♪ this is "nightline." >> phil: tonight, "watch what happens." >> i'm having fun. >> the latest lawsuit attempting to take reality tv to task. >> it's your life on display. >> correct. >> and your mess-ups on display. >> yeah. a we'd workplace, but it's a

workplace. >> phil: leah mcsweeney accusing andy cohen and on the records of bad behavior and of encouraging hers. >> there's no, this isn't okay. there's, get the cameras in her face more. "me hereafter." in her own words, a promising young real estate agent murdered, set up on a sales call. >> mama always kept secret where we lived to keep us safe. the irony is that's what got me killed. >> phil: her loved ones frantic. the clues uncovered by police. >> he offers to pay them either in cash or in drugs or both. >> phil: what happens to monique beau's killers? rupaul, wig off and unfiltered one on one.

♪ good evening and thanks for joining us. i'm phil lipof. she's been called hurricane leah by costars, but a lawsuit filed this week by "real housewives" star leah mcsweeney accuses some of the people behind the show of encouraging substance abuse among cast members and also of ignoring mcsweeney's mental health issues and efforts toward sobriety. the parties in question deny those allegations. here's "nightline" coanchor juju

>> i'm glad the shows bring people joy. i just think there's a way to make shows without ruining people's lives and putting their lives in danger. >> juju: former real housewife of new york leah mcsweeney is pulling back the curtain, disclosing what she says really went on behind the scenes of the bravo reality tv show she worked for. >> i feel bad that she seems she is going through this [ bleep ]. >> juju: it's your life on display. >> correct. >> juju: and your mess-ups on display. >> yeah. it's a weird workplace, but it's a workplace. >> juju: filing a lawsuit filled with stunning allegations against andy cohen, bravo, its producers, production companies, and parent networks. mcsweeney, who says she's a recovering alcoholic, claiming the defendants established a rotted workplace culture and discriminated against, tormented, demoralized, demeaned, harassed, and retaliated against her for dabbleties including alcohol use disorder and bipolar disorder.

>> i think it is fascinating that it is part of a larger sweep of lawsuits that are being brought against reality show productions in a lot of different genres. >> juju: ex-jersey housewife caroline manzo, known for her straight talk -- >> you're a clown. >> reporter: alleging in a lawsuit that bravo and its production teams plied her cast of "real housewives ultimate girls trip" with alcohol and encouraged sexual harassment. former "beverly hills" cast member brandi glanville known for her sometimes outrageous behavior directly accuses executive and host andy cohen of past sexual harassment in a scathing legal letter. cohen explaining on x that he was clearly joking, but it was totally inappropriate, and i apologize. all this coming on the heels of last year's so-called reality reckoning as many stars came forward from several franchises arguing that when they joined

reality tv, they signed away more than they bargained for. some of the most jaw-dropping claims in mcsweeney's suit are directed at cohen, alleging he used cocaine with employees and treated housewives who did it with him with more favorable treatment and edits on their shows. a representative for cohen blasted back, telling abc news, the claims against andy are completely false. several housewives are publicly supporting the bravo ringmaster, including kyle richards, luann due l duelessips, and kandi burruss. >> i think this is something that is not going to go away without some form of it being addressed. >> juju: late last year, mcsweeney painted a darker picture of her time in reality tv in our interview. a fashion designer and new york city party girl of the early 2000s, she joined "the real housewives of new york" in 2019. >> i'm having more fun than in a month and a half. >> the same week i got the call

to audition was the same week i relapsed after nine years. >> juju: when mcsweeney joined the cast, she says she got paid $3,000 an episode and thought she knew clearly what the downsides might be. >> the pros were, maybe i'll be able to help my mom retire. >> juju: you were thinking financial success? >> yes, and stability. >>. >> juju: she said she told producers about her lapsed sobriety and they also knew about her mental health struggles. when you told the producers you'd started drinking again, but you sort of downplayed it, why not say this was a full-blown relapse? >> so i think at that point i was also in a lot of denial about my own relapse. and i was still holding on somewhere in the back of my head that maybe i could drink normally. >> you're a little out of control right now. >> i know. >> nobody's ever been out of control in this [ bleep ], are you kidding me? >> juju: she said some of the moments that made her a fan favorite were some of her darkest, including a night

