Reality TV exists for awkward moments. For this list, we’ll be looking at the most uncomfortable and cringeworthy moments ever aired on reality TV.
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00:00 - Tiffany, I'm extremely disappointed in you.
00:02 - Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:04 And today we're counting down our picks
00:06 for the top 20 most awkward reality TV moments.
00:10 - I guess this is a good moment for that.
00:12 - It's okay, I'm doing it.
00:13 - For this list, we're looking at the most uncomfortable
00:15 and cringe-worthy moments ever aired on reality TV.
00:19 We'll be focusing mainly on structured reality
00:21 and narrative-driven competition shows
00:23 instead of game shows and competitions
00:25 with a live component like "American Idol."
00:28 Did your favorite awkward moment make the list?
00:30 Sound off in the comments below.
00:32 Number 20, Raj helps himself, "Hell's Kitchen."
00:37 This personal chef from Queens, New York
00:38 lasted only three episodes
00:40 into the eighth season of "Hell's Kitchen."
00:42 And even that seemed like too, too many.
00:44 - I tried to clear my head
00:45 by sticking my head in the refrigerator.
00:47 - From his bumbling during dinner service
00:49 to his clashes with his more experienced teammates,
00:52 let's just say no one was placing their bets on Raj to win.
00:55 But his most awkward moment came in his elimination episode.
00:59 While his team struggled to send out even one entree,
01:01 Raj was eating the leftovers.
01:04 - No, I mean, I just took a quick little bite.
01:05 It's really tasty.
01:06 - Even when his teammates asked him not to,
01:08 he just couldn't help himself.
01:10 Clearly, their dishes were too good to resist.
01:13 Chef Ramsay was not amused, but what else is new?
01:16 - How could Chef Ramsay blame me
01:18 for eating this delicious food?
01:19 It's fantastic.
01:21 - Number 19, Greg leaves dinner, "First Dates."
01:25 This popular British reality show takes place
01:27 in a restaurant where two strangers
01:28 would meet for a blind date.
01:30 - You hungry?
01:31 - I'm all right, I'm all right.
01:32 - As if first dates weren't awkward enough for the Brits,
01:35 they had to add cameras and potential humiliation
01:37 in front of millions to the mix.
01:39 In this memorable episode,
01:41 Greg got dumped by his blind date, John,
01:43 before the main course even arrived.
01:45 - We seem to get along,
01:46 but I just don't have that connection with you.
01:49 - Apparently, John didn't find Greg attractive at all
01:52 and wasted no time in letting him know that.
01:54 Despite Greg's disappointment,
01:56 it's clear he dodged a bullet.
01:58 - Do you wanna pay your half of the bill now?
02:00 - Aye, please.
02:01 - When he gave the show a second go,
02:03 he actually found a husband.
02:05 Number 18, "Wheels of Cheese," "The Amazing Race."
02:09 If the idea of desperate people rolling wheels of cheese
02:13 down a hill seems ridiculous to you, you'd be correct.
02:16 - There's the shift, okay, let's go.
02:18 Let's get the cheese.
02:19 Oh, jeez.
02:20 - On the 14th season of "The Amazing Race,"
02:22 contestants were tasked with transporting heavy hunks
02:24 of cheese down a steep hill
02:26 while drunk Swiss men laughed at them.
02:28 It's a very specific anxiety fever dream of a challenge.
02:32 From the jaunty little tune playing over the soundtrack
02:34 to the wheels of cheese rolling down the hill
02:36 at killing speed, everything here is just so bizarre.
02:40 - Oh, he just ate it.
02:41 (people screaming)
02:44 - It's almost hard to believe
02:46 that this was what stands between these people
02:48 and a million dollars.
02:49 - Uh-oh.
02:50 - Don't let the cheese hit me.
02:51 - Number 17, "Chicken or Fish," "Newlyweds,"
02:54 Nick and Jessica.
02:55 Long before he hosted "Love is Blind,"
02:58 Nick Lachey and then-wife,
02:59 singer and fashion designer Jessica Simpson,
03:01 let their own love story play out for millions of viewers.
