Ryan “Daddy” Richards of CMT’s “Party Down South” Accused of Rape
Yet another cast member of CMT’s Jersey Shore-style reality show Party Down South has found himself in legal trouble, and this time it involves the show directly, and accusations of rape on the set. Ryan “Daddy” Richards, famous for being the beer funnel toter of the eight-person cast, was accused of raping a woman who partied with the cast in their Athens, GA location in April during the taping of the current season. The woman reportedly met the cast at a local bar, and then ended up in the Athens, GA house the show was taped in. The woman says she was then handed an open beer to drink, and that was the last she remembered until waking up naked in a bed under a sheet, with a camera in her face.
Ryan “Daddy” Richards became the main suspect in the investigation that remained mostly under wraps until Thursday (7-31) when numerous celebrity and tabloid sites ran stories about the incident, and how police had found that after interviewing the cast and crew of the show, and reviewing roughly 20 hours of footage taken on the set, that they did not have the evidence to charge Richards in the case. The footage obtained by police reportedly shows the young woman partying with the rest of the cast. The release of information about the case conveniently coincided with the airing of Thursday’s Party Down South episode featuring the cast traveling to Cabo San Lucas.
Ryan Richards has not spoken about any of the specifics of the accusations because it’s “a legal matter,” but he did tell RumorFix, “The allegations were so false that I never even really lost any sleep over it to be honest with you.”
However there is evidence to the contrary of the Ryan Richards claims. The reason the case was pursued by police was because the accuser went to the hospital the day after spending the evening in the Athens, GA house, and after being examined by medical professionals, it was determined there was evidence of a sexual assault. Ryan Richards is still listed as a “suspect” in the police report, but barring further evidence or information, the case is currently closed.
Ryan Richards is the third Party Down South cast member to find themselves amidst legal trouble since the show started less than a year ago. Louisiana native Lyle Boudreaux was arrested in Maurice, LA for burglary of a vehicle. According to police, while at a Mardi Gras parade, Boudreaux found an unlocked car, rifled through a purse, and stole a credit card to fund the night’s drinking. Mattie Breaux of Louisiana was also served a bench warrant after she failed to appear in court as part of a pretrial hearing in March. The hearing was for a previous arrest for driving while intoxicated in September. Breaux was taping Season 2 of the reality show at the time of the hearing.
Party Down South has come under heavy scrutiny for its portrayal of Southerners in the show. Season 2 was initially scheduled to be taped in Pensacola, FL, but had to move to Athens when local residents and businesses did not want the show blemishing the city’s reputation. Ben “Cooter” Jones of The Dukes of Hazzard fame has also been a vocal opponent of the show.
August 1, 2014 @ 3:11 pm
So the girl got hammered and regretted hooking up with the guy and having everything filmed.
August 1, 2014 @ 3:16 pm
Or maybe she was raped, as there was physical evidence of, and then the cast and crew all got their stories together, and later used the incident as a promotional tool. I’m not saying that’s what happened. I’m saying there’s two sides to every story.
August 1, 2014 @ 3:50 pm
This case was dropped three days ago. Retract or ya might be on the legal end yourself. Ha!
August 1, 2014 @ 4:00 pm
No, Trigger clearly acknowledged this at the end of the fourth paragraph of this article:
*
“However there is evidence to the contrary of the Ryan Richards claims. The reason the case was pursued by police was because the accuser went to the hospital the day after spending the evening in the Athens, GA house, and after being examined by medical professionals, it was determined there was evidence of a sexual assault. Ryan Richards is still listed as a “suspect” in the police report, but barring further evidence or information, the case is currently closed.”
August 1, 2014 @ 4:34 pm
The reason I reported on this story, and did so in the manner I did is because I believe this is the proper way this story should be reported. Something is very fishy here. Somehow we heard nothing about these rape allegations that happened 5 months ago until a few days ago, and then all of a sudden every celebrity website is running a story about it the same day CMT is running their Cabo San Lucas episode, and couching Ryan Richards as the victim. Though in the police report it clearly states Richards is a suspect, and that there was physical evidence that a sexual assault did occur. Clearly there was also not enough evidence to bring charges, and we should always assume everyone is innocent until proven guilty. But that doesn’t mean no wrongdoing occurred. It just means there wasn’t enough evidence to prove it. If the allegations are complete lies, then this is not fair to Richards. But because of the nature of such charges, there is nothing unfair about delving into them, or reporting them.
