Reality TV Contestants Who Slammed The Show They Were On

This feature discusses domestic violence, mental illness, addiction, racism, ableism, transphobia, and suicide. 

Reality television comes in all shapes and forms — and so do reality television contestants. You have your talent competition shows like "American Idol" and "Top Chef," which draw out folks who want a big break —singers, dancers, bakers, drag queens, and more — as well as strategy and activity-based shows like "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race," which draw out people up for an adventure. Then you have your celebrity competition series like "The Masked Singer" and "Dancing with the Stars," as well as all of those shows built around D-listers whose flames have dwindled. You have "Housewives," "Sister Wives," "Teen Moms," and whatever we're calling the people from "90 Day Fiancé" and "Summer House."

So, yes, the reality TV landscape is jam-packed, and we haven't even mentioned the approximately eight million people who have appeared on "The Bachelor," "The Bachelorette," or any of its spin-offs and imitators. Some shows evoke wishful identification, like those that take us inside the fabulous world of high-end real estate, while others are more about laughing at others' ridiculousness, obsessing over their petty drama, or gawking at their unique identities and skills. If it's still unclear, we absolutely love us some reality television, even if the genre has had its share of clunkers. And while plenty of people who have appeared on reality TV also hold it in high esteem, not everyone feels positive about the genre or the particular show they appeared on. Here is a selection of reality television contestants — some notable, some obscure — who have publicly slammed their shows.

Adrianne Curry was the first person to win the title of "America's Next Top Model," taking the crown way back when the show made its debut in 2003. She has since become better known for courting controversy, most recently when she came under fire for critiquing Madonna's appearance in a social media post. She has also been called out for body shaming actor Melanie Lynskey, for slamming the inclusion of disabled models on the runway, and for once suggesting a boycott of BET and Black History Month. Curry seems to love any attention, even when it leads to her being accused of spewing bigotry against marginalized communities. 

Alas, Curry did not do much modeling after "Top Model." However, she prolonged her 15 minutes by marrying "The Brady Bunch" star Christopher Knight and scoring the VH1 reality show "My Fair Brady," which aired for three seasons. While she continues to make cameos on any reality show willing to have her, she arguably makes her biggest waves with her yearly Comic-Con costumes.

Though none of that would have been possible without "America's Next Top Model," Curry has spoken out about the show numerous times. Most notably, in a 2018 blog post (via Life & Style) she claimed that the contracts she won on the show were bogus, that she never received her prize money, and that Tyra Banks ghosted her. Regardless, on Instagram in 2020, she also noted that she didn't much care, adding, "I loved being on the show."

Rachel Lindsay first appeared on reality television as a potential suitor on Season 21 of "The Bachelor." She stood out so much that the franchise enlisted her as the next "Bachelorette" — making her the first Black lead in the history of the franchise. Since then, she has become one of the franchise's most visible alumni, and she could be touted as one of its true success stories. Not only is she still married to the contestant she chose, Brian Abosolo, but she has catapulted beyond reality TV and is now an on-air correspondent with "Extra." However, the franchise cannot exactly flaunt her achievements, because Lindsay has become one of its biggest critics — and for good reason.

Controversy erupted when "The Bachelor" finally cast their first Black leading man, Matt James. Later, photos emerged placing one of his contestants at a plantation-themed party. This was certainly not the first race-based controversy for the franchise, but it hit around the peak of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2021, so people were listening. After Lindsay interviewed longtime host Chris Harrison about the photos, his minimizing comments led to his removal from "The Bachelor." In a very thoughtful op-ed for Vulture, Lindsay subsequently discussed tokenism and the way the franchise consistently failed in terms of diversity and claimed she'd experienced the wrath of a toxic fandom. She has since continued to critique the show, including its failure to properly address a contestant's Blackface photo in 2022.