03:04 - You always hear the first year of marriage is toughest,
03:07 and I think especially for people
03:09 who haven't lived together.
03:10 - The two were just like any other couple
03:12 trying to answer life's big questions.
03:14 How many kids should we have?
03:15 How should we spend our money?
03:17 Is tuna fish or is it chicken?
03:19 Is this chicken what I have or is this fish?
03:21 I know it's tuna, but it says chicken by the sea.
03:28 - Jessica's adorable confusion
03:30 over the brand name Chicken of the Sea
03:32 lives on in reality TV infamy.
03:35 What makes it even more awkward
03:36 is that instead of laughing or helping her out,
03:39 Lachey just stares at her dumbfounded.
03:41 The interaction would be replayed
03:43 and dissected for years to come,
03:45 and it's arguably one of reality TV's first viral moments.
03:48 - You know, 'cause a lot of people eat tuna,
03:50 it's like a lot of people eat chicken,
03:52 so it's like the chicken of the sea.
03:53 - Okay, I understand now.
03:55 I was, I read it wrong.
03:57 - Number 16, Utica's Roast, RuPaul's Drag Race.
04:03 We've seen our fair share of bad standup routines
04:06 on RuPaul's Drag Race.
04:07 - Okay, okay, okay.
04:08 - Season 13's Utica Queen bombed her comedy set so hard
04:12 that the judges started reading her during the challenge.
04:15 Her jokes, such as they were,
04:17 got only pity laughs for most of her routine.
04:19 But when Utica made the mistake
04:21 of going after guest judge Loni Love,
04:23 the roaster became the roasty.
04:25 - It's just as hard to swallow as Loni Love's comedy career.
04:29 (laughing)
04:32 - You're the one bombing.
04:34 - To make things even worse,
04:36 this happened not once, but twice.
04:38 Utica's next joke about RuPaul
04:40 wasn't nearly as funny as Ru's wordless response.
04:43 "You know you messed up when the people you're roasting
04:46 get the bigger laugh."
04:47 - I don't even know how you crawl out of that.
04:50 - Number 15, Fake Tears, Love is Blind.
04:53 Viewers could not believe what they were seeing
04:56 when they tuned into the anticipated third season
04:58 of Netflix's Love is Blind.
05:00 - I just wanna thank you for being so kind,
05:05 but in the real world, I'm looking for something else.
05:09 - After participant Nancy turned down
05:11 Andrew's proposal of marriage,
05:12 he told the producers he was hurt.
05:15 Then with the camera still rolling,
05:17 he applied some eye drops and claimed
05:19 that Nancy's rejection had brought him to tears.
05:21 - Oh, hang on.
05:22 Martha, this is too much.
05:27 - Maybe he assumed they'd work some magic in editing
05:30 to make the eye drops and his alleged tears appear genuine,
05:33 but no, the show left all of this in for everyone to see.
05:37 The audience may have been stunned,
05:40 but his castmates were not surprised at all.
05:42 - I think it was a complete depiction
05:45 of what I was feeling through a wall.
05:46 It was like, this guy's up to something.
05:49 - Number 14, David's Dead, Celebrity Big Brother.
05:53 David Bowie's death sent unintended shockwaves
05:55 through the Celebrity Big Brother house.
05:57 Bowie's grieving ex-wife Angie decided to tell
06:00 fellow housemate Tiffany Pollard the news.
06:02 - You can't say a word.
06:04 - Nothing.
06:05 - David's dead.
06:06 - No, he's not.
06:07 - If there's one thing Tiffany New York Pollard
06:10 is known for, it's keeping things calm, cool, and collected.
06:14 So naturally, she began wailing like a widow at a funeral.
06:17 Turns out Pollard thought Angie met
06:19 their fellow housemate David Guest had died.
06:21 - They told me that David is dead.
06:23 - The miscommunication sent a panic through the house.
06:26 In the span of a few minutes,
06:28 Pollard experienced the entire spectrum of human emotion,
06:32 but everyone else was just along for the ride.
06:34 As Angie said, it was a mess.
06:36 - My pride made me not handle it correctly,
06:41 and yet again, it developed into another drama.
