Think what you’ve been watching on reality TV is 100 percent real? Okay, we really hope not at this point, but if so … think again!
In all seriousness, most TV is scripted and edited to a degree, but you’ll be shocked at just how contrived many hit programs are.
Behold, 13 of the biggest lies in reality TV:
Storage Wars’ wars are more like set-up arguments
Yuuuuup, Dave Hester basically blew the lid off this one, suing A&E and alleging that the network plants material inside a storage unit the teams bid on, for story purposes, and makes sure everyone is flush with cash to do the bidding. They settled out of court without ever denying any of this.
Hardcore pawn is pretty hard to believe
Hardcore Pawn has somehow been on TV for more than nine seasons featuring the likes of over-the-top customers getting into brawls with pawn shop owners in the Detroit area … where these altercations are completely scripted and staged beyond comprehension. Seriously, this is beyond ridiculous.
The Duck Dynasty beards are real
They’re not fake beards in the sense that they’re literally from the costume department, but Duck Dynasty has become a huge hit for A&E in part because the portrayal of the Robertson family as a Bible-believing, uncultured group of wealthy rednecks is … exaggerated dramatically. Prior to the show, they looked like anybody else, and their silly antics are staged ahead of time. Jase is still the f–king man though.
The youngans Breaking Amish already broke Amish
Breaking Amish promises to take you inside the experiences of Amish youth leaving their farms for the first time and seeing what life in Manhattan is like. Will they stay? Will they return? In truth, the kids had already left Amish life behind – for good – by the time the cameras got involved and are reenacting it all for your entertainment.
Bear Grylls is actually semi-hard
To be sure, we would not f–k with Bear Grylls. But the British military veteran known for being dropped into harsh “Man vs. Wild” landscapes and surviving on his own occasionally stays in hotels overnight and receives help from his crew.
American I-don’t know if these personal bios are true or not
Relying extensively on sob stories in addition to vocal talent is a calling card for singing competition shows, but American Idol and Jermaine Jones took this to a ridiculous extreme when he claimed his dad abandoned him as a child … and his dad objected, and the show booted Jones out as the controversy intensified.
The Millionaire Matchmaker … in general
Patti Stanger sucks at matchmaking and few, if any, of her Bravo couples actually work out (many aren’t even millionaires, but that’s secondary to the sham of this show on premise). You’re better off taking your chances on Match or Tinder than with Patti taking the reins of your love life.
Russell Hantz of Survivor is who he says he is
To be fair, Russell Hantz, the legendary Survivor villain who has appeared on three seasons of the hit CBS show, is playing his fellow cast members as much as the CBS show is playing you … but still. Guy is all-time. He said he lived in Samoa that he survived Hurricane Katrina but that his dog died, and that he was a millionaire. None of that is the case.
Ghost Adventurers are finding anything paranormal
An iffy premise to begin with, Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventurers lost its luster when one of the cast members blew the whistle. It turns out when the teams are up all night with no footage to show for it, the producers force the crew to reenact (or just act out) scenes, enhanced by sound effects and plot lines storyboarded by the editorial team. Weak.
Pawn Stars are any more authentic than porn stars
Just the way porn is not represenative of most people’s actual sex lives, Pawn Stars is not a real portrayal of the items, people and situations depicted in this industry. It’s beyond bad; At one point, the show was busted as a guy with a Les Paul guitar was brought in … even though he worked at another shop with the real guy who had the guitar. Seemingly “random” pawn buys are as scripted and screened and dramatized as they come.
America’s Got Talent has a talent for fakery
America’s Got Talent has some serious talent on it, but it also has a talent for bulls–t … Tim Poe claimed to be an injured military veteran with a brain injury that only improved when he was signing. It wasn’t long before dozens of fellow soldiers contacted AGT the minute this aired to complain about how bogus it was.
The Hills and Laguna Beach tears and cat fights were legit
Okay, so Lauren Conrad did cry a lot of real tears on Laguna Beach and The Hills, but Brody Jenner, Kristin Cavallari and other cast members have come out and said that pretty much everything you saw on the MTV programs was more fake than Heidi Montag’s chest. Moreover, The Hills tried to pass itself and its romantic relationships off as real in deliberate fashion. Shame.
The Dance Moms actually fight / Abby Lee Miller actually quit
Maddie Ziegler, the biggest little star on Dance Moms, recently told USA Today: “The producers set it up to make us all yell at each other. You know how I said that the moms do fight? The moms have a fake fight sometimes. Afterward they just start talking and laugh about it.” Great. Meanwhile, Abby Lee Miller feigned quitting the show over her recent bankruptcy problems, when in reality she made plans to continue filming accordingly. She really does suck, however. That’s totally genuine, Lifetime. You gotta give the show credit where due.