When Reality Shows Get Too Real
Woman sues ABC for taking away her opportunity to be on "Extreme Makeover"
This article is about a woman who is now suing ABC because the night before her "Extreme Makeover" was to take place, they cancelled and said it wasn't going to work because of a time issue and she would have to go back home without the make over.
For those of you who don't know, Extreme Makeover is a show where they do tons of plastic surgery and a bunch of other extreme things to turn woman who are "ugly" into "beautiful."
This woman is suing not just because she didn't get to go home "pretty" but her sister ended up committing suicide because of the ordeal.
As part of the premakeover hype, producers coaxed McGee and other family members to trash Williams' looks on videotape, the suit alleges. When they suddenly pulled the plug on the project, and the promised "Hollywood smile like Cindy Crawford," a guilt-ridden McGee fell apart.
"Kellie could not live with the fact that she had said horrible things that hurt her sister. She fell to pieces. Four months later, she ended her life with an overdose of pills, alcohol and cocaine," said Wesley Cordova, a lawyer for Williams.
This same article also talks about how other reality TV shows have turned deadly. For example - on Jenny Jones "one guest murdered another who had made a homosexual pass at him on the air." Also - on the show "The Contender" a contestant shot himself in the head - and when the show aired we find out that he "lost his make-or-break bout in Week 5 of the series and was disqualified."
This article is about a woman who is now suing ABC because the night before her "Extreme Makeover" was to take place, they cancelled and said it wasn't going to work because of a time issue and she would have to go back home without the make over.
For those of you who don't know, Extreme Makeover is a show where they do tons of plastic surgery and a bunch of other extreme things to turn woman who are "ugly" into "beautiful."
This woman is suing not just because she didn't get to go home "pretty" but her sister ended up committing suicide because of the ordeal.
As part of the premakeover hype, producers coaxed McGee and other family members to trash Williams' looks on videotape, the suit alleges. When they suddenly pulled the plug on the project, and the promised "Hollywood smile like Cindy Crawford," a guilt-ridden McGee fell apart.
"Kellie could not live with the fact that she had said horrible things that hurt her sister. She fell to pieces. Four months later, she ended her life with an overdose of pills, alcohol and cocaine," said Wesley Cordova, a lawyer for Williams.
This same article also talks about how other reality TV shows have turned deadly. For example - on Jenny Jones "one guest murdered another who had made a homosexual pass at him on the air." Also - on the show "The Contender" a contestant shot himself in the head - and when the show aired we find out that he "lost his make-or-break bout in Week 5 of the series and was disqualified."
posted by Shawn at 10:58 AM
4 Comments:
ok, i don't understand, just HOW bad could things the lady said have been for her to feel so guilty to commit suicide? i don't buy it. i think abc's just an easy target for some litigation. i also didn't understand how the victim's family could sue jenny jones for their son's death. i mean, the guy willingly put himself on tv to show his feelings for a guy HE knew. if anyone could suspect that guy was homicidal, wouldn't it be the victim who actually knew him? and as far as the contender goes, from what i read, the suicide wasn't related to the guy's failure to win the contender. apparently he had a huge blow out w/ his baby's momma or something and she threatened to take away visitation rights. i'm sure the failure on the contender contributed to his feelings of hopelessness, but it wasn't the catalyst.
maybe it's the jaded litigation attorney in me (could THAT my specific goal?), but i just think people need to take accountability for their actions without blaming any deep pocket target for their subsequent misfortune. YOU decided to air your dirty laundry on tv, so YOU deal with the consequences.
Girl i totally agree. These people want to be famous - they "assume the risk"
Just like stars have to deal with stalkers and paparazzi - these reality tv show people have to deal with being famous one day and being nobody the next. That's life - you choose it.
And p.s. i didnt think the contender and the jenny jones ones were actual law suits - i think they were just deaths that happened
Having you write "baby's momma" in the comments made this post totally worth it.
i dont think the contender thing led to a lawsuit, but i'm pretty sure that the victim's parents sued jenny jones for their son's murder.
and shawn, i'm glad you posted it, just for the chance to write "baby's momma". i don't get to write that nearly enough. =)
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