06:45 - Number 13, Hottie's Chicken, "Flavor of Love."
06:48 Chitaur Taylor, also known as Hottie,
06:50 is an undersung hero of the "Flavor of Love" franchise.
06:54 However, Hottie's most awkward moments
06:56 were not with her castmates, but with food.
06:58 - Can we call and have it catered or no?
07:01 - No.
07:02 - When she and her fellow "Flavor of Love" contestants
07:05 are tasked with cooking up some fried chicken,
07:06 Hottie has an ingenious idea.
07:09 - But this should be a good recipe.
07:10 I think she'll like it.
07:11 - She proceeds to stab raw vegetables and other condiments
07:14 into a whole uncooked chicken and put it in the microwave.
07:17 Monique may not have appreciated her apple,
07:20 but at least it was edible.
07:22 The chicken she presented to Flavor Flav and his mother
07:24 was not only unsavory, it actually might be a crime
07:28 to serve that in some states.
07:29 - I just wanna say, whoever number eight was,
07:31 that wasn't serious, was you?
07:33 - Number 12, Raquel or Ariana, "Vanderpump Rules."
07:37 Breakups are always messy, and those brought about
07:40 by infidelity are a lot messier.
07:42 Add the cameras and you've got epic reality television.
07:45 - Still haven't said sorry for what you actually did.
07:47 - Season 10 of "Vanderpump Rules"
07:49 brought to light the affair that brought down
07:51 one of the show's most enduring couples,
07:53 Tom Sandoval and Ariana Maddox.
07:55 - I don't know how it happened, it just, it happened.
07:57 - Sandoval's affair with Maddox's friend, Raquel Levis,
08:00 made it to air on the season finale.
08:02 The two laid out a timeline of their relationship
08:04 for the benefit of the cameras,
08:06 during which Tom accidentally called Raquel by Ariana's name.
08:09 - Dude, you're sleeping on Ariana, you're (beep) idiot.
08:12 Like, she's amazing.
08:13 - You just called me Ariana.
08:15 - This would be awkward at any time,
08:17 but right in the middle of the two establishing
08:20 their relationship amid his breakup,
08:22 it is cringe to the nth degree.
08:25 Number 11, Ashley Gets Roasted, "The Bachelorette."
08:28 Roasts can be fun, right?
08:30 Right?
08:32 Is this thing on?
08:33 When season seven bachelorette Ashley Hebert
08:35 asked her suitors to roast her,
08:37 she was clearly asking for trouble.
08:39 - Maybe I'll learn something about some of the guys today.
08:42 I'm excited for that.
08:43 - Ashley was a good sport at first,
08:45 taking the repeated jokes about the size of her chest.
08:47 But a joke would be one thing.
08:50 Most of these guys just decided to say
08:51 the meanest thing they could think up
08:53 without even attempting to pass them off as punchlines.
08:55 - They say one man's trash is another man's treasure.
08:58 (laughing)
09:00 - Ashley was reduced to tears
09:02 when her clear favorite contestant expressed
09:04 that he and many of his castmates were disappointed
09:07 that she was the season's bachelorette.
09:09 With potential husbands like these, who needs enemies?
09:12 - No roast for me.
09:13 - No, no, no, no, no roast for me.
09:15 This was a roast that wasn't compliment Ashley night.
09:19 - Number 10, Rob Accidentally Takes a Male Enhancement Pill,
09:23 "Keeping Up With The Kardashians."
09:25 This is embarrassing on so many levels.
09:27 After Kris obtains, ahem, enhancement pills from her friend,
09:31 she slips some into her partner's coffee.
09:34 However, her son Rob intercepts the second cup,
09:37 resulting in a two-hour erection and a hospital visit.
09:40 - Can you cough for me?
09:42 - Rob's parents then visit him in the hospital,
09:44 resulting in a supremely embarrassed Rob
09:47 sporting an erection around them.
09:49 If that wasn't humiliating enough,
09:51 Kris is forced to admit to her family
09:53 that she had slipped him the erection pills.
09:55 - This isn't easy for me to say.
09:56 - Just imagine being Rob here,
09:58 awkwardly sporting an erection in front of your parents
10:01 while they are discussing their sex lives
10:03 and the use of enhancement pills.
