Why do reality shows keep hiring non-celebrities despite scandal risk?

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By Lee Gyu-lee

Reality shows starring non-celebrities have been gaining more ground in the entertainment world, adding new faces through different genres such as dating, audition shows and survival game shows.

However, as shows that revolve around non-celebrities become more prevalent, more scandals and accusations have risen to the surface against cast members, following greater exposure to the general public through various forms of media.

Netflix's recent hit reality show, “Physical: 100," which is about 100 men and women competing through physical challenges for cash rewards, has faced numerous scandals involving three of its contestants.

Since the show hit the streaming platform in January, a school bullying accusation against one of the female contestants first appeared online by a user, claiming that she verbally and physically abused the user. The contestant denied any physical attack but admitted to verbally assaulting younger students.

Shortly after, the show made headlines again when it was revealed that two of its other contestants were facing criminal allegations, one for assaulting his girlfriend and the other for making threats to his girlfriend.

Following the series of scandals involving the cast members, Netflix canceled its press conference, scheduled for the season finale late last month.

"Before we discuss the global success of the show … with the media via the press conference, we felt it was best for us to look into the details of the incident. So, we decided to cancel the event,” the makers of the show said in a press release.

A scene from Netflix's reality show "Physical: 100" / Courtesy of Netflix

The dating show “I Am Solo” was also put in a negative light due to an accusation that one of its recent participants spread a sexually transmitted disease to his ex-girlfriend. An online user, claiming to be the ex-girlfriend, wrote that she tested positive for a disease two months after dating the participant. The participant denied the accusation, saying he will take legal action.

Pop culture critic, Ha Jae-geun noted that such a rise in non-celebrity shows is due to the increasing number of media platforms.

“There are more channels and platforms for content now. And there are too many to be filled with celebrities. So shows with non-celebrities have increased naturally. And because reality shows are booming, people also tend to prefer regular people instead of celebrities,” he said.

The critic added that any scandals and accusations will upset the public as viewers often demand stricter standards even for non-celebrities, placing more responsibility onto any privileges that they might enjoy from being in the media.

“Being on TV means getting public attention, which would also lead to financial benefits. They are also in a position to have a great impact on others. So there's a stricter standard for those (appearing on TV) compared with regular people,” he said.

“For cases where there are victims, offenders being on TV and gaining popularity itself could be like getting attacked all over again, from the victims' perspective. So in those cases, the viewers tend to be harsher.”

Scenes from the dating show “I Am Solo” / Korea Times file

MBN's popular music competition show, “Fire Trot,” annoyed its fans with its response to an issue around one of its prominent contenders. Hwang Young-woong, who held the top spot during the semi-final round, was accused of bullying his classmates in school and assaulting several people including his friend and ex-girlfriend in the past. One of the cases landed Hwang a criminal record.

The show's production team explained that it had conducted its own background checks and took precautionary measures when selecting its contenders before inviting them on the show. But there are limits to looking into all details of a person's past when conducting such checks.

“During the audition, we got consent from everyone who wished to take part and reviewed any possible factors for disqualification. We've gone through an internal process of getting written agreements (from the participants) and recruited them,” the team said in its statement. “We're sorry that even with a preliminary check and agreement, there was an unfortunate incident due to realistic limitations.”

Hwang Young-woong, who was one of the participants in MBN's popular music competition show, “Fire Trot,” faced an assault accusation during the show. Korea Times file

However, despite confirming that Hwang was fined for the assault charge in 2016, the network still proceeded with the first part of the final round the next week, causing further criticism from viewers. Afterward, Hwang decided to step down days later, and he was edited out of the final episode.

Critic Ha agreed that there are always going to be limitations for show production teams to fully acknowledge and review the individual backgrounds of cast members.

“It's hard for the network and production team to do a full background check on someone else's past. So, the responsible party needs to be upfront and share what needs to be shared and take responsibility if needed,” he said.

He emphasized that it is important for the production team to take firm action against scandals in order to set a precedent.

“When an issue surfaces, the production team needs to respond with strict measures so in the future, other possible non-celebrity cast members will be more cautious when deciding to appear in the media,” he said.