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00:00Reality TV practically runs on controversy.
00:03We love to watch the big blow-ups, the outsized personalities,
00:06and all the drama in front of and behind the camera.
00:09There's an entire cottage industry of reality TV,
00:12behind-the-scenes podcasts, and blogs that track the behind-the-scenes drama.
00:16We love to watch these controversies for shock value,
00:19but they also show us how serious real-world issues can become real-world issues.
00:24Mike using the n-word definitely is a soft spot for me.
00:29Reality TV producers cast with an eye towards bringing big,
00:33clashing, explosive personalities together to stir up drama and gain viewers,
00:37even if that means leaning into troubling stereotypes.
00:40They also often shape the narrative of a series to be more sensational than reality,
00:45which turns reality TV into something that's anything but.
00:48This can lead to extended harassment and ongoing problems for cast members.
00:52It's a way of telling stories that I found kind of interesting for a while,
00:56and then, you know, you realize you have no agency on that show.
00:59But as scripted as reality TV can be, it still illuminates something about human nature,
01:04and intersects with bigger topics we deal with on a day-to-day basis.
01:08Here's our take on some of reality TV's biggest controversies,
01:11and what they can teach us about both reality TV as a whole and the world beyond the cameras.
01:17The reality part of reality TV often comes from how real the people are.
01:24True story.
01:26Seven strangers picked to live in a loft.
01:29And have their lives taped.
01:30Shows like Love Island and Big Brother highlight how their contestants are constantly under surveillance,
01:36with cameras even in the bathrooms.
01:38We ask each and every one of our house guests to wear one of these,
01:41from the moment they wake up in the morning to the moment they go to bed at night.
01:44These days, you can even pay to access a live feed of the Big Brother house to see that reality unedited.
01:49But even if the feed isn't being curated, the contestants are.
01:52So how do producers decide who represents reality?
01:56For years, reality shows have taken heat for their homogenous, thin, white, heterosexual casts.
02:01The Bachelor franchise has been repeatedly criticized for how its non-white contestants are often
02:06eliminated in early episodes.
02:08So unfortunately, I am going home.
02:11She found out I was Asian right away.
02:13The show began in 2002 and didn't have a non-white lead until 2017,
02:17with bachelorette Rachel Lindsay.
02:19And even during that season, the show often talked around race.
02:22When people of color do get to become central characters on these mostly white shows,
02:27they're often made to perform their identities on camera in dehumanizing ways.
02:31For example, one Big Brother producer was reprimanded for pressuring
02:35a black female contestant to speak more stereotypically,
02:38suggesting phrases and behaviors to her during interviews.
02:41This tendency to lean into harmful stereotypes when characterizing
02:45cast members of color is practically built into Survivor.
02:48Ramona Gray Amaro, the very first black woman to appear on the show,
02:52says she was edited to fit another popular racist stereotype.
02:55I became the lazy person, which is the farthest thing from the truth.
03:00Anybody that knows me knows that that's just not me.
03:04These experiences are apparently so commonplace on Survivor,
03:07competitors organized a petition to demand better treatment
03:10and better representation from the show,
03:12something ultimately CBS pledged to prioritize during casting
03:16due to the overwhelming response from fans alike.
03:19If something comes up that you want to talk about it,
03:21talk about it. Who knows, we might learn something.
03:23Reality TV also has a big problem stereotyping queer people.
03:27Big Brother season 2 winner Brian Dowling was represented
03:30as overly effeminate and campy, while Richard Hatch,
03:33the first winner of Survivor who became infamous for his scheming operatics,
03:37was represented as an outright predator,
03:39a dangerous stereotype about gay men.
03:41If there's any horny gay men out there that want a horny guy in return,
03:43I know one.
03:44Kim Stolls, the first lesbian competitor on America's Next Top Model,
03:48was likewise criticized for being presented as too masculine,
03:51and was depicted as quote-unquote seducing a straight woman.
03:55Trans reality TV contestants can sometimes be put in uncomfortable
03:59or unsafe situations by producers looking to exploit their identity
04:03for publicity and controversy.
04:05Big Brother producers forced Audrey Middleton to come out as a trans woman
04:08on the first day of first season in order to make the production team look inclusive.
04:13Relatedly, reality dating shows have a long history of sensationalizing
04:17and othering queer people by treating them like gimmicks,
04:20especially in the early 2000s.
