Reality TV Hall of Shame: The Hall of Shame Moments
Hall of Shame Moment: Vanilla Ice, Hypocritical Psychopath, by Jamie Goralski: Anybody who saw the way Vanilla Ice acted on the second episode of The Surreal Life had to know he was going to end up with a Hall of Shame Moment. He’s actually lucky – he had three incidents that in and of themselves might have qualified him, but because they were all in the same episode, he just gets one “Moment.” But it’s a biggie…
Hall of Shame Moment: Traci Bingham Goes Beyond “Surreal” in Her Diva Behavior, by Jamie Goralski: Traci Bingham is one of the ex-pseudo-celebs on the new edition of The Surreal Life. Who is Traci Bingham? That’s a question that many people would ask, but perhaps few could answer. Traci, however, apparently has a greatly inflated sense of her own importance, as she showed the very first day she was on the show. She gave the term “diva” new meaning as she complained about idiotic things and put down the other cast members.
Hall of Shame Moment: Paris & Nicole Don’t Understand Why Stealing Is Wrong, by David Bloomberg: Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie have tiptoed along the line between what is truly shameful and what is just bad throughout most of The Simple Life. But in Episode 5, they definitely crossed the line when they stole something and then gave it away as a gift.
Hall of Shame Moment: Jon Dalton’s Despicable Lie, by David Bloomberg: You knew it was coming – though not everybody agrees with it. Jon Dalton made up a lie about his own grandmother dying to get ahead on Survivor: Pearl Islands. We address both the view that it was a strategically brilliant move and also explain why it definitely belongs in the Hall of Shame.
Hall of Shame Moment: Drake Throws It All Away, by David Bloomberg: At first, it seemed like just another stupid move in the history of Survivor stupid moves. But as the game has progressed, it has become obvious that Drake’s decision to throw an immunity challenge is more than that – it’s a Hall of Shame Moment. Read on to find out why.
Hall of Shame Moment: The Very First Pagonging, by David Bloomberg: The first Survivor tribe to get “Pagonged” was, well, Pagong. Some of their members suggested that they form an alliance to fight against Tagi, but they chose not to, and instead were picked off one-by-one. It may have been the first series, but shouldn’t somebody have figured it out?
Hall of Shame Moment: Morgan Tribe’s Village Fiasco, by David Bloomberg: Survivor: Pearl Islands began in a new way, forcing players to go overboard with just the clothes on their backs and a little money to spend in a small village. The Morgan tribe blew even that small opportunity with a host of mistakes that, taken together, ranks as a Hall of Shame Moment.
Rocco Dispirito: Elbowing His Way into a Hall of Shame Moment, by Betsy Wasser: Rocco Dispirito has shown viewers a lot about his personality on his show, The Restaurant. Unfortunately, a lot of what we’ve seen has not been good. The most glaring example of this occurred when waiter-turned-runner Gideon injured himself and Rocco handled the situation in such a poor manner that he has earned himself a Hall of Shame Moment.
Hall of Shame Moment: ‘Fame’ Spoiled by the “Spoiler”, by Donna Reynolds: NBC’s Fame had all the right pieces to be a hit, but it failed. Not only did the show fail, but the producers blew it big-time when they came up with the “spoiler” concept. It was poorly-thought out, poorly-executed, and the “spoiler” himself was, well, poor. Read on to find out how they ended up in the Hall of Shame.
Hall of Shame Moment: Alex Spills His Guts, Ends Up on Jury, by David Bloomberg: Alex Bell was in the perfect position on Survivor: The Amazon. But then he decided to fully explain his plans to Rob – and Rob wasn’t in them once they got to the final four. Not a smart thing to do. In fact, it’s such poor strategy that it’s a Hall of Shame Moment.
Reality TV Hall of Shame: Even Vegas Weddings Mean You’re Married – Denise Luna of ‘Married by America’, by David Bloomberg: Denise Luna went on Married by America to compete in an attempt to marry Stephen. But she seemed to miss the point that you can’t marry somebody else if you are already married! Even when confronted with this information on the air, she tried to deny it and then act like a Las Vegas marriage didn’t really count. It was truly a shameful display.
