A West Village man offered up his cluttered apartment to a reality TV show for a makeover – and instead producers left his unit in shambles, he charges in a new $300,000 lawsuit.
Struggling actor Paul McClure handed over the keys to his two-bedroom apartment at 19 Christopher St. for episode 5 of the short-lived Style Network show “Clean House New York” that aired in November 2011.
McClure, 56, says in court papers that the crew promised they would only clean and redesign his apartment, without making structural changes or trashing belongings he wanted to keep.
But after the “makeover” McClure was shocked to discover show employees had demolished an interior wall, lost $4,500 worth of valuables including a $2,500 rug and stained the kitchen with paint that ended up peeling off the walls shortly after it was applied, the Manhattan civil suit says.
The crew also left behind gauged walls, broken doors, busted light fixtures and chipped furniture, the suit says.
When McClure’s attorney wrote to parent company True Entertainment LLC to complain, execs sent back a release with a forged signature absolving them of responsibility for the mess, the suit says.
Reps for True Entertainment did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but a promo for the episode titled “West Village of Vintage” says McClure’s “Jack-of-all-trades mentality won’t allow him to let go of anything in his cluttered living space.”
McClure admits in his suit that he “found himself in a constant struggle with Clean House crew members to save his most cherished possessions.”
Among the items Clean House allegedly tossed without McClure’s permission were the $2,500 rug, three oak and glass doors worth $250 each and $1,200 in designer jackets and suits.
But the show promo ultimately casts the blame on its subject, saying McClure’s “flair for the overly dramatic becomes a problem when he lashes out at [the show’s host] in front of everyone at the yard sale.”
The Clean House series, which started in California, hosts yard sales to finance the makeovers.
The New York spin-off describes McClure as “an avid collector of nearly anything he can get his hands on including men’s suits, artwork, furniture and even wall paneling.“