dubbed "hurricane leah." >> horrible. it was horrible. >> i need two shots in that. because it's time. drink up! >> i thought you were a recovering alcoholic. >> i don't remember what i did. i don't know what i said. >> juju: what you're describing is the definition of blackout drunk. >> i was totally blackout drunk. and i was so nervous to see myself. and what are people going to say? they're going to say you're a drunken disaster. instead, they loved it. which was really -- messed with my brain. >> juju: she says she requested relief from filming because she was having a panic attack but wasn't given accommodations. bravo disputes this claim. her lawsuit claims the episode was the highest rated from season 12, adding to the pressure she says she felt to keep drinking. what was going through your mind? >> not a lot. and look, did i choose to drink

that day? yes. was i an alcoholic? in the middle of a relapse? like, absolutely. >> juju: give us a sense of how the producers might have had an influence on your behavior. >> i'm not going to put that on them for this, because i made my own decisions. there is no "this isn't okay." there's," get the cameras in her face more. >> juju: now she does point the finger at producers saying they were increasingly encouraging her to consume alcohol. she says producers knew she'd been struggling with bipolar, she was outed on the show. >> she's bipolar, she's on medication. i know people who are bipolar, you can't mix alcohol with meds. >> juju: she says that episode caused extreme anxiety and depression. a spokesperson telling abc news they are conducting an investigation into the recent allegations and a bravo rep explaining they've been working

with production companies for stricter guidelines on alcohol consumption and safety as well as increased psychological support and a requirement to raise kerns up to the parent network, nbc. abc news reached out to the producers and production companies named in the lawsuit but did not hear back. >> it's a very interesting lawsuit when you have these retaliation claims that are very well-vetted in how workplaces work, how much of this was personal choice. and that's something that's going to have to wander through the courts on some of these counts. >> juju: shed media that produces "housewives" told abc news last year cast members and cast members only make their own decisions about whether to consume alcohol, adding, it's not a requirement to drink and that production provides nonalcoholic beverages and doesn't single out nondrinkers. >> on reseveryone on the show i adult, but it becomes a dangerous environment when people are extremely

intoxicated. >> juju: do you think it's up to the producers to cut someone off when they're drinking? >> i do. bars cut people off. >> there is a cachet to being a housewife. you get money. you also get to be a sort of public figure. that is a sort of cultural heft that's hard to put a price tag on. >> juju: mac zooen sweeney decided to return for another season, sober why did you go back to the show? >> financially are, i was very dependent on it. i was going to leave, then they offered me over three times more per episode. i haven't drank since march 31st. >> juju: season 13, she says, proved to be even more painful. >> i told them numerous times that i was struggling. and it was just as if i was a nuisance and just, get it together. you know? focus on work. >> juju: abc news confirmed a member of production at one

point offered mcsweeney some emotional support. shed media told abc news production provides additional mental health services to cast or crew during or after filming at no cost, adding that they've enhanced these psychological support protocols. but mcsweeney says the hostile work environment on season 13 ultimately made her check into a psychiatric care facility. >> i thought my daughter would be better off if i wasn't here. >> juju: that's hard to hear. >> yeah. >> juju: that's hard to say out loud? >> yeah, it is. i just think that when someone says, i'm struggling, there needs to be a seriousness. >> juju: a few months later, bravo asked her back again for a one-week trip to thailand for the housewives spinoff "ultimate girls trip." after all that you'd been through, why go back? >> i want to give everybody the benefit of the doubt. i just was like, nothing could be worse than season 13.

>> juju: the cash incentives at that point, she says, proved irresistible, and she accepted the offer. you were offered $250,000 for one week of filming? >> yes. >> juju: mcsweeney claims she feared relapsing, requesting producers and cast not question her regarding her sobriety, but says they later told her her scenes were boring because sober leah was not the leah we know and love. >> here comes leah, let's get leah drunk, you guys, let's get leah drunk. >> reporter: abc news learned mcsweeney was offered a sober coach by the production team and at least once a member of production offered to have her accommodations moved closer to aa meetings. but mcsweeney claims when she asked to go to aa meetings, producers refused to provide transportation, instead directing other cast members to taunt ms. mcsweeney about her sobriety and mental health diagnoses. she decided not to return for another season. >> when we're dealing with a large network and a large personality like andy cohen, i

imagine we will see this lawsuit settle before it ever sees a trial. >> i think the most important thing is that the production companies and the network and the people who are with the talent day to day need to be much more empathetic and compassionate and see these women more than characters. because i think there's a lack of humanity. >> phil: our thanks to juju. when we return, "me hereafter." a murder with clues threaded together bit victim herself. he can stay undetectable with fewer medicines. that's why he switched to dovato. dovato is a complete hiv treatment for some adults. no other complete hiv pill uses fewer medicines to help keep you undetectable than dovato. detect this: marnina learned that most hiv pills contain 3 or 4 medicines.

