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:
13. 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.
12. 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.
11. 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.
10. 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.
9. 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.
8. 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.