sustainability, isn’t unfamiliar with being in the spotlight after he made headlines back in 2021 for a legal battle with one of our fave ride-or-die stars, Zac Efron.
The Melbourne-based filmmaker claimed that Efron’s Netflix series ‘Down to Earth’ was stolen from his own environmental docu-series pitch.
The new Bachie star appeared on a segment of A Current Affair, stating he had filmed a pilot episode for the series which he showed to producers in the United States back in 2017, even claiming he copyrighted the name ‘Down to Earth’.
He said that his pitch was rejected on multiple occasions as producers wanted a celebrity to host it rather than Waddell – ouch.
“They said that sustainability didn’t pack enough punch for it to be a success. So, they wanted to get a celebrity host. And I said no. Because I wanted to learn, I wanted to be the host,” Waddell said.
Zac Efron’s legal team attempted to stop the episode of A Current Affair from going live, as they “categorically disputed and denied” Waddell’s claims.
“Neither Efron nor his producing partner, nor their companies, ever had any contact with Mr Waddell. They never heard of him or his show and they had no knowledge of his show idea. The show was never pitched to them.” Efron’s legal team said.
To make matters worse, the release of the show saw it trending as the second-biggest show in Australia and they announced a second season to be filmed in Australia…
“I fell out of my chair, I was shocked. It was brutal, gut-wrenching, now they’re making a season two in Australia just to kick me when I’m down,” he said.
That’s gotta be rough.
Watch the trailer for Ben’s version of ‘Down to Earth’ here:
Watch the trailer for Zac Efron’s Netflix Series ‘Down to Earth’ here:
Interesting…
At least Ben will have something pretty major to distract himself from the saga, finding love on the new season of The Bachelor!
