Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Dustin Rowles | TV | March 6, 2026
One of the most trafficked posts we’ve ever had on this site was about a married Amazing Race couple named Jonathan and Ava, and the emotional terror that Jonathan subjected Ava to on the show. Most of that traffic almost certainly came from Googlers trying to find out if Ava divorced Jonathan after the show, given the way he treated her — with disdain, contempt, insults, and open maliciousness. He was the worst.
A year later, the couple is suing The Amazing Race in an $8 million defamation suit, claiming that the producers unleashed a “smear strategy so audacious and immoral that it would shock the conscience of even the most cynical propagandist.”
“The resulting broadcast, disseminated to tens of millions of viewers on a nationally distributed television network, falsely portrayed Jonathan Towns, a private individual with no antecedent public profile, as a morally depraved, brutal and abusive spouse.”
He’s not wrong about the portrayal. Whether it was false is another question entirely. And Jonathan and Ava are apparently representing themselves — probably, I suspect, because they couldn’t find a legitimate lawyer willing to take the case. Why? Because after the show aired, Jonathan admitted that watching himself on The Amazing Race prompted him to seek help, and he was subsequently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
While the season was still airing, Jonathan and Ava released several YouTube videos discussing their experiences on the show and frequently attempting to rationalize his behavior.
“Looking back at what I was seeing, and knowing what I know about myself now, it’s so hard for me to be supportive and helpful to somebody when my brain is in this overheated state,” Jonathan explained in one video, noting that the race triggered his “hyperactive brain.”
“When I’m on The Race, unlike when I’m at home, I cannot control the external factors. I have no control — my routines are completely non-existent,” he added. “And we rely on — people like me rely on routines to help us regulate our emotions and control the amount of stimulus we get at any given time.”
So he essentially admitted the depiction was accurate. The suit nonetheless alleges that CBS had a duty to also include footage that showed him in a more flattering light. In other words, Jonathan is suing because he got the villain edit. And if every reality show contestant who received the villain edit could successfully sue over it, there would be no reality television industry left to speak of.
There’s also the small matter of the contracts every participant almost certainly signs before appearing on one of these shows — the ones that almost certainly waive any right to sue over how they’re depicted in the final broadcast.
