The Price Is Right's complicated history, which includes accusations of discrimination and sexual harassment, is dissected on E!'s Dirty Rotten Scandals: The Price Is Right
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In response to the discussion around the documentary, former producer Roger Dobkowitz shared his thoughts in a lengthy Facebook post
Barker hosted The Price Is Right from 1972 to 2007 and remained a beloved public figure through his death in 2023
A member ofThe Price Is Rightteam is speaking out inBob Barker's defense.
Roger Dobkowitz, a former producer on the game show, shared a statement on Instagram sharing his thoughts on E!'s docuseries,Dirty Rotten Scandals, which dedicated two episodes to exploring the environment behind the scenes ofThe Price Is Rightduring Barker's time hosting.
Dobkowitz first joined the game show team as a production assistant in 1974, becoming a producer on the show in 1984. He was at the show until mid 2008.
Dobkowitz called the docuseries, which featured different members of the show's team from the late 1970s through the early 2000s, a "hit piece" against Barker.
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"Many of my friends have asked me for my comments in regards to the E documentary that was recently shown on their network. However, up until now, I avoided commenting on it because I didn't want to add any social traction to such an obvious 'hit piece.' The 'documentary' should just quietly disappear into the bottom of a TV equivalent of a waste basket along with all the other forgotten so-called 'exposes,' " Dobkowitz wrote in aFacebook post.
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Sharing his own thoughts, he continued, "This so-called 'expose' makes me realize that there are some people in this world who will happily exaggerate and create falsehoods in order to justify a personal, hateful vendetta against a person in order to draw attention to themselves. Making the situation worse is the fact that the accused is deceased, and therefore, making it impossible for the accused to defend himself. The adjective 'brave' should never be used in reference to a person attacking a dead person."
Dobkowitz continued, "Most people in society and individuals move on with their lives, especially after courtrooms have settled disputes and they are closed. Most people are happy that a headache in their lives is over. Such closure is usually a life marker to remind the person to grow and put things behind them. When someone feels the compulsion to constantly bring it up for another 30 years is a sign that something could be wrong with their capacity to reason maturely."
The producer discussed the possibility of writing a book, adding, "My 36 years of observations with Bob, the models, and the staff will clear up lots of misconceptions and dismiss many wrongful accusations. The show was a happy place…our working environment was the envy of other shows. Staff rarely quit...the dozens of women who were in our repertoire of models came back year after year, happy to be on our show."
"The only unhappy people, as would be found in any company, were the ones that didn't get the raise they wanted, the ones that didn't get the promotion they thought they deserved, and the ones that were terminated for not doing their job. Of course, we did have a small handful of those people, but far, far, less than other companies had. I was there for 36 years. I was on that stage."
Dobkowitz isn't the only person to come forward in defense of Barker. The late host's longtime representative, Roger Neal, also shared a statement refuting the claims in the documentary.
"Barker was and is beloved, and people to this day love him," Neal toldUSA Today. "He was part of the fabric of American pop culture. He was the greatest MC in TV history. I was honored to have represented him."
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