9 Reality TV Moments That Make Me Want to Be a Reality TV Star
Reality television often gets a bad wrap. Although it’s one of the most addictive forms of entertainment ever created by man, naysayers still choose to focus on the personality flaws of reality TV actors/celebs, the plausibility of some shows being pre-scripted, and other like-kind criticisms.
And while even I categorize my obsession with reality television as more of a guilty pleasure than anything else, I’m still convinced there are many reasons it’d be flat out amazing to be a reality TV star. And those reasons can all be backed up by shining moments in the history of reality TV.
From a distance, it might seem as though reality TV stars have absolutely no worries in their lives, as though they can dance around from one exotic or ridiculous adventure to the next without any consequences. But the truth of the matter is that reality TV is designed to put bold (and hilariously conflicting) personalities right smack next to each other, and the resulting drama often gives rise to life lessons.
Leave it to Tyra Banks, the host of the cult favorite reality TV show America’s Next Top Model, to drop some serious knowledge on a contestant. In the following clip, Tyra gets up in arms on a girl who she feels like is wasting her talent for foolish reasons. Tyra even throws out the classic “You don’t where I come from!” exclamation towards the end of her tirade. That means you know she means business!
Reason #8: Forum to Meet New People
When you’re surrounded by a huge amount of absurdly attractive people on a daily basis, you’re very likely to meet someone special. And even if you don’t connect with that person on an emotional or spiritual level, well… who needs that stuff anyway? Old people, that’s who. And you’re not old, right? Plus, with all the fame that goes along with being a big time reality TV star, you often have the ability to communicate with absurdly attractive people both inside and outside the reality TV world.
It’s one thing to proposition a housemate or fellow competitor on the same TV show for a sexual encounter, but it’s an entirely new bag of potatoes when you throw yourself at an NBA basketball player. Some might call such behavior classless. Others might call it downright sleezy. But how about we just call it Nicole Richie, of The Simple Life fame? Paris taught her well.
Sure, it seems counter-intuitive. With all that fame and money (once again, assuming you’re a big time reality TV star), isn’t your ego likely to go through the roof? Well, not necessarily. When you’re interacting with others who also think they’re the bomb (that’s right, I said “bomb”), they’re very likely to cut you down to size whenever they see the opportunity. Although this might seem like a negative, it’s always important to make sure our perceptions of ourselves are in line with reality. As in, real reality.
Egomaniacs run rampant in reality TV, so it’s not easy to choose a single shining moment. One of my favorite reality TV episodes, however, is the one where Chef Ramsay, on his show Chef Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, goes absolutely ballistic on a French chef who over-seasoned the salmon. Much of the clip is bleeped out for the sanctity of our ears.
And as a bonus, there’s also the time that Kim Kardashian’s mom (Kris) on Keeping Up With the Kardashians, told her daughter what everyone had been thinking for a long time: Kim’s got a lot of “junk up in that trunk.” Great use of pop culture lingo, Mom. A little bit creepy, but great anyway.
Reason #6 When You Break Up With Someone, You’re Firing Them Too
Breakups can be pretty miserable, particularly when you still have to see the person on a daily basis. Like when you’re in the same dorm, for example. Or when you’re married to the other person and your kids are sleeping in the other room. But when you’re the star of reality TV show, and you’re smart enough not date someone who’s of equal or greater star power, then breaking up with them is like firing them at the same time. (And damn if that won’t make you feel powerful.) Once they’re out of your romantic life, they’re off the set, away from the cameras, and for all practical purposes, might as well not exist. Unless, of course, you’re just breaking up with them to be dramatic and let them crawl back to you.
Probably the best reality TV show for break-ups is The Hills. While pretty much all of the women on the show are known to jump from man to man, I’m a bit of closet Lauren Conrad fan, so I’ve included some of her charming devil work below. The guy never knew what hit him, as evidenced by him saying “like” three times consecutively at the top of the clip. Also, notice the spot-on captions; thanks MTV!