What, did you think we were done taking aim at "The Bachelorette" already? Not so fast, as we have one more former star who has a beef with the show's producers. Always quirky and often unpredictable, Kaitlyn Bristowe was a fan favorite when she popped up on Season 19 of "The Bachelor." She did not win the final rose from leading man Chris Soules but got something better — the chance to star as "The Bachelorette" in Season 11 (after defeating Britt Nilsson, who was also up for the job, when the suitors took a vote on the first episode). 

Bristowe has for a long time remained relatively loyal to the franchise that made her famous, even co-hosting "The Bachelorette" alongside Tayshia Adams for Seasons 17 and 18, so we were surprised when she started throwing grenades at producers. One of her biggest claims has been that she felt persuaded to lust over contestant Nick Viall because producers kept pushing him as a hot conquest. Bristowe's final rose ultimately went to Shawn Booth — though she is now with "Bachelor Nation" alum, Jason Tartick — but Viall was her runner-up, as he had been on the previous season with Andi Dorfman. "They really sexualized Nick to me," Bristowe said on the podcast "Not Skinny But Not Fat." "... They really, like, put them on a pedestal to me." In a 2023 episode of "The Quitters" podcast, Bristowe accused creator Mike Fleiss of sexism and claimed that producers were biased toward the show's male alum.

Many "Teen Mom" franchise cast members have had their struggles, but it is rare for the show's stars to blame production for their various issues, or even producers for airing their very real drama. After all, that is what they signed on for, and MTV is not responsible for addiction, assaults, and arrests. However, occasionally you get a disgruntled former "Teen Mom" star who wants to take down the producers in any way possible — most often, once said star is fired from the show. Enter Mackenzie and Ryan Edwards — the latter of which was charged with stalking and harassing the other in April 2023, and was sentenced to a year in prison, per In Touch. They had begun divorce proceedings a month earlier. 

Ryan was an original cast member of the first season of "16 and Pregnant," when he fathered a baby, named Bentley, with Maci Bookout. Their contentious relationship was documented on the show, so when he got together with Mackenzie, she too became a cast member. The pair were fired in 2018, and Mackenzie told E! News that it was because the network did not want to show her husband recovering from addiction. "So they're writing us out of the show right now and making it seem like we dipped out on our baby, on Bentley, and on everyone. And that's just not the case," she said. On Instagram Stories, she also accused the show of manufacturing a fake family scene after she was fired.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

The premise of "Married At First Sight" is pretty simple — and also, totally bananas. Two complete strangers are paired together by relationship experts and they marry in front of their friends and family despite having never met before. The remaining season follows their new marriage for six weeks, during which time they decide whether to divorce. Bryce Ruthven is a rare "MAFS" contestant who actually remained with his TV partner, Melissa Rawson, and the pair even walked down the aisle "for real" and welcomed twin boys together after appearing on the Australian version of the show. 

However, 15,000 viewers signed a Change.org petition urging the show's network to apologize for failing to protect Rawson from what they perceived to be clear signs of abusive behavior from Ruthven. "She is being subject to emotional manipulation, isolation, and countless other textbook signs of a controlling relationship," the petition claimed. A spokesperson from Nine Network assured B&T magazine that the relationship wasn't deemed as having any characteristics of domestic violence. 

Meanwhile, Ruthven accused the show of having edited footage of his relationship to look like something that it wasn't. "What came out on screen was not how our relationship played out at all, so to us they have deliberately gone out of their way to manufacture a relationship that reflected domestic violence, which it never did," he told the Herald Sun. He also claimed that his portrayal as a manipulative abuser destroyed his career in radio.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

Due to the astronomical success of "Teen Mom" (renamed "Teen Mom OG" for later seasons), MTV has continued to create spin-offs stemming from their "16 and Pregnant" franchise, though not all of them have stuck the landing. Still, "Teen Mom 2" was a huge hit for the network, airing for eleven seasons before the decision was made to integrate the cast of the show with that of "Teen Mom: OG" to create "Teen Mom: The Next Chapter." Leah Messer was one of the original cast members of "Teen Mom 2," and she remained on the show through the entire course of its run — from 2011 to 2022 — so it was not surprising when she earned a spot on the new series.

