TV has a long history of fake psychic mediums, and Celebrity medium, Theresa Caputo, is yet another one. Her methods include doing lots of research on her clients well before “reading” them.
“What are her research methods”? you may wonder. Well, she digs dip into their social media. That combined that with lots of generic advice and a bit of misdirection, and voila, you’ve got your “psychic” reading. Not to say that real psychics don’t exist — you decide for yourself — but dear Caputo isn’t one of them for sure.
The Biggest Loser
You'll probably be surprised to find out that the iconic scale that contestants weigh themselves on is just a prop. Yes, it doesn’t do anything, and the contestants actually do their real weigh-ins two days before shooting the episodes. You may have also heard the rumors that have circulated about the medical staff on "The Biggest Loser" not actually being medical professionals.
The drama is mostly created by the producers and the editing often makes contestants look lazier than they really are, a fact that has garnered an increasing amount of criticism throughout the seasons the show has been aired.
Jersey Shore
Did you know that most of the cast of "Jersey Shore" isn’t even from New Jersey?! And before the show, no one called Nicole LaValle “Snooki”. In fact, it was just put in the show’s application when asked for a nickname as a joke and somehow it stuck.
While some of the outlandish shenanigans on the hit reality show, "Jersey Shore", are actually real, eyewitnesses have said that many scenes are exaggerated for dramatic effect. For example, producers decided on who would stay at the house overnight, so no one was just a random club pickup. And that vicious fight between Vinny and Pauly in Italy...Yes, sorry to break it to you, it was also staged.
Breaking Amish
"Breaking Amish" was a show about Amish youth who want to experience the "outside world" and travel to New York City to experience things like phones, cars, and even electricity. It just happens that TLC didn’t do their homework properly before filming and so it soon became clear the show was completely staged.
It was revealed through social media that two of the stars claimed to have just met one another on the show. However, their old social media posts showed that not only had they been in a relationship for a year but they even had a baby together. So, basically, the cast member's deceiving stories could have easily been discovered if TLC did a little background research. It’s no wonder the show lasted for only 20 episodes.
RuPaul's Drag Race
"RuPaul’s Drag Race" is a drag show competition where contestants show off their hair, makeup, costume, and performance skills. Throughout the competition, they also do entertaining performances such as impersonating celebrities and lip-syncing. Drag queens are known for coming with the drama, and they supply plenty for viewers, but according to former contestants, some of it is scripted.
Jaremi Lee Carey, or Phi Phi O’Hara, while in drag, was the runner-up of season four of "RuPaul’s Drag Race" back in 2012. He later returned to the show for the All-Star season in 2016, where according to him, he was offered a 'redemption' storyline. However, during filming, producers often egged on the drama behind the scenes and would goad him (and the other contestants) into saying outrageous and ridiculous things, only to take them completely out of context making the contestants look bad.