“The Swan” Contestant Claims Reality Show Producers Withheld Her Antidepressants for 2 Weeks to Get Her to Emote More on Camera (Exclusive)

**Behind the Curtain: Contestants Revisit Troubling Times on ‘The Swan’**

Memories are surfacing for Kari Bravata due to her involvement in the documentary ‘The Swan: Behind the Mirror’, revisiting her experience on the controversial reality series from 2004. In an interview with PEOPLE, Bravata reflected on the challenges she faced during the show and revealed unsettling details about her mental health before and during filming.

Before signing up for ‘The Swan’, a programme that focused on extreme makeovers, Bravata was managing her mental health while on antidepressants. The reality show spanned 90 days, a period during which she was allowed to bring only a limited supply of her medication, creating challenges when it came time for her prescription to be refilled.

In the documentary, directed by Erin Lee Carr, Bravata disclosed that she went without her necessary medication for two weeks after the production team informed her they were still awaiting her refill. However, her family, who had been in touch with her during filming, had a different narrative. “My mum was talking to me and she said, ‘I think what made me the most mad when you were at that show is when they took your antidepressants,’” Bravata recounted.

Only recently did Bravata recall how she had been deprived of her medication during a critical time, exacerbating her already vulnerable mental state. “I called my mum and I said, ‘I need a refill,’ during one of my five-minute calls. And she said, ‘I already sent it. It’s there,’” she explained.

Bravata suspects that the decision to withhold her medication was the production team’s strategy to elicit extreme emotions for television audiences. “They held it for two weeks because I wasn’t giving enough reaction and they wanted to see… I don’t know,” she stated, hinting at a disturbing intention to manipulate her mental state for entertainment purposes.

Erin Lee Carr, the documentary’s creator, also conveyed her distress about the situation, emphasising the potential dangers associated with discontinuing prescribed medication. “Really bad mental health stuff can happen if you don’t continue taking your meds. It leaves me breathless that someone thought that was okay,” she noted. Carr reflected on the responsibility that comes with creating television content, highlighting the need for ethical considerations when handling sensitive topics like mental health.

Another contestant from the first season, Kristy Garza, expressed her outrage upon hearing Bravata’s claims. “I’m disgusted. When you’re on that kind of medication, your body needs a steady dosage of it,” she remarked, sharing her own disappointment with the mental health provisions available on ‘The Swan’. Garza’s comments serve as a powerful reminder of the reality that many individuals face when navigating mental health issues, particularly in high-pressure environments.

Looking back on her journey, Garza revealed that her motivations for joining the show stemmed from a desire for external validation rather than self-acceptance. “I absolutely had the wrong motivator. I was doing this for external validation, not for myself,” she reflected. “A lot of people don’t realise that your mental health dictates how you feel about yourself externally.”

Garza also spoke candidly about her own experiences with mental health struggles, having been diagnosed with bipolar disorder later in life. She explained, “I had a very skewed perception of reality and how I fit into this reality.” This insight underscores the importance of addressing mental health, especially in environments that may exacerbate feelings of inadequacy or self-doubt.

Both Bravata and Garza’s stories contribute to a broader conversation about the treatment of mental health in the entertainment industry. They highlight the need for better understanding and care for participants, particularly in high-stress situations where emotional well-being can be jeopardised for the sake of entertainment.

‘The Swan: Behind the Mirror’ serves as both an exploration of past experiences and a call for accountability within the reality television industry. It is now available for streaming on Hulu, inviting audiences to reflect on the complex narrative behind one of reality television’s most provocative shows.