08/04

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Editors Note: <p>I'm addicted to reality television. <em>Selling Sunset</em>.<em> Keeping Up With the Kardashians</em>. <em>Flavor of Love</em>. If it stars beautiful people screaming at each other for petty reasons, I'll watch it. Ask me to recite the fight between Abby Lee Miller and her fellow <em>Dance </em><em>Moms </em>cast member Kelly Hyland, from season 4, episode 7, and I'll do it with ease.</p> <p>But with the current strikes upending Hollywood, one question has been weighing on my mind: Is it even ethical to make reality television? </p> <p>In recent years, a string of cast members who have appeared on some of America's most successful reality TV shows have come forward with shocking behind-the-scene horror stories. They include allegations from <em>Love Is Blind </em>contestants who filed a lawsuit against Netflix claiming they were <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/16/entertainment/love-is-blind-lawsuit/index.html">plowed</a> with alcohol, psychologically manipulated, and denied sleep in order to keep them emotionally volatile. <em>America's Next Top Model </em>contestants have <a href="https://ew.com/tv/americas-next-top-model-stars-speak-on-shocking-moments/">reported</a> similar experiences, with one former contestant <a href="https://ew.com/tv/antm-winner-lisa-damato-says-tyra-banks-blocked-her-slams-show/">comparing</a> it to the Stanford Prison Experiment. And many reality TV contestants allege unfair compensation. <em>Love Is Blind </em>season 3 cast members <a href="https://twitter.com/MorePerfectUS/status/1687169404935753733">said</a> they were paid only $7.14 per hour. In a Q&A with <em>Seventeen </em><a href="https://www.seventeen.com/celebrity/movies-tv/g22617670/dance-moms-secrets-scandals/">magazine</a>, Christi Lukasiak revealed that she was paid only $600 for the entire first season of <em>Dance Moms</em>.</p> <p><em>Mother Jones</em> has tracked <a class="c-link" href="https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/01/animal-abuse-drugs-call-of-the-wildman-animal-planet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/01/animal-abuse-drugs-call-of-the-wildman-animal-planet/" data-sk="tooltip_parent">scandal</a> after scandal over the years. I invite you to revisit one of our most indelible investigations into the industry's racist practices from 2022 as the newsletter's top story today.</p> <p>These pervasive allegations make me wonder if there's an ethical way to create reality TV. If a medium is so inherently exploitative, should we abandon the concept altogether? But I hope that in this <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/media/2023/07/im-a-striking-tv-writer-heres-why-were-doing-this/">ongoing fight</a> to improve and protect labor rights in the entertainment industry, reality TV stars can also have a seat at the table. </p> <p>—<em><strong>Arianna Coghill</strong></em></p>

Top Story URL: https://www.motherjones.com/anti-racism-police-protest/2020/07/the-reality-tv-racism-reckoning-is-finally-here-vanderpump-rules-is-just-the-tip-of-the-iceberg/

Top Story Title: The Reality TV Racism Reckoning Is Finally Here. “Vanderpump Rules” Is Just the Tip of the Iceberg.

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Top Story Dek: "I was the only Black person on the show. It was a lot.”

Top Story Byline: By Molly Schwartz

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Top Story Image Credit: Mother Jones illustration; Jason LaVeris/Getty

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