Up next in 10
Proof That Your Favorite Reality TV Shows Are Totally Fake. Ever wonder if your favorite reality TV shows like Pawn Stars or Alaskan Bush People are real? We're exposing the shocking scandals, arrests, and fake secrets the Discovery and History Channels don't want you to know.
This video dives into the dark side of popular reality TV. Find out which star was arrested for selling guns without a license, which family lied about where they lived to get government money, and which show's co-hosts threatened each other's lives. From fake storylines on Naked and Afraid to pre-negotiated deals on American Pickers, we're uncovering the truth behind the camera. Shows covered include Pawn Stars, American Guns, Sons of Guns, Dual Survival, and more.
#RealityTV #Scandals #Exposed
#did_you_know #trending_stories #viral_stories #inspiring #trending #buzz
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
Some of the best shows on TV come from
0:02
the Discovery and History Channels.
0:04
We're talking about Pawn Stars, Naked
0:06
and Afraid, American Pickers, Alaskan
0:09
Bush People, Monster Garage, and Swamp
0:13
People, to name a few. And while these
0:15
reality TV shows have captivated our
0:17
attention, you won't believe some of the
0:19
scandals revolving around their cast and
0:22
crew. Not only are the scandals
0:23
shocking, but they've resulted in
0:25
cancellations and cast changes. You
0:27
won't believe these secrets from some of
0:29
your favorite shows. Before we start,
0:31
smash the like button and make sure to
0:33
subscribe if you haven't and hit that
0:34
notification bell so that you won't miss
0:36
any new stories. Alaskan Bush People
0:38
Don't Live in Alaska. Alaskan Bush
0:40
People is entertaining, but after
0:42
following the Brown family for years,
0:44
fans started wondering whether the show
0:46
was real or scripted. This was
0:48
heightened after Bam Bam and Billy plead
0:50
guilty to charges of seconddegree
0:52
falsification for claiming to be
0:54
residents of Alaska even though they
0:55
were living elsewhere in 2015. As an
0:58
incentive to stay in Alaska, full-time
1:00
residents are given money from the
1:01
Alaskan Permanent Fund Division. They
1:03
were sentenced to a month in jail and
1:05
they had to pay thousands in fines and
1:07
restitution. According to Juno Empire,
1:09
Richard didn't have a license to sell
1:11
guns. When a series centers around a
1:13
family of gun makers who run the
1:15
Gunspoke Guns and the patriarch of the
1:17
family, Richard Wyatt doesn't actually
1:20
have a permit to sell guns, it's not a
1:22
good thing. But in this case, it came
1:24
out after the show was cancelled. In
1:26
2012, Wyatt lost his federal firearms
1:29
license due to breaching federal
1:31
regulations and laws. But he continued
1:33
selling firearms by conspiring with
1:35
other gun dealers. To keep his business
1:37
going, he had customers buy them at
1:39
gunpoke and then pick up their weapons
1:41
at other stores. As the Denver Post
1:43
reported, Richard Wyatt didn't report
1:46
$1.1 million in income. And that's not
1:49
the only legal trouble American Guns
1:51
Richard Wyatt has been in. In 2017, the
1:54
Discovery Channel reality TV star was
1:56
convicted by a federal jury on 10 felony
1:59
counts related to conspiracy, fraud, and
2:01
tax evasion. Richard Wyatt didn't report
2:04
$1.1 million in income. According to the
2:08
Denver Post, Wyatt was sentenced to 78
2:10
months in prison for conspiracy, dealing
2:12
firearms without a license, and failing
2:15
to report $1.1 million in income to the
2:18
IRS. American Guns had criminal clients.
2:21
If illegally selling guns and tax
2:24
evasions wasn't enough, American Guns
2:26
was also under fire for contributing to
2:29
the sale of stolen firearms. During the
2:32
finale of the first season, a man named
2:34
Wy Newton had a stolen 1,849
2:38
444 caliber Colt Draon appraised on the
2:41
show that was worth $40,000. It turns
2:44
out the gun was stolen from a gun museum
2:46
in New Mexico. As Fox 31 Denver
2:48
reported, Newton almost got away with it
2:51
until the man who the gun was stolen
2:52
from was watching TV, recognized the
2:55
firearm, and contacted the police.