04:22There's something about Miriam cast a trans woman as the lead in a dating show,
04:25but instead of centering her humanity and complexity,
04:28it exploited her identity for shock value.
04:30Not only did A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila use Tila's bisexuality as a gimmick,
04:35it forced its lead to date men who denied the existence of bisexuality
04:40and constantly demeaned queer women in order to drum up controversy.
04:43I'm a bisexual.
04:47And Caitlyn Cousinelli was cast on the real world
04:50alongside vocally transphobic housemates,
04:52who she was forced to live with as part of the show.
04:55I have nothing to hide.
04:56The one who does have something to hide is Caitlyn.
04:59Casting individuals from minority groups alongside fellow castmates,
05:02who would undoubtedly stir the pot, became commonplace,
05:05likely for maximum drama.
05:07When I first saw John, I thought he was a big-time queer.
05:10I really don't know.
05:11He seems kind of rough and tough over here,
05:14but he does all the cooking.
05:15So I don't know.
05:16I won't be sleeping next to him tonight.
05:18Will Collins was the very first person kicked out of the house
05:21in the very first season of Big Brother,
05:23both because he talked about race with the other housemates
05:25and because people were uncomfortable with his ties to the Nation of Islam.
05:29I don't want to be, again,
05:30be known as the Black, um, superhero for Black rights on this show.
05:37Even Omarosa seemed to suspect she was the villain in her season of The Apprentice,
05:41at least in part because of her race.
05:43I don't think that they've ever been around
05:45a strong African-American woman, to be quite frank.
05:47Fortunately, thanks to the shifting tastes and social justice values of Gen Z,
05:51we're starting to see some improvements in these once-tokenizing,
05:55stereotypical casting decisions.
05:57Survivor and Big Brother have dramatically increased
05:59the amount of non-white contestants on the show,
06:02to the point where a recent Big Brother season featured an
06:04alliance of Black contestants.
06:06It is so beautiful, amazing, and historical to come into this house
06:10and see people who share my culture, who share my upbringing,
06:14who I can bond with.
06:15Even The Bachelor responded to controversy around a
06:17racially insensitive comment from long-time host Chris Harrison
06:21by removing him from the franchise before the season finale
06:24and replacing him with a host of color.
06:26And the recent queer season of Are You The One?
06:28exploded romantic possibilities on a show that is mostly a silly series of hot people hookups.
06:34There has never been a show that I have seen
06:37that focused on the dating experiences of LGBTQ plus people.
06:44For years, women have faced a double standard on reality TV.
06:48Though plenty of reality shows thrive on hookups,
06:51men are typically lauded for sleeping with a lot of women,
06:54while women who decide to sleep with a guy are slut-shamed.
06:57Jersey Shore relentlessly played up the antics of guys like Mike,
07:00the Situation Sorrentino, and Pauly D, while Angelina Pavarnik was mocked
07:05for sleeping with a guy as part of a broader harassment campaign
07:08that led to her leaving the show.
07:10All right, Kim Kardashian.
07:11You're more like the Rob Kardashian than Staten Island, you ugly b****.
07:14The Bachelor franchise distills many popular ideas of romance
07:18into a packaged fantasy.
07:20It celebrates romantic gestures, roses, and professions of love,
07:24while also doubling down on society's double standard for women who have and enjoy sex.
07:29Men who star on the show frequently admit to sleeping with all three
07:32remaining contestants during their Fantasy Suites episodes
07:35without facing any consequences, but their Bachelorette counterparts
07:38are not afforded the same luxury.
07:40Nick Vile publicly criticized Andy Dorfman for sleeping with him
07:44and not marrying him.
07:45And again, when Caitlin Bristow slept with Nick during her season,
07:49the series Men Tell All special was devoted almost exclusively to
07:53slut-shaming the woman who was supposed to be the star.
07:56You've made some controversial decisions.
07:58Spreading hate the way people have been is not okay.
08:02Seasons later, the problem persisted,
08:04and Caitlin had to come to Bachelorette Hannah Brown's defense
08:07when one of her contestants tried to shame her for her Fantasy Suites behavior.
08:11So, like, I have had sex, and Jesus still loves me.
08:17These double standards don't just impact fan perceptions of the women cast members,
08:21they also seep into the culture of these productions,
08:24and make it easier for men to get away with harassing women
08:27at what is effectively their workplace.
08:29In Survivor's Island of the Idol season,
08:31contestant Dan Spilow made several women on the island
08:34uncomfortable from the first episode of the season,
08:37touching them without their consent and refusing to stop.
