Showbiz USA
DYING FOR REALITY Najai
Clutter’s scenes in the show when
Turpin, a contestant
the series aired.
on The Contender,
committed suicide after
July 2007 Cheryl Kosewicz, a dep-
taping the show.
uty district attorney from Reno, Nev.,
won $37,000 on Pirate Master, a CBS other parts of the world,
show that had 16 people competing Stephenson hanged her-
for their share of a $1 million trea- self from a tree in the
sure on a Caribbean island. Kosewicz woods near her U.K.
complained that the show put a home. Prior to taking
strain on her relationship with her History Channel series where mod- her own life, the 17-year-old girl was
boyfriend. Her boyfriend killed him- ern-day families lived as if it were the reportedly visiting Web sites where
self and two months later Kosewicz 19th century. Stephenson, along with others encouraged her to commit
also committed suicide. her parents and 13-year-old brother, suicide and gave her how-to advice.
spent four months fi lming in the
May 2005 Carina Stephenson was Australian outback. After the show February 2005 Najai Turpin was
a contestant on The Colony, a six-part aired in Australia, but not yet in on NBC’s The Contender, a show
hosted by Sugar Ray Leonard featur-
ing boxers fi ghting elimination-style
REALITY BITES BACK
for a $1 million prize. Turpin was
eliminated by Sergio Mora, the even-
Simon Cowell takes on disgruntled contestants.
tual winner of the contest.
Turpin shot himself on Valentine’s
SOMETIMES TALENT-SHOW Brookstein, who was dropped from Day — three weeks before the series
contestants assume that the fame they Cowell’s music label after his fi rst album,
began airing — while sitting in a
have earned on popular TV shows will lead is writing a tell-all book critical of Cowell
car with his girlfriend and their
to riches. And when it turns out they were and the show.
mistaken, they sometimes lash out against Then there was Journey South, a
2-year-old daughter. He allegedly
the very shows that made them famous. musical duo made up of Carl and Andy
was despondent over custody issues,
Contestants beware: Pemberton that placed third
but others said he was also stressed
If it’s Simon Cowell you in the 2005 season of X over fi nances because he agreed not
have picked a fi ght with, Factor.
to book other fi ghts until the show
he might just punch back. Cowell accused them of
aired its fi nale several months later.
Cowell, of course, is reality- whining because they made
TV’s reigning king, being “only” about $1 million for
As with Clutter, the show did not cut
the creator, producer, six weeks of work. “You
Turpin’s scenes when it aired.
or star of such hits as would think they had been
American Idol and Britain’s locked up and tortured or July 1997 Sinisa Savija was a con-
Got Talent. taken into a room to have a
testant on the fi rst season of the
Such infl uence over personal confession beaten
Swedish show Expedition: Robinson,
pop culture comes at a out of them, instead of
cost — an intense amount voluntarily taking part in
a precursor to the CBS hit Survivor.
of scrutiny over his every a televised talent show,”
After being the fi rst to be voted off
public move. So when Cowell wrote. “I’m just
the island, Savija threw himself
former contestants gripe COWELL GROWL Simon disappointed with them as under a train. That was four weeks
about shabby treatment
Cowell has been known
human beings.”
after fi lming and nine weeks before
from Cowell, journalists are
for not taking any lip.
He also took to task Niki
the show aired.
only too happy to turn their Evans, who said she was
complaints into news fodder worldwide. encouraged by her late father to try out for
His widow said he agonized
Most of the complainers come from X Factor. After the show made her famous,
over how he would be portrayed
the hot U.K. talent show The X Factor. she criticized producers for telling her to on television, worried that “they are
Cowell reached a tipping point in June play up her dad’s death, even encouraging going to cut away the good things I
when he called out the whiners in a her to cry after singing the song “Dance
did and make me look like a fool.”
lengthy, fi rst-person account published in With My Father.”
His widow told reporters: “It is
Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper. “Never once did she complain about
He called Steve Brookstein, winner intimidation throughout her time on
not a game when you choose ordi-
of the fi rst X Factor competition, “a the show,” Cowell wrote. “I simply don’t
nary people and put them under
E
S
bitter man” and “not a happy bunny.” believe the allegations.” — P.B. great pressure, constantly in front
G
A
I
M
of the camera.”
P
A
56 NEWSMAX / NOVEMBER 2009
52_Showbiz_Reality.indd 56 9/30/09 6:32 PM
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