Her return for Season 2 of the show would be more surprising, though — not because Messer is not a fan favorite (she is) or that her narrative is not interesting (she had a big cheating scandal last season), but because she has alluded to leaving the show on social media. Even In Touch speculated that she may want her own spinoff. Messer's relationship with the franchise has continued despite her talking poorly about the show back in 2016. In March of that year, she accused the show of editorial manipulation, tweeting, "It hurts to feel betrayed by the ones I thought I could trust with my story." She took to Twitter a month later, to add, "Oh, how I love this fake a** TV show. #SoOverIt." Turns out, she wasn't over it at all.

Let's move on from "Selling Sunset's" prime villain to its — if we are being truly honest — central character, Chrishell Stause. She was arguably the only person in the cast who had any real name recognition prior to the start of the show. That was partially because of her work on soap operas like "All My Children" and "Days of Our Lives," and partially because of her high-profile marriage to "This Is Us" zaddy Justin Hartley. But even without any previous notoriety, we think Stause would have shone through as the star, given her engaging personality and girl-next-door charm. We rooted for her to find her footing as the new realtor at The Oppenheim Group, and cried with her when her divorce from Hartley was documented in real-time in Season 3.

"Selling Sunset" felt much more like an ensemble in Season 5, but Stause still had plenty of scenes, and she was always depicted relatively well in relation to her co-stars, who were at times presented as mean girls. But that positive edit may be changing, if we are to believe Stause's Instagram Stories posts shared during filming for Season 6. "The way reality TV producers twist and manipulate things to create a narrative," she wrote in her story alongside snake and garbage can emojis. "[It] sucks to not be able to be proud of what you're working on." In another post, she urged producers, "Scrap this fake narrative ... Viewers do not want manufactured drama."

We are going to go way back with this entry on our list — not all the way back to the 1973 docuseries "An American Family," but to one of the shows it inspired, MTV's "The Real World." The influential show began in 1992 — its original season took place in New York City — and it's diverse cast and unique premise opened up cultural conversations about a number of social and political issues. The show went on to air 32 seasons, and its legacy cannot be understated, even if some seasons were more watchable than others. Here, we are interested in Season 6, "The Real World: Boston."

The sixth season of the series came out in 1997, and it had the usual seven cast members living together in a shared space. By today's standards, the most significant cast member was Sean Duffy, who went on to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives before becoming a Fox TV personality. However, he only became an important figure years later. His fellow cast member, Genesis Moss Keefer was important from the get-go, as she memorably came out as a lesbian at a time when there were few depictions of LGBTQ+ people in media (which is actually part of the reason she tried out for the show, per MTV). Years later, Keefer dissed her franchise by comparing newer seasons to "Jerry Springer." "I haven't watched that s*** for 10 years," she told TMZ in 2010.

We have already spoken about how "The Bachelor" franchise has mishandled issues related to race and diversity, and now it is time to talk about how "Survivor" has been critiqued for creating a similarly poor atmosphere for people of color, both on set and in the audience. In 2023, Season 28 contestant Dr. J'Tia Hart started a Move On petition urging executive producers of "Survivor" to take action in combating a harmful lack of diversity behind and before the camera. Prior to that point, more than a dozen other Black contestants had already spoken out about the way the show draws upon and perpetuates racial stereotypes. Heck, two contestants even had this conversation on the show during Season 42.

Hart's season was set in Cagayan in the Philippines before the show permanently moved production to Fiji, and it did not portray her well. "What they don't do a great job with, is telling positive stories and connecting with the multifacets of being African American," Hart said in an NPR interview. "I have a degree in nuclear engineering from a top engineering school. I'm a mother. I work in national security. I am very well-rounded. And I just got boiled down to a simple trope of a lazy, unintelligent person." Hart is not alone, as evidenced by a June 2020 episode of Rob Cesterino's "Rob Has a Podcast," where 13 other Black alumni alleged experiencing racial harassment from other contestants and fans, and numerous other concerns.

