Showbiz USA
KILLER TV
Cheryl
Kosewicz
(circled)
committed
suicide after
claiming Pirate
Master wreaked
havoc on her
personal life.
By Paul Bond
Crashing
LISABETH HASSELBECK PARLAYED HER
The secret reality of The secret reality of realityreality showsshows
E
fourth-place stint as a contestant on
is that sometimes, when the lights fi nally
Survivor: The Australian Outback into
an Emmy-winning role as host of the
dim, there’s little left to live for.
hit ABC-TV show The View.
But Hasselbeck, along with a smat- She received death threats after ing second on Britain’s Got Talent.
tering of successful American Idol the show aired, and she attempted Then there’s Jon and Kate
contestants, appears to be the excep- suicide by downing copious amounts Gosselin of Jon & Kate Plus 8. The
tion rather than the rule. Mostly, of whiskey and the pain reliever show made them wealthy, but over
reality-TV participants fade quickly Nurofen, causing her to pass out on the course of two years, the parents
from memory. And sometimes their her bathroom fl oor. of twins and sextuplets went from
brush with fame leads to even more Criticizing the producers for wholesome to creepy, all chronicled
dire consequences, with a growing abandoning her, she told reporters: on television courtesy of TLC.
number of reality “stars” dealing with “I couldn’t believe what I’d become The couple said in June they
substance abuse, legal troubles, and and how I’d been shown.” planned to divorce.
even violence and suicide. As chronicled by the entertain- The fact is, some people handle
Take British pop singer Jo ment news source
TheWrap.com, their 15 minutes of fame much bet-
O’Meara, for example. On the U.K.’s O’Meara’s story isn’t unusual. ter than others, says Michael Levine,
Celebrity Big Brother two years ago, Last year in India, a 21-year-old a publicist with decades of experi-
E
S
G
A
M
she made fun of the eventual win- woman swallowed poison after fail- ence working for the likes of Michael
I
ner’s Indian accent and complained ing her audition for a reality TV Jackson, Barbra Streisand, and
E
T
T
Y
E
/
G
about a meal that she cooked, show. And frumpy 48-year-old over- Charlton Heston.
I
V
C
H
prompting other contestants and night singing sensation Susan Boyle “Some of these contestants have
R
A
T
O
some viewers to accuse her of being checked herself into a psychiatric tentative relationships with reality to
O
H
a bully and a racist. hospital earlier this year after plac- begin with, so reality TV is perfect for
S
P
C
B
52 NEWSMAX / NOVEMBER 2009
52_Showbiz_Reality.indd 52 10/1/09 11:56 AM
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