Six guys decide to demean themselves by hiring on to a Reality TV show, There’s Something About Miriam, where, Bachelorette-like, they romance a curvaceous brunette with three weeks of machismo postering and intimate wooing — holding hands, giving massages, caressing and cuddling, kissing, writing love poems … all to win £10,000 and a week on a yacht with Miriam.
Only problem is, that’s no woman. It’s a man, who’s planning a sex change operation.
The six contestants are now suing.
Even the winner, selected by Miriam, has refused the cash prize. The contestants have clubbed together to sue producers and try to stop the show being aired.
They are taking action against Brighter Pictures – owned by Big Brother makers Endemol UK – claiming conspiracy to commit sexual assault. The group also claim defamation, saying they were unfairly made to look foolish.
They are also claiming breach of contract and personal injury in the form of psychological and emotional damage.
While I’m more than happy to see any such exercise in Voyeurism TV (particuarly that of the Big Hoax variety) get its lumps, I can’t feel all that sympathetic toward the six guys. Anyone who signs up for a show like that are setting themselves up to “look foolish” from the get-go.
One said after filming ended: “Exploitation doesn’t come close to it. We all feel mentally raped.”
Oh, puh-lease.
(via Defective Yeti, who actually predicted this back in January)
What I thought was telling wasn’t the guys reactions, but the crew. They seem equally appalled (and aren’t even in litigation).
Oddly enough, I sort of mistrust the reporting of the crew’s reaction. It smells a bit — convenient for the paper (“See, this was such an awful idea, even the blokes on the crew thought it was wrong!”), and/or self-serving for the crew.
I mean — if they were really all that disturbed by it during the three week shoot, are we to believe that nobody passed on the secret, or a broad hint, or anything to the “likeable fellows” who were being scammed? Either they’re making noises like this out of shame (“Ve did not know anyzing vas going on in ze kamp over zehr!”), to avoid being named in law suits, or because they were making good money on the shoot and didn’t want to blow the whistle until it was all over.
On the one hand, I don’t feel sorry for the contestants. If
you sign up to be the main attraction in a geek show you deserve whatever happens to you.
On the other hand, should one of them blow the producer’s brains out, no sympathy there either. Piss on a man in public and bad things can happen.
Sort of my sentiments, Randy.
Well, not entirely. I really couldn’t condone violence. The ideal to me would be for the producers to end up losing a bunch of money, but the contestants not getting any of it. They’re all a bunch of losers, y’ask me.
Okay, I’ve heard of shagging, but what is snogging?
Smooching.
ANYONE CONSIDERED THE WHOLE THING IS A PR PLOY TO UP THE RATINGS?
Perhaps.