Hall of Shame Moment: I’m a Whining Child – Get Me Out of Here!, by David Bloomberg, with C. Brian Devinney and Dale Sherman: Apparently, the contestants on I'm a Celebrity - Get Me Out of Here! thought they had signed up for two weeks at a spa. Instead, when it actually rained in the rainforest, they freaked out and started acting like whiny children. It was one big shameful moment for almost all of the cast of this show.
Hall of Shame Moment: JoAnna Ward’s Idol Thoughts and Vicious Attack, by David Bloomberg: JoAnna Ward of Survivor: The Amazon says she is a better person since becoming a Born-Again Christian. If that's true, I'd hate to have seen her beforehand! Her acts of shame piled one on top of another in the second episode, from preaching against the immunity idol while others were trying to sleep to screaming at Christy. One long, shameful moment.
Hall of Shame Moment: Zach Unzips While Flo Gives Up, by David Bloomberg: Zach and Flo, the two "friends" participating in The Amazing Race 3, managed to actually win it all. But their progress was not easy - especially on the ears of those who have had to listen to Flo screech. One moment stood out at the time as particularly shameful when, in the ninth episode, Zach gave up precious time and Flo just plain gave up.
Hall of Shame Moment: Colby's Final Decision in "Survivor 2", by David Bloomberg: Sometimes we here at the Reality TV Hall of Shame recognize overall horrible behavior. Other times, though, a player might overall be a decent person, but make shamefully poor game-based decisions. When it came time for Colby to pick somebody to take into the final two of Survivor 2, he had one of those moments.
Hall of Shame Moment: Three Climbs Up the Eiffel Tower for Lenny, by Jeffrey Clinard: Lenny and Karyn from The Amazing Race 1 were never a good racing team - nor even a good "team" at all together. But one moment stands out from all the others, when Lenny made not one, not two, but three trips up the Eiffel Tower.
Hall of Shame Moment: Clarence Black Spilled the Beans, by Jeffrey Clinard: Clarence Black may have made it until the merge in Survivor: Africa, but really, his excommunication had been assured within the first three days. By stealing food while the rest of the tribe was out getting water, Clarence assured himself a quick exit when he was no longer needed. And he also assured himself a Hall of Shame Moment.
Hall of Shame Moment: No Loophole for Lawyers when 'Amazing Race' Says "Walk", by David Bloomberg: Heather and Eve, the law school roommates of The Amazing Race 3, were doing fairly well. They have overcome some difficult spots and were solidly in the pack. But then they misread a clue. OK, such things happen. But what happened when they realized they had misread it is what really makes their situation into a Hall of Shame Moment.
Hall of Shame Moment: Rotu-Rooter, That's Their Name, and Their Win Went Down the Drain, by Ken Kellam III: It caused the biggest power shift in Survivor history - the Rotu 4 telegraphed their plans in an immunity challenge and gave away their likely win by forcing a counter-alliance that never would have happened otherwise. This, folks, was a true Hall of Shame Moment.
Hall of Shame Moment: Team Guido’s Blocking Maneuver, by Jeffrey Clinard: Joe and Bill, aka Team Guido, were a team of two life partners in the first Amazing Race who raced with intelligence for the entire race, only to be eliminated on the final leg, with themselves in Alaska while the remaining teams were in New York, celebrating the victory of Rob and Brennan. A fitting end to a team that made themselves, to quote Kevin and Drew "Outcasts." But one moment stands out as particularly shameful in their quest to win.
Hall of Shame Moment: Sook Jai’s Shameful Behavior In and After the Episode 3 Reward Challenge, by David Bloomberg: It is not uncommon for teams on Survivor to blow a challenge. But in Episode 3 of Survivor: Thailand, Sook Jai took a comfortable lead and turned it into a loss by completely ignoring the rules. To compound their stupidity, Robb acted shameful in his loss – towards Jeff Probst, Clay, and pretty much everybody else in the vicinity. Sook Jai’s actions deserve to be recognized as a Hall of Shame Moment.
Introducing the Hall of Shame Moment, by Ken Kellam III & David Bloomberg: In sports halls of fame, sometimes individual accomplishments are noted but the person isn't actually enshrined. By the same token, there are individual acts that should be included in the Reality TV Hall of Shame – these are the Hall of Shame Moments.