#5 Anyone Can Be a Reality TV Star
Although reality TV sets, as mentioned earlier, are often populated by absurdly attractive people, the fact remains that anyone can be a reality TV star. And by anyone, I mean literally anyone. If you don’t have the looks, all it takes is the ability to put forth a winning personality or alternatively, the most un-winning personality you can possibly imagine. I appreciate that reality TV stardom is attainable for people from all walks of life, and this spirit of equal opportunity makes me even more eager to become a star. Personally, I’ve never been a fan of exclusive clubs – unless of course, people are buying me drinks and stuff for free. But that’s a whole other story.
The reality TV show American Idol is able to consistently scour through the American public and pull out a singing sensation. The winner of each season isn’t always bound for an illustrious career, but it’s a certainty that he/she will have a substantial amount of talent. On the flip side, Idol is known for attracting some pretty talentless Americans who, ironically, still manage to become stars. A sixth season contestant named Sanjaya Malakar was a 7th place finalist despite less than positive reviews by the show’s judges. Granted, Sanjaya wasn’t talentless, but many Americans rallied behind him in a bid to crown the worst vocal contestant (still in the mix) and deride the show’s principles.
I think one of the coolest parts of being a reality TV star is that no matter how many people hate you, you’ll always have fans. I mean, it’s basically a numbers game: if enough people know about you, you’ll somehow creep your way into some hearts. And if you happen to be a generally well-liked reality TV star, then you can probably start thinking about a run for US Senate. I hear it’s not terribly elitist nowadays.
Of all the current and former reality TV stars in the world, I’d say that Paris Hilton probably gets the most ridicule. It often seems like she’s fodder for late night talk show hosts on a nightly basis, and that audiences never grow tired of a good Paris joke. But despite all the negative PR, much of which is in relatively playfully spirits, she still has tons of fans all over the world. For proof, just check out this press conference after Paris was sentenced to jail!
Let’s face it: life for the average person, someone whose daily actions aren’t recorded and broadcasted on national television, can get pretty boring. But when you’re a reality TV star, everything moves at a lightening fast pace, and you’re always finding yourself in different adventures, relationships, and dark bedrooms. And just when you think you’ve finally got the hang of your life, you’re told that your show’s ratings are low, and things inevitably get exciting again in no time!
Throughout the filming of The Hills, Heidi Montag’s life has traveled down a winding path of emotional change. She’s also experienced quite a bit of physical change, recently getting a boob job, which goes back to that issue of fan base, mentioned a moment ago. In 2007, Heidi was pseudo-dumped by her then boyfriend Spencer Pratt after she refused to move in with him. The abrupt, and kinda hilarious scene, is featured below.
But less than two years later, Heidi had married Spencer and they were filming an extremely low quality, albeit extremely sexy, music video on the beach. Check it out.
Reason #2 The Camera Makes You Like Damn Good
Even if you’re not supposed to be one of the supremely attractive actors on your respective reality TV show, you’re still more than likely to look better than the average viewer. Or at least give the average viewer that impression. After all, you’re on television, and there are few things sexier than fame. One of them is a great set of eyes. But I can’t think of any others at the moment. I’m telling you, fame pretty much takes the cake.
The shining moment for this one needs to involve Kim Kardashian. Because even though I’m aware of how much “junk” she has up in her “trunk,” that’s really not an issue for me when I’m watching her onscreen. Check out this clip from Disaster Movie, in which Kim wrestles with Carmen Electra in their underwear. Her trunk definitely isn’t a distraction.
What I think is most appealing about being a reality TV star, and reality TV in general, is that there really are no rules. Sure, you need to follow the same national and local laws as any dutiful citizen, and if you curse on camera then your producers will bleep it out, but otherwise, you have a license to be whoever you want to be, wherever you want to be, and whenever you want to be. Obviously, this can lead to some reality TV stars acting like complete morons in dangerous locations and at ungodly hours of the night, but that’s all part of the excitement.
Over the years, Hollywood has released some truly bizarre reality TV shows with premises that defy precedent (and sometimes good sense). Many of these shows embody what it means to live without rules, some favorites of which include Married by America (2003) and Temptation Island (2001-2003). But perhaps my all time favorite bizarre reality TV show is Armed and Famous (2007), which turned moderately famous celebrities into cops and put them onto the streets of some random town in Indiana. There are too many notable moments from the show to contemplate in one lifetime, but you can check out LaToya Jackon getting roughed up via taser below. As I said, quite bizarre.
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Photo Credit: Wenn.com