What I know for sure is that the situation was clearly exploited to promote Party Down South. That is why we’ve seen numerous people say that the title of this article is misleading. No, Ryan “Daddy” Richards WAS accused of rape. There was also enough evidence to launch an investigation into that rape. That investigation also determined there was not enough evidence to bring charges. All of which is included in this story. I just didn’t spin it to make Richards look like the victim like virtually every other reporting site did. In the end, he might be. But for me to declare that, somehow the physical evidence that a sexual assault occurred must be resolved.
August 1, 2014 @ 4:49 pm
And I appreciate that you’re aspiring to seek a fair ground between refraining from judgement, as well as considering the seriousness of the situation.
If anything, this says more about the intellectual laziness of the traditional media than it does the program and its cast itself. An authentic journalist would aspire to ask the “What?” “Where?” “Who?”, “Why?” and “So what?” from all angles, and assume all sides of the story and then report what was gathered with the sources backed up. Instead, they have lazily subsumed the “Blame the victim!” cultural default.
In some instances, yes: the “default” turns out to be true. But more often than not, statistics regarding rape affirm the victim is telling the truth and is rarely proven to “cry rape”. Whether this is an outlier remains to be seen, but it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if there’s plenty more behind this accusation that has yet to surface.
August 1, 2014 @ 7:49 pm
Here is a story written by a CMT staffer re the Keith Urban concert:
http://m.cmt.com/news/1729661/
If your theory about them using the allegations as publicity is true, it’s pretty hypocritical of them to condemn rape in one story, yet use it as a marketing tool for one of their shows.
August 1, 2014 @ 8:45 pm
“Party Down South” has its own set of producers, and probably its own dedicated marketing team that are likely completely autonomous from CMT. The fault of CMT is being complicit by carrying the show in the first place. Beyond that, I’m not trying to blame them for anything. CMT didn’t run a story about it. Let the tabloids do your dirty work. That’s what they’re good for.
August 29, 2014 @ 11:40 am
Anytime a woman has sex, especially rough drunk sex, her vagina will “show signs of sexual assault.” Just because he tore that ass up doesn’t mean it’s rape. Also anytime a woman claims rape it is investigated. Evidence or not. It’s simple. She saw an opportunity for camera time and decided to go home with Daddy. She got wasted and went in for the kill. She got the sh*t banged out of her and when she went home the next day all ashamed I’m sure her friends told her “Hey maybe you should claim rape. Your puss will be torn up so they will believe it. If you do you can get some money, some pity, some fame, and you don’t look like the slut you acted like.” So then I’m sure she was like “Omg that’s a great idea!” She then obviously followed through with it. Obviously the cops saw straight through it, and the cameramen and roommates knew better. Probably got her on tape moaning so the case was dropped. Id be willing to bet money on that being what happened. Girls always do shit like this and I have no pity for girls who cry rape because they acted slutty and want to redeem themselves. It’s pathetic. Stand by being a hoe or don’t be a hoe. Simple as that. I hope the cops file on her for false reports. Also I hope Mattie and Tiffany light her up and teach her what happens to liars who cry wolf on such a serious crime.
August 1, 2014 @ 4:00 pm
Retract what?
From above:
“police had found that after interviewing the cast and crew of the show, and reviewing roughly 20 hours of footage taken on the set, that they did not have the evidence to charge Richards in the case.”
“Ryan Richards is still listed as a “suspect” in the police report, but barring further evidence or information, the case is currently closed.”
It’s not my fault if some people are too impatient or incompetent to read an entire story.
I would LOVE to be sued over this story. Bring it on.
August 30, 2014 @ 10:28 pm
I have no problem with the article bubba. But to tell the truth what bothers me is the fact that the filming crew seemed to be complicit in the act if she was raped. if she was handed an open beer and ‘woke up with a camera in her face, ‘ it’s pretty obvious the beer may have possibly had somethin in it. i always told my daughter to NEVER take an open container from anyone and to always watch her drink. and by sayin that am i in no way blaming the victim here.. just seems if somethin happened the film crew would’ve said somethin….then again, these same people let the show happen period.