Amber Pike is another "Love Is Blind" contestant who has spoken out about the show, although she did not do so in the bombshell Business Insider profile. However, she did pipe up around the same time the exposé came out, no doubt because of an increased interest in past contestants. Pike was featured on the show's inaugural season, back when contestants had no idea what to expect. Like Danielle Ruhl, she married her suitor. But whereas Ruhl and her hubby Nick Thompson divorced in under a year, as of this writing Pike and her husband Matthew Barnett are still going strong years after marrying in November 2018 (the season aired in early 2020). In theory, Pike is one of the few contestants who should be happy with the show, based on her final outcome. But she's not, which is why she is on our list.

Pike's initial negative comments about the show were in response to a fan on Instagram. When the person asked about her favorite couple from Season 4 of the show, Pike said she did not watch "Love Is Blind." After pushback implying she should be grateful, she wrote, "We are together in spite of that show not because of it." Pike also claimed that she'd warned producers to stay away from them, but compared to other "Love Is Blind" alumni, Pike's comments were nothing. Interestingly, she still lists the show in her Instagram bio, while Barnett does not — though his Instagram handle, Barnettisblind, is an obvious nod to the program.

You know what they say: where there is smoke, there is fire. And based on how many contestants have badmouthed "Love is Blind," there seems to be a whole house burning somewhere on the property. Contestant Lauren Speed is another alum who has spoken out against the show, though her complaints weren't to do with working conditions or producer manipulation. The Season 1 contestant got hitched to Cameron Hamilton at the end of that run and the two remain happily married. Among fans, it's fairly well established that they're one of the most cherished couples to have appeared on the show.

Even though she found love on TV, Speed-Hamilton has expressed her dissatisfaction with the way "Love is Blind" treats female contestants of color. After Season 3 was released, she took to Twitter to critique the number of Black women that were cut early on and who were not given any substantive screen time or storylines. She coupled this with allegations that many pairings had been manipulated. "I know it's slim pickings but about 85% of them couples be forced (just moving forward for entertainment purposes) anyway. Y'all could at least force some more sisters to move forward throughout the show," she tweeted. 

In 2020, "Love is Blind" creator Chris Coelen confirmed to the AV Club that not all couples who get engaged are featured on the series beyond the pods, which certainly gives some weight to Speed-Hamilton's claims that people are cherry-picked for entertainment purposes.

A lot of talented reality TV stars have failed to capitalize on their limited time in the spotlight, ending up back in the real world with the rest of us once their 15 minutes are up. But sometimes people are able to break free of the shackles of reality television and become so much more than just a reality star. Maddie Ziegler is a great example. The performer found fame as one of the stars of "Dance Moms." But she became really famous when she was cast in a variety of Sia's music videos including "Chandelier" and "Elastic Heart" — the latter of which brought her even more attention due to its ensuing controversy, as the then-11-year-old danced with a much-older Shia LeBeouf, both clad in nude spandex.

Ziegler has remained close with Sia and has only great things to say about her in interviews. But "Dance Moms" and her former dance teacher Abby Lee Miller? Not so much. Ziegler is the most notable person to come out of "Dance Moms," appearing on the show from its inception through Season 6, from 2011 to 2016. Although she was Miller's favorite student, in 2022, the dancer-turned-actor told Cosmopolitan that the two no longer speak. Ziegler also claimed the show was not good for the children who starred in it, and that she tried to get out of her contract for years before she was able to leave. "I was sick of being in a toxic environment," she said.

Since its inception, "The Biggest Loser" has been accused by critics of exploiting contestants and promoting unhealthy and potentially dangerous diets and behaviors. But these allegations simply hit harder when they come directly from the contestants themselves. Kai Hibbard is one contestant who has spoken out against the show, after appearing on Season 3 back in 2006 (and losing 121 pounds). "There was no easing into it," Hibbard told the New York Post. "That doesn't make for good TV. My feet were bleeding through my shoes for the first three weeks." An anonymous former contestant further alleged to the outlet that their first workout on the show was for a punishing four hours. 