10:06 Number nine, Baby Madonna, "Toddlers and Tiaras."
10:09 (upbeat music)
10:12 - You're so smart, Mia.
10:15 - To be honest, we could probably put every episode
10:17 and segment of "Toddlers and Tiaras" on this list,
10:19 but arguably no moment was more controversial
10:22 than Baby Madonna.
10:23 (baby babbling)
10:27 The Madonna impersonator in question is Mia,
10:29 a two-year-old beauty pageant competitor.
10:32 These contests are problematic enough as is,
10:34 but her outfit is even more egregious.
10:37 A gold bustier complete with cone breasts
10:40 modeled after sex icon, Madonna.
10:42 (upbeat music)
10:44 You know, the outfit she wore
10:45 while she famously feigned touching herself
10:47 during the Blonde Ambition Tour?
10:49 It's not something you ever put a two-year-old in,
10:52 and it was met with fierce backlash by the mainstream media.
10:55 This was not just awkward, it was reprehensible.
10:58 - Mia probably has been in about 20 pageants or so.
11:03 I'd say out of those 20, she has won about 18 or so.
11:08 Usually she always comes home with a crown.
11:09 - Number eight, Snooki is punched in the face, "Jersey Shore."
11:13 Snooki being punched directly in the face
11:16 is now reality TV history,
11:18 and it's every bit as iconic and awkward today
11:20 as it was back in 2009.
11:22 - It's not for you!
11:24 - It's not for you!
11:25 - What are you doing?
11:26 - Wait, wait, wait.
11:28 - In the show's first season,
11:29 Snooki was brutally punched in the face
11:31 by high school teacher Brad Faro,
11:33 who was later fired from his position
11:35 at Queens Community High School.
11:36 The punch itself was widely shared across the internet
11:39 and made Snooki a national celebrity.
11:42 MTV later pulled the footage
11:43 and called it, quote, "extremely disturbing,"
11:46 and made "Jersey Shore" and Snooki household names.
11:49 Funny how that works, huh?
11:51 Number seven, go big or go home.
11:53 "Vanderpump Rules."
11:55 - Jax is so excited about massaging my boobs afterwards.
11:58 - Oh, you're too, I'm just--
11:59 - Oh, yeah, 'cause you have to massage the, yeah.
12:01 - Put it on my face?
12:02 - Reality TV usually centers on an egocentric cast,
12:05 but rarely are the stars as overtly vain and shallow as this.
12:09 In the fourth season of "Vanderpump Rules,"
12:11 Jax admitted that he was falling back into bad habits.
12:14 To perk himself up, he convinces his girlfriend, Brittany,
12:17 to get a full-D breast enlargement.
12:19 - Wait, how big are you gonna go?
12:20 - She's getting triple Ds.
12:21 - A full-C, small-D.
12:23 - I'm not being inappropriate,
12:24 but we discussed we liked Sarah.
12:26 - While she was considering a C cup,
12:28 Jax managed to convince her to go bigger,
12:30 telling her in an incredibly obnoxious manner,
12:32 "It's not just for you, it's for me."
12:34 - If I'm gonna help finance this,
12:36 I want 'em how I want 'em.
12:38 - Worse, he later complained about helping her
12:41 after the surgery, calling his help, quote,
12:44 "serious boyfriend duty."
12:46 It made for really awkward TV,
12:48 and it just made us feel bad for poor Brittany.
12:50 - Listen, I don't want porn star boobs.
12:52 I don't like that.
12:53 Natural teardrop, naturalness.
12:56 - Number six, Aviva takes off her prosthetic leg.
12:59 The Real Housewives of New York City.
13:01 - I find it, I find it very, very, very hurtful
13:05 that you don't believe that I have asthma.
13:08 - This show is full of ridiculous and childish behavior,
13:11 but this is on another level.
13:12 After Aviva's co-stars accused her
13:14 of embellishing her asthma,
13:16 Aviva responded in the intelligent and mature way
13:18 of slamming her prosthetic leg on the table.
13:21 - The only thing that is artificial or fake about me,
13