2:58
Hayden family was arrested. Another show
3:00
that revolves around a family selling
3:02
firearms, Sons of Guns, abruptly came to
3:05
an end in 2014 after charges were
3:07
brought against Will Hayden. But that
3:09
wasn't the only arrest in the family.
3:11
After the show was cancelled, charges
3:13
were filed against Stephanie Hayden Ford
3:15
and Chris Ford. Hayden family was
3:18
arrested. US Weekly claimed the Sons of
3:20
Guns stars were arrested for allegedly
3:23
hitting Hayden's 9-year-old son. Ford
3:25
was accused of striking the boy and
3:27
Hayden was taken into custody for being
3:29
present during the incident. Sons of
3:31
Guns producers caused security scare.
3:33
Not long after the show's first season
3:35
premiered, two members of the Sons of
3:37
Guns production team caused a security
3:39
scare at Dallas divided by Fort Worth
3:42
International Airport after parking a
3:44
rental truck loaded with pyrochnics and
3:46
firearms outside one of the terminals
3:48
and leaving it unattended. Sons of Guns
3:51
producers caused security scare. As NBC
3:55
5 Dallas Fort Worth reported, they were
3:57
searching for a third member of their
3:59
group who leaves a truck loaded with
4:01
explosives and guns unattended outside
4:03
of an airport. Of course, authorities
4:06
got involved. The scare happened on 9
4:08
over 11. What's worse than causing a
4:10
security scare is that it happened to
4:12
occur on the 11th of September 2011,
4:15
which is 10 years after the terrorist
4:17
attacks. Anyways, it caused part of the
4:19
airport to be closed for 2 hours while
4:21
airport security and the FBI questioned
4:23
the driver. The Discovery Channel later
4:25
released a statement via NBC 5 Dallas
4:28
Fort Worth, calling it a colossal error
4:30
in judgment by a member of our staff.
4:32
Cody London filed defamation lawsuit
4:35
against Dual Survival. Dual Survival, a
4:38
show about survival experts in
4:39
challenging environments, had one of the
4:41
co-hosts face a challenging environment
4:43
of his own. co-host Joe Teddy allegedly
4:46
made threats of violence against fellow
4:48
co-host Cody London, which caused
4:50
Discovery to terminate London. He
4:52
claimed producers then manipulated
4:54
behindthe-scenes footage depicting him
4:56
as looking mentally unstable and being
4:58
responsible for him leaving the show.
5:00
But after a judge looked at the episode
5:02
in question, he concluded that some
5:04
scenes were completely factually
5:06
accurate, while others were only
5:08
substantially true. As the Hollywood
5:10
Reporter reported, Joe Teddy's alleged
5:12
threats against Cody London. So, how
5:15
exactly did Dual Survivals Cody London
5:17
claimed Joe Teddy threatened him? While
5:19
producers made it look like Lundine was
5:20
the one who was unstable, Lundine
5:22
claimed Teddy waved an ice ax around
5:25
while threatening to bury Lundine on a
5:27
mountain in Norway, according to Fox
5:29
News. And that's not all of the threats
5:31
that he claimed. Lundine said Teddy
5:33
threatened to impale him with a spear
5:35
while shooting in Hawaii. He even
5:37
claimed Teddy showed him photos of
5:38
people he killed while he was a CIA
5:40
operative. Naked and Afraid is scripted.
5:44
Naked and Afraid, a show about a man and
5:46
woman who are challenged to survive in
5:48
the wilderness without anything, has
5:50
dealt with lots of controversies with
5:52
many people believing it's fake. One
5:54
report from season 3 contestant Onora
5:56
Bowen is incredibly compelling. In her
5:58
blog, she claimed she was instructed to
6:00
fight with contestant Matt Strutzle to
6:02
make things more interesting, and
6:04
producers coached her on what to say
6:06
about her background. She didn't end up
6:08
completing the challenge due to extreme
6:10
heat exhaustion, which she faked to get
6:12
out of the show. Fans were not impressed
6:14
with Counts Customs Counting Cars, a
6:16
spin-off of Pawn Stars, follows the
6:18
activities at Counts Customs, an
6:20
automobile restoration and customization
6:22
company owned by Danny Coker, a car
6:25
expert on Pawn Stars. While the show has
6:27
been airing for 10 seasons and counting,
6:30
fans who actually visited the shop were
6:32
less than impressed. One Trip Adviser
6:34
reviewer said, "I was not impressed with
6:36
this shop at all. It is just a warehouse
6:38
with some of the cars and bikes that
6:40
they have worked on with an overpriced
6:42
gift shop took less than 15 minutes to
6:44
walk through. American Pickers only
6:47
shows best items. American Pickers
6:49
follows antique and collectible pickers
6:52
Mike Wolf and Frank Fritz who travel
6:54
around the US looking for items to pick.
