‘It taught me about brainwashing’: how reality show stars fell for a fake Prince Harry
The Guardian -

A show in which women competed to date a royal lookalike was panned at the time as ‘fodder for the braindead’. But the contestants had been duped, as a new podcast reveals Next month marks a decade since one of the most ridiculous reality shows ever aired on television. I Wanna Marry “Harry” was a dating show in which 12 American women dated Prince Harry, then the world’s most eligible bachelor. Only, obviously, it wasn’t him at all. The “Harry” in question was a lookalike: according to the...

In related news

  • Best podcasts of the week: The reality show that duped women into falling for a fake Prince Harry

    In this week’s newsletter: TV journalist Scott Bryan looks back at the making of I Wanna Marry “Harry” – and the dubious ethics behind the show. Plus: five of the best podcasts hosted by pop stars• Don’t get Hear Here delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereThe CompetitionAll episodes now on Wondery+, widely available from MondayWhen Shima Oliaee was a teenager, she flew to Mobile, Alabama, to compete for a lucrative scholarship. She didn’t win. More than 20 years later, she returns as a judge and...
  • Dance Moms Stars Spills on 'Trauma Bonding' Through Reality TV Show

    While the many young stars of Dance Moms didn't always appear on the same seasons, they still have a bond -- a "trauma bond." The cast -- Chloe Lukasiak, JoJo Siwa, Kendall Vertes, Kalani Hilliker and Brooke and Paige Hyland -- sat down with E! before the reunion airs, in which they revealed some secrets about their relationships over the years. "I don't think people know that we're friends," Kalani said of the group. "And there's so many different storylines on the show between...
  • Miriam: Death of a Reality Star review – as grubby as the cruel show that ruined her life

    As this documentary smugly rehashes the transphobia that made Miriam Rivera’s life hell – claiming it would never happen today – it becomes just as tawdry. Has TV learned nothing in the past 20 years? It was, all in all, a moral quagmire of a TV format. In 2004, There’s Something About Miriam saw six men vie for the attention of Miriam Rivera, a 21-year-old Mexican model who unbeknown to them had a “secret”: she was transgender. Even before it aired, this British reality-dating show had whipped...