Yahoo News Do reality TV stars deserve a private life?
Reality shows, as the name suggests, need real lives as their fuel.
Take Keeping up with the Kardashians: it's arguably the most iconic reality series of all time, but just look at the dirty laundry Kris Jenner and her famous daughters have had to air on screen to boost ratings. Kourtney Kardashian was filmed giving birth, a traumatised Kim had to open up about being held at gunpoint in Paris in front of a huge crew, while Khloe went on camera the day she was sent to prison.
Unlike the Kardashian-Jenner clan, most of us would probably feel betrayed or even hurt if a family member revealed our deepest, darkest secrets to an outsider, let online broadcast it all over international television.
But that's where reality stars are different. They sign on the dotted line and agree to reveal everything and anything on camera in exchange for huge pay cheques along with the chance to become a celebrity. But given their product is their personal lives, does this mean that when people sign up to join a reality show they automatically waive all their rights to any kind of privacy?
Surprisingly, a lot of celebrities seem to think they do. Actress Eva Longoria has claimed that reality stars do not have a right to privacy at all. Speaking to the Confidential on Nova radio programme, the star said: "There's definitely things that are off-limits and shouldn't be asked (but) I think it is different for a reality star than it is for an actor. An actor goes out and acts and does work, certain things are left to be private. Reality stars are kind of living out their lives, that's why they are famous, because of the reality of their lives."
A deal with the devil
And she's not the only one. Good Morning Britain's Piers Morgan also believes that when celebs trade in details of their personal lives for cash, it's all fair game. "The message is, 'If you want privacy, don't invade your own'," he told The Independent. "Any celebrity who sells their wedding pictures has abrogated any right to privacy."
Some reality personalities themselves agree that they have no right to privacy after making a deal with the devil. Imogen Thomas became a celebrity after competing in the seventh series of Big Brother back in 2006. Afterwards, she embraced the lifestyle and found the more details she shared, the more perks she was able to enjoy.
Speaking to The Telegraph, she said: "I believe when a reality star opens their doors to the extent that they do, they cannot complain the next day if something bad is written about them. I think I can talk on both sides of this discussion, because six years ago I came out of the Big Brother house. I used to crave the press attention, and played the media to my advantage."
But while Imogen has a point, that reality stars should be prepared to take the rough with the smooth, shouldn't there be a limit? The danger of denying reality stars such a basic right was highlighted when Kim Kardashian was robbed in Paris last year.
Reality bites back
Prior to the attack, she gave an interview saying she had accepted she had no right to privacy and was actually comfortable with it. The day before the horrific ordeal, she boasted on 60 Minutes with Bill Whitaker that she owed her career and success to sacrificing her private life. She said: "There are pitfalls: lack of privacy, loss of privacy. That's not for everyone. For me, I can handle it." Just hours after she gave this interview, a gang of thieves were able to track down Kim's hotel and figure out what time she would be on her own and most vulnerable, thanks to saturation press coverage of her stay in the French capital.
On October 3 2016 at 2.30am, a group of armed men dressed as police officers broke into her luxury apartment and held guns to her head as they tied her up before locking her in a bathroom. They stole more than £9 million worth of jewellery.
Following the attack, Kim was left physically unharmed but emotionally traumatised and needed therapy to recover from the ordeal. Realising that the robbery might never have happened had she not posted her whereabouts on social media, she then took an extended break from Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat.
Commenting on Kim's ordeal on Ellen DeGeneres' US talkshow, sister Khloe revealed the whole family were reconsidering how much they share about their personal lives. She said: "It's a wake-up call for all of us, just to make sure our sister is okay. This is a really serious matter, and for Kim, I think that's really personal as to when that emotional terror, [she] could move on from that."
Another issue that arises when it comes to reality stars and privacy is age. A lot of celebs are pretty young when they sign up for shows like Made in Chelsea or TOWIE. Having been more than happy to reveal all about their lives when they were young, free and single in their late teens and early twenties, should they not be allowed to change their minds as they grow older and start thinking about settling down?
The right to be forgotten?
Vicky Pattinson was just 23 years old when she starred in the first series of Geordie Shore. After signing on the dotted line, she had no idea how big the show was going to be, what to expect or how her life would change. But as we all know, the series was an instant hit and catapulted her into the public eye.
Fans watched her every move as she stumbled out of clubs drunk, got into physical fights with her cast mates and even had sex on camera with then-fiancé Ricci Guarnaccio. Now, six years later, she regrets it.
"At the time I thought it was the right thing to do, because other people were, but as I get older I realise it was foolish," she said on I'm A Celebrity 2015 – which she went on to win. "'It's supposedly youth culture. I had sex on TV and I regret that massively, it was one of those things. It is, what it is, it's car-crash TV essentially and I enjoyed doing it when I was younger but when I got slightly older, I thought I'm not sure I can do this. I'd also like to stop doing reality TV. It's not that I'm not grateful for the platform it's given me, but I'd like people to know less about me."
Following her success on I'm A Celebrity, Vicky decided to try and start to carving out a new life for herself as a presenter. As she became more determined to be taken seriously, she tried to ditch her wild Geordie Shore image and stopped revealing so much about her personal life.
The move led to doors opening for the Jungle Queen, as she went on to land jobs on This Morning, Loose Women and I'm A Celebrity Extra. Did she really not deserve the right to change her career path simply because of a show she took part in when she was younger?
Charlotte Crosby is another former Geordie Shore cast member who has asked for more privacy. Fans of the show were gripped and completely emotionally invested in her will-they-won't-they romance with Gaz Beadle for years. However, when they split up for good in 2016, Charlotte told the world to never talk to her about him again.
Despite all the glossy photoshoots the former couple had done together and cash they'd made off the back of their romance, she suddenly wanted to shut that chapter for good. She told Star magazine: "I've decided to close the door on the whole me and Gaz thing. I've got nothing bad to say, I've got nothing good to say. It's completely over. All things Gary are off limits now. I don't want to know about him and I don't want to hear about him."
None of our business
Fans were not happy at first – why would she suddenly become so tight-lipped over something she previously wouldn't stop talking about it? It turned out, Charlotte had a very reason.
It was later revealed that at that time, she had suffered an ectopic pregnancy while her baby's father Gaz was sleeping with women she knew (including her enemy Jemma Lucy) as he filmed Ex on the Beach. Charlotte was left absolutely devastated and needed time to get through what had happened before she could publicly talk about it.
However, during that period, Charlotte appeared as a guest on Celebrity Juice and Keith Lemon (oblivious to her ordeal) teased her about her relationship with Gaz. Although she tried to laugh off the comments at first, the star then broke down on set and burst into tears in front of the live studio audience. "I don't want to talk about it," she told the presenter, resulting in a very awkward silence.
With that in mind, while we may think we have a right to know everything about a reality star, do we really want to push reality personalities to reveal so much that they break down in front of us in the name of entertainment?
Yes, reality stars are the ones responsible for inviting the cameras into their lives and yes, they are the ones that get paid to reveal all in exchange for cash, but that doesn't mean the public owns the deeds to their privacy. Yes, we expect them to spill the beans on their respective reality shows, but when they're out for a family meal off camera, it's worth remembering that their business deals are with TV producers, not with the public.
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