For better and worse, MTV’s “The Real World” pretty much gave birth to the entire reality TV genre, and its simple “strangers live together in a house” premise has been swiped and put through endless permutations since the show’s debut back in 1992. It stands to reason that participants would experience a pretty severe disruption to their normal lives while appearing on the show, but the truth may be that once you agree to appear on “The Real World,” MTV pretty much owns you — and might not be an exaggeration.
According to a cop of the show’s contract supposedly acquired by The Village Voice in 2011, potential participants agree that MTV is not liable if they are publicly humiliated or “portrayed in a false light,” and that’s just the tip of the shady iceberg. Real Worlders also must agree that they might catch an STD (although they must be screened for them), lose a limb, be subject to “non-consensual physical contact,” or even die.
Believe it or not, that’s not all. The alleged contract states that the stars are not allowed to change their appearance, go anywhere that MTV is not permitted to film, or get pregnant. MTV is granted access to their email, employment and credit history, and other normally private accounts and documentation, and producers are given “blanket rights to your life story,” including the right to misrepresent any portion of it. A small price to pay for reality show infamy, though, right?