Hibbard also claimed that contestants were provided with unhealthy food, chosen solely for weight loss and sponsorship deals rather than nutritional value. Troublingly, the Season 3 star also claimed to have experienced mental abuse on the show, including bullying from trainers. "They would say things to contestants like, 'We've picked out your fat-person coffin,'" she said. 

Producers were apparently unconcerned with the well-being of contestants and reportedly encouraged them to take up smoking to suppress their appetites while ignoring reasonable requests for breaks. Hibbard also alleged that another contestant was forced to exercise despite sustaining significant injuries to her legs and being ordered to rest by doctors. "They edited her to make her look lazy and b***hy and combative," she claimed. In a statement published by Entertainment Weekly, NBC responded, simply, "Contestants on 'The Biggest Loser' are closely monitored and medically supervised."

The team at "The Bachelor" is no stranger to lawsuits. Over the years, the show's producers have dealt with sexual harassment suits, discrimination suits, and suits about poor working conditions for the show's staff. Because of what we assume are airtight contracts, the show has not faced many lawsuits from actual contestants. Presumably, even those who have expressed extreme dissatisfaction with their edit probably realize the chances of winning are null given their airtight contracts. After all, even the eligibility fine print on the Bachelor Nation website explicitly states, "Representations may be embarrassing, unfavorable, humiliating, and-or derogatory and-or may portray him or her in a false light." So, basically, you sign away your ability to sue for a potential 15 minutes of fame, no matter how crappy they make you look.

Kelsey Poe may or may not have realized this after appearing as a Season 19 contestant in 2015. In an interview with Radar, she expressed regret over going on the show and unhappiness about being portrayed as a recent widow who was not at all sad (the other women called her "The Black Widow"). A source also claimed to Radar that Poe wanted to sue for "emotional damages" and that she was undertaking therapy to deal with the show's manipulation of her story. At a watch party in 2021 (via MLive) Poe told the audience that although her "Bachelor" experience was difficult, it was also a blessing that led to her pursuing a writing career. 

Cooking competition shows might have less focus on drama than dating shows or lifestyle reality programming, but they would not be nearly as popular without their own unique dramas — most surrounding clashes of personalities and issues related to particular tasks. Producers of shows like "Top Chef" and "Hell's Kitchen" allegedly use similar tactics to ensure their contestants are mentally and physically exhausted so that their guards are down. In 2009, The New York Times published allegations that "Hell's Kitchen" was, well ... hell to work on. And sure, Gordon Ramsay's signature insults, outbursts, and generally unpleasant demeanor are one of the show's main draws, but we did not realize that the abusive behavior may permeate other aspects of the "Hell's Kitchen" experience, too. 

"They locked me in a hotel room for three or four days," Season 3 contestant Jen Yemola alleged in the New York Times article. "They took all my books, all my CDs, my phone, any newspapers. I was allowed to leave the room only with an escort. It was like I was in prison." In a separate article with the New York Post, Yemola claimed the show also gave contestants little food, and that contestants did not receive the necessary support from the show's psychiatric team — even when they were wilfully being pulled through the wringer for the sake of entertainment. Representatives from the show and from Fox declined to comment on the allegations when asked by The New York Times.

Chances are that you recognize Sean Lowe, but probably not for his one-time appearance on "Wife Swap." After all, he was the star of "The Bachelor" in Season 17and one of the few in Bachelor Nation who actually married their final rose choice. He had previously appeared on a season of "The Bachelorette," but Sean has never had a foul word to say about either dating show. He is also seemingly fine with his appearances on "Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars," "Worst Cooks in America," and "Dancing With the Stars." But Sean does have one big reality TV regret, and it is the aforementioned "Wife Swap," which he thinks portrayed him unfairly. "That was all scripted and they kind of made me look like a jerk!" he told toofab.

