Bethenny Frankel and her powerhouse attorneys have reportedly been hearing from dozens of angry NBC reality stars ... this after they fired off a legal threat to the company, detailing allegations of horrible treatment on their shows.
According to the New York Post ... roughly 80 cast members -- both men and women -- have reached out to Bethenny and lawyers Bryan Freedman and Mark Geragos about the alleged abuse by the Peacock Network and its subsidiary Bravo, which broadcasts many of the reality programs. Bethenny -- who shot to fame on the 'Real Housewives of New York' -- is spearheading the fight against NBC, but there's no word yet on next legal steps.
TMZ broke the story Friday ... Freedman and Geragos sent the letter to NBC execs, accusing production employees of subjecting cast and crew to a litany of torment. Among their grievances were distributing porn, exploiting minors, covering up acts of violence, plying cast members with booze and denying them food, sleep and mental health treatment.
Freedman talked all about it Friday on TMZ Live ... saying there's been hundreds of mentally ill people exploited by these reality shows, and he finds it "deplorable."
A spokesperson for NBC issued a statement, claiming they're “committed to maintaining a safe and respectful workplace for cast and crew on our reality shows.”
The rep went on to say, "At the outset, we require our third-party production partners to have appropriate workplace policies and training in place. If complaints are brought to our attention, we work with our production partners to ensure that timely, appropriate action is or has been taken, including investigations, medical and/or psychological support, and other remedial action that may be warranted such as personnel changes."