08:40Like, picking a little, I'm like,
08:41don't touch my face.
08:43It's like, you can't do anything about it.
08:46There are always consequences for standing up.
08:48This happens in real life, in work settings.
08:50After five cast members experienced this harassment,
08:53contestant Kelly Kim tried to address his behavior on the show.
08:56Like, it takes five people to be like,
08:59man, like, the way that I'm feeling about this is, like, actually real,
09:03like, it's not in my head, like, I'm not overreacting to it.
09:05But the incident wasn't handled by the production
09:07like a serious case of workplace harassment.
09:09It was handled like fodder for reality television.
09:12Kelly had to navigate the politicking and alliances
09:14that are typical of Survivor,
09:16and ultimately she was voted off the show before Dan.
09:19Eventually, Dan was removed from the show
09:21when his behavior affected a member of the crew,
09:24but the fact that the situation was allowed to continue for so long
09:27demonstrates how easy it is for a production to ignore sexual harassment,
09:31and how that culture can harm women in the game of the show and beyond it.
09:36I spoke up, and I was not being supported or believed.
09:39We've already taken important steps to lay out new policies, procedures, rules,
09:45and methods for reporting that will create a better and safer environment for future players.
09:50Another way reality TV producers have prioritized drama over safety,
09:54especially for women, is by encouraging drinking on set from cast members.
09:59In the early years of reality TV, producers on shows like Big Brother actively looked for
10:03participants who drank a lot and encouraged situations where they would be likely to abuse alcohol.
10:08In some cases, that led to, at best, gray areas around consent and sex,
10:13which is especially troubling on dating shows where those kinds of interactions are the goal.
10:18But reality TV's disregard for the health and safety of its cast members
10:22seems to have reached a tipping point.
10:23After two former cast members of Love Island tragically took their own lives,
10:28productions have gotten more serious about mental health and safety.
10:31In 2019, Love Island and other shows committed to new policies to protect the mental health of
10:36cast members before, during, and after participating in a reality show.
10:43Reality TV producers try to stoke drama by casting clashing personalities and creating
10:48policies on set that encourage conflict, but sometimes the drama is even more directly engineered.
10:54Shows have gotten into hot water for representing so-called
10:57real events that are completely faked. Producers have used influence, airtime,
11:02even money to encourage cast members to behave in certain ways.
11:05You would get bonuses if the ratings went up.
11:06Oh, yeah.
11:07Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag, cast as villains on the hills, recounted producers' efforts to
11:12get them to call off their own marriage in an effort to create drama.
11:16Didn't they want you to not go through with your own wedding?
11:17Oh, they kept on turning off the lights and, you know, like saying,
11:20oh, you know, let's just call it.
11:22But active producer manipulation of contestants isn't the only way that shows have gotten in
11:26trouble for altering what we think of as reality. In editing, the show can use hundreds of hours
11:31of footage to make almost anything happen in order to serve the narrative arc or story the show wants
11:36to tell, something even the producers themselves admit to doing.
11:40I'm like, these are the facts, and they're like, we don't care about the facts, Carol.
11:44Spencer Pratt has alleged that an entire phone conversation on the hills was stitched together
11:48from separate calls with producers, and one particularly infamous clip from Love is Blind shows
11:54the amount of food dramatically changing in between moments of a conversation.
11:57No, look it! This man has food on the floor, and it's gone! Then it's back!
12:02When people on reality TV are given dishonest villain edits and made to look awful,
12:07the consequences can spill over into the rest of their lives.
12:11The Hills ended in 2010, but Spencer Pratt says he still receives angry tweets
12:16and online harassment about the things he said on the show.
12:19Because I would get death threats, I would get, like, so many people wanting to hurt me.
12:22People love to describe reality TV as a quote-unquote train wreck.
12:26That's not just an expression. In the same way that people are drawn to tragedies and accidents,
12:31we're also drawn toward the chaotic, messy, and self-destructive people
12:35who make up the casts of our favorite reality shows.
12:38While there may not ever be a clear-cut way to produce a reality show that doesn't play into
12:42some sort of controversy, we're looking forward to seeing more improvements
12:47that make us feel a bit less conflicted about the trainwreck we all hate to love to watch.
12:53That's the take! Click here to watch a video we think you'll love,
12:56or here to check out a whole playlist of awesome content.
12:59Don't forget to subscribe and turn on notifications!
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