Ex-'Price' employee sues Bob Barker

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- A woman who worked on "The Price Is Right" for two decades has sued Bob Barker and the game show's producers, alleging they retaliated against her and forced her to quit after she testified against Barker.

Deborah Curling claimed she was in a "pleasant working environment" for many years screening contestants for the show, but that changed after she testified in a wrongful termination lawsuit brought against Barker by a former production assistant, according to her lawsuit filed Thursday in Superior Court.

Curling claimed she was demoted to working in an "intolerable" working environment in the back stage, forcing her to leave the show last fall.

Curling, who is black, also claimed a hostile work environment in which black employees and black contestants were discriminated against.

"Barker created an atmosphere of terror on the show, as a result of which any employee who complained about the working environment or contradicted Barker was fired," the lawsuit said.

Besides Barker, the lawsuit also names production company FreemantleMedia North America and CBS as defendants.

A CBS spokesman declined to comment, and an after-hours call to FreemantleMedia was not immediately returned.

Curling's lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in damages.

Barker, 83, retired earlier this year after hosting "The Price Is Right" for 35 years. E-mail to a friend

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