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♪ >> phil: welcome back. 28-year-old monique baugh had a bright life ahead of her, a promising career, two children, and a happy relationship. but that all came to a horrible, violent end with her murder. in "me hereafter," we learn how, through monique's own words. >> i don't think i ever thought about what the last thing i'd see on earth would be. in the end, this wasn't the kind of bright light i expected. >> reporter: monique baugh was a 28-year-old realtor in minneapolis before she was abducted and murdered. >> some of you know, for those who don't, i am in real estate. i feel truly blessed. my boyfriend and i couldn't get enough of our two girls. john is the father of monique's

two children. he's a rapper. he's done a lot of the songs with major artists. nipsey hussle, lil baby. >> reporter: new year's eve, 2019, 3:00 p.m., monique arrived at a suburban property to show to it a potential buyer. at least, that's what monique thought she was going to do. no potential home buyer showed up. it was a ruse. two kidnappers forced monique into the back of a pickup truck. >> i went to work as usual. when i got off, i see that i had a text from my neighbor. i called him right away. he says, "you know, a guy got shot at your house." and i said, "no." and i said, "where's my daughter?" he says, "i don't know." when i showed up, momo was shot multiple times. >> reporter: momo rushed to the hospital. she arrived to find police already there. she ran to her grandchildren, who were unhurt. >> i'm really scared for my

daughter. >> my mom was right, i was in danger, and she herself found the evidence to prove it. my key. >> that key was laying on an area rug in the living room. >> it quickly became clear to me what the men who took me wanted. >> they wanted the key. to get into the house. to get to momo. >> almost exactly one hour after momo was shot, i was shot to death in the alley. >> i mean, she was so -- so precious. and i just -- how could you do that? to another human being? how could you do that? >> reporter: investigators began looking at monique's boyfriend momo and his social media for motive and found a music video of momo in a shower with a large amount of cash. >> i realized it was my shower,

and my dryer. that was posted on december 16th. december 31st, monique was taken. >> reporter: when momo was able to talk, police visited him in the hospital where they broke the news that the mother of his children was dead. >> i cried so many tears, i don't even got no more to give. >> reporter: momo told police he texted and called monique repeatedly, she didn't respond. >> next thing i know, the door opens up. gun instantly blazing. got hit three times. my leg, i got hit right here, a bullet in the back. >> reporter: investigators zeroed on lindon wiggins, nickname "l.a.," a rapper once on the same record label as momo. >> but momo recorded "westside" with nipsey hussle and didn't feature l.a. momo's star was rising as l.a.'s was falling. >> reporter: wiggins was not only a rapper. >> lindon wiggins was an

extremely efficient, profitable distributor of illegal narcotics. >> reporter: prosecutors asserted that wiggins' two associates, cedric barry and barry davis, carried out monique's abduction and murder as well as the attempted murder of john momo. >> the reasonable inference from the evidence that is lindon wiggins approaches barry davis and cedric barry and says, i need you to do something, and offers to pay them either in cash or drugs or both. >> reporter: barry davis, cedric barry, and lindon wiggins were convicted and are all serving life in prison. >> momo always kept secret where he lived and where we'd be, to keep us safe. the irony is, that's what got me killed. >> phil: the entire series, "me hearafter" is streaming now on hulu. when we return, rupaul lifts the curtain.

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let's go win this thing! then we hit the road and never stopped. you shared with me your frustration at working harder to barely get by and afford a place to live. your fears for our democracy and freedoms and your dreams for yourself, your family, and the future. it is not too late to realize those dreams. i'm adam schiff, and i approve this message because together we can still get big things done.

♪ >> phil: welcome back. on monday, "nightline" will

feature rupaul's personal and candid one on one with abc's robin roberts. here's a preview of their revealing sit-down. >> monday -- >> why did you decide now was the time to peel back the curtain? >> rupaul, the all-new revealing interview. >> you don't hesitate talking about being, tuesday, dependent on drugs. >> robin, i was at the end of my rope. >> emotional. >> we all have a superpower, don't we? >> we certainly do. >> and 100% uniquely rupaul. >> oh my gosh, i have been rupaul approved! >> phil: look forward to seeing the rest of that interview. that's "nightline." see you back here monday at the same time. thanks for staying up with us. good night, america.