Want to be a reality TV star? Just be prepared for any ‘souvenirs’
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So I’m watching ‘The Biggest Loser’ and I think, I could be publicly displayed half-naked on a scale, if it meant I’d lose weight! And I’m watching ‘Survivor’ and I think, I could sleep on dirt in the rain and eat bugs, if it meant I’d lose weight! And I’m watching ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ and I think, I could wear sequins and satin and trip over my own clumsy self, if it meant I’d lose weight!
(Because let’s get serious: The true draw of most reality shows is nothing more than the chance that you might slim down accidentally.)
And then I’m reading this story at TheWrap about the kinds of releases of liability that reality TV participants have to sign before they get to lose weight -- oh, or meet the love of their life, or get all BFF-y with Paris Hilton, or hit the board room with Donald Trump -- and I think ...
Well, pretty much I think, ‘Euuw, yuck.’
TheWrap’s story includes links to actual releases of liability, and also delves into the reasoning behind the releases. An excerpt:
On “The Real World,” for example, contestants must sign a clause stating, “If I choose to engage in consensual sexual behavior or intimate contact with any such person, I do so voluntarily and knowingly, and I assume the risk that by engaging in such activity, I may contract certain sexually transmitted diseases.”
Perhaps diet and exercise really are a better way to go.
-- Christie D’Zurilla