6:57
While they find gems and valuable
6:59
treasures on the show, there are rumors
7:00
that we're only seeing a part of what
7:02
they sift through. It's likely that most
7:05
of what they find doesn't make it on the
7:06
screen. Producers go through the items
7:08
and they pick the best ones to show like
7:10
Yoda prototypes, a $9,500
7:14
elephant's head and a $21,000 Von Dutch
7:17
XAVW motorcycle. Items are pre-selected
7:21
like American Pickers. Pawn Stars, which
7:24
follows Rick Harrison and his family,
7:26
who own and run a pawn shop in Las
7:28
Vegas, has also been rumored to filter
7:30
what makes it onto the show. Oncreen,
7:32
Harrison appears to be friendly with
7:34
everyone and finds interesting artifacts
7:36
with fascinating stories, but it's
7:38
unclear if he actually found the items
7:41
on the show. Many people believe
7:42
producers already bought the valuable
7:44
items and then put them on set.
7:46
Restorations aren't always perfect.
7:49
Another spin-off to Pawn Stars is
7:51
American Restorations, which centers
7:53
around a group of experts who restore
7:55
American vintage items to their original
7:57
state. The show was on for seven
7:59
seasons, and while many of the results
8:01
were super impressive, fans noticed a
8:03
few mistakes over that time. One mistake
8:05
was in an episode named Secret Fan, a
8:08
viewer noticed the wheels on the
8:09
restored go-kart were mounted crookedly,
8:12
causing it to wobble when moving. Others
8:14
have spotted chipped paint in
8:16
restorations. American Pickers is fake.
8:19
As mentioned, it's rumored that many of
8:21
the collections from American Pickers
8:23
have been pre-selected and planted in
8:25
the shop for the sake of good TV. But
8:27
there's also talk that the negotiations
8:29
aren't quite like how they are shown on
8:31
screen. Many people who have sold things
8:33
on the show have spoken out about how
8:35
Mike Wolf and Frank Fritz act
8:37
differently from how they're portrayed
8:38
on the show. And often the buyers and
8:40
sellers agree on the price before the
8:42
cameras roll. Manas eaten alive. When a
8:45
show teases for months that a man would
8:47
get eaten alive and doesn't follow
8:48
through, it's sure to make fans angry.
8:51
That's exactly what happened on
8:53
Discovery Channel's special eaten alive
8:55
with Paul Rosalie. He came face tof face
8:57
with a 20ft anaconda but ended up
9:00
getting rescued. Rosalie panicked when
9:02
the snake put its mouth around his head
9:03
and crushed his arm, so he called off
9:05
the whole operation and experts rushed
9:08
in to help him. Unsurprisingly, viewers
9:10
weren't happy as they expected more
9:12
gruesome action from a title that
9:14
promised eaten alive. PETA condemned
9:17
eaten alive. It comes as no surprise
9:19
eaten alive made headlines after the
9:21
incident with the snake and even PETA
9:23
got involved condemning the act. Even
9:25
after Rosalie said the stunt was to give
9:27
attention to preserving the Amazon, PETA
9:30
accused the Discovery Channel of abusing
9:32
wildlife. PETA said the snake was
9:34
tormented and suffered for the sake of
9:36
ratings and shame on this pseudo
9:39
wildlife expert for tormenting this
9:41
animal and shame on the Discovery
9:42
Channel for giving him the incentive to
9:45
do so. Mama June's boyfriend. When TLC,
9:48
which is owned by Discovery, suddenly
9:50
cancelled Here Comes Honey Boooo, which
9:52
follows Alana Thompson's family around
9:55
after two seasons, fans were in shock.
9:57
The reason it was cancelled was even
9:59
more surprising. As CNN reported,
10:01
allegations surfaced that Mama June was
10:04
dating Mark Anthony McDaniel, who served
10:06
a decade in jail for child molestation.
10:08
While Mama June denied dating him, in
10:11
actuality, the child abused by McDaniel
10:13
was Mama June's daughter. An entire
10:16
season's worth of episodes was left on