After his episode of "Wife Swap" aired, Sean shared an Instagram post where he expressed his dissatisfaction with his followers. "Yeah ... so that whole 'Wife Swap' thing made me look like a complete jackass but I guess that's the risk you run when you agree to take part in something like that," he wrote. "Thanks to those who saw through it all and offered words of support." His wife Catherine Lowe also spoke out in defense of her husband, who was made to look rather sexist and demanding on their episode of "Wife Swap." When people who were on "The Bachelor" think your show has an editing problem, that speaks volumes.

NeNe Leakes is a reality television legend, and we won't tolerate anybody saying otherwise. As an original cast member on the "Real Housewives of Atlanta," the superstar skyrocketed to fame because of her quick wit and lack of a filter. Truly, the show will never reach the heights of its earliest seasons where Leakes was at her best. In addition to her seven seasons on "Real Housewives of Atlanta," the star has appeared on numerous other reality shows including "Celebrity Show-Off," "The Apprentice," and "College Hill: Celebrity Edition." She has also done some acting and hosting but it is reality television for which she is known. And as much as we would love to see her back on Bravo, we suspect Leakes may have burned one too many bridges.

In a Twitter post shared shortly after she last left "Real Housewives of Atlanta" in 2020, she accused Andy Cohen of racism. Two years later, in April 2022, she filed a lawsuit against NBC Universal, Bravo, two production companies, and multiple executives including Cohen. "From the day the series began filming, NeNe was the target of systemic racism from co-star Kim Zolciak-Biermann, which was tolerated by Bravo executive producer Andy Cohen and other executives," Leakes' lawyer said in a statement, per Page Six. Four months later, she dismissed the lawsuit and accused Bravo of having blacklisted her, per TMZ. Whatever the case, we can't imagine that Bravo bigwigs think highly of her.

"American Idol" has pumped out plenty of disgruntled contestants over its many decades on the air, but few have been more outspoken than Season 8 contestant Ju'Not Joyner. The performer only made it to the semi-finals, but he claimed that it was because the show's outcome was predetermined. "It's fixed. It's manipulated," he told ABC News after gaining attention for an online chat where he badmouthed the show. "It's scripted; it's not a talent competition. They show you who they want to show, and that's just what it is. They have some people, when they get on stage, lights come out that you didn't even know existed."

That "American Idol" plays favorites and frames contestants in different ways from others is hardly news, and it is certainly not the only show to use personal narratives to push certain contestants forward. But that was not Joyner's only issue, as he also alleged that contestants were made to sign paperwork like non-disclosure agreements, without allowing for the proper time needed to review the documents. "There wasn't even an opportunity for me to review what I signed," Joyner told ABC News. "The day we saw the contract, we had to sign the contract. We had to collectively vote on a lawyer out of a selection of three attorneys they presented us — it was ridiculous." In the live chat he did with AI Now, Joyner suggested that his questions about the paperwork were the reason he was on the producers' bad side, per Reality Blurred.

Keenyah Hill is another contestant who did well on "America's Next Top Model," but who has mixed feelings about her experience on the show. The contestant was a part of the same cast as Kahlen Rondot, and she came in third place just behind Rondot. At 19, Hill was one of the youngest contestants in the competition — models had to be 18 to apply — and she has raised similar allegations of feeling unprotected on set. 

Viewers witnessed some of Hill's discomfort firsthand during a photo shoot with the male model Bertini Heumegni, in which she made her concerns known regarding his behavior towards her. Hill stopped the shoot after accusing him of sexual harassment, but allegedly received little help from Jay Manuel or anyone else on the show. "Now, when you watch it, it's super cringy, because that could've been shut down at the shoot," she told Entertainment Weekly in 2023, while also claiming that the harassment began verbally before the shoot even started.

Worse still, Hill felt her feelings were discounted at the judging panel following the shoot, where the team focused more on her reaction to the harassment than the harassment itself (and very little on her actual photo). Tyra Banks' advised Hill to use her "feminine wiles" to push back against future harassment — which honestly sounded just as gross in 2005 as it does today but somehow garnered little criticism at the time.