I watched three episodes and couldn’t stomach it. While theres specific similarities just because of me bein from the same part of the country as two of the cast members, and i talk with a similar accent, beyond that it just feels like i’m watchin the alcoholic members of my family: the ones who always ruin christmas so who are never asked to come over but do anyway.
This show just bothers me for quite a few reasons and the fact a rape may have happened bothers me even more.
August 2, 2014 @ 8:44 am
Just curious how the information that Trigger reported could get him in trouble since he reported facts and informtion that is a matter of public record? Or were you being sarcastic?
August 2, 2014 @ 2:39 pm
Interesting that it was OK to film this dirtbag series in Athens, GA, after Pensacola residents didn’t want it there. Doesn’t day much for Athens.
August 2, 2014 @ 3:14 pm
I think many of the local residents were not happy, but didn’t really have the power to stop it. It was quite the controversy in Athens as well.
August 2, 2014 @ 3:15 pm
Let me throw the whole rape case aside for a second–it is not relevant to my question, whatsoever, so don’t misconstrue this as me criticizing the victim, because if she was raped, I want the hammer to come down on this fucker, ten times over.
In other terms, though, completely aside from this situation–would someone, a woman, preferably, please please please explain to me how some women find this “Daddy” dude, and guys who look and act like him (you know, the mid 20s to 30s dudes with a 15 year old kid’s frosted tips and an orange tan)–how do some women find these kinds of men attractive, at all?
I’m not some bitter, fat, or disgusting dude–I’m actually pretty damn good looking, myself, so don’t think I’m some disgusting slob who’s just bitter about rejection, but this is something that has always bothered me. WHAT, exactly WHAT, is attractive about individuals like this “Daddy” dude? Someone, please explain that to me.
August 2, 2014 @ 4:12 pm
Guys act like douchebags because in the end that’s what gets them laid. It is what a lot of women want. It is natural selection.
August 2, 2014 @ 4:36 pm
I would agree with you, but I don’t think getting girls doesn’t come down to whether you act like a douchebag or not–it’s whether or not you’re a fucking pansy-ass puppy dog who makes himself undeniably available and takes any aura of pursuit out of the picture for her, which is incredibly unattractive to both sexes.
For instance, I helped a friend move last weekend and she had one of her puppy dogs with her. There is nothing more hilarious than seeing a girl you’ve been with ignore some putz who’s hovering around with an erection he’ll never get to use. Things like this are the basis for my point of view. You can’t be a puppy. You have to maintain that you’re interested, but she still has to try.
So that’s why it confuses me when any woman could find people like this “Daddy” dude attractive. The pieces of the puzzle don’t go together. It’s like some guy painted “dumbass” on his forehead and a couple of girls went running to him.
I don’t think most women like guys who are actually douchebags, like “Daddy,”–that’s why I was careful to say “some women”–I think it’s a small percentage, and to me that’s baffling. There’s nothing about fake, painted up in an unnatural color, and obnoxious that is attractive, in my opinion.
But maybe I’m just one guy.
August 2, 2014 @ 10:01 pm
Well the camera following him around certainly upped his game, especially with the 15 min of fame demographic. I think he looks like a total douchebag personally. Tipped hair is so 10 years ago.
September 3, 2014 @ 10:21 am
I bet Daddy put her in a pretzel while she was hammered and she felt stupid the next day.
February 21, 2015 @ 8:50 pm
Daddy is cool, I don’t know how he is for real I just know w he is on camera I hope he isn’t like that, but I want to think this woman is lying because accusations alone get people hurt or worse.
August 4, 2015 @ 2:46 am
You know it never fails that when a trashy woman sees dollar signs, of course she’s gonna cry rape. Ryan Richardson I can tell is a gental soul and he could have any woman he wants. I don’t believe this woman at all. She probably wanted a full time relationship and when things didn’t go her way she got mad, and what better way to get even then cry rape. Woman like that make me sick. You stay strong Ryan cuz I know you’re a wonderful man and you have my support. Take care and All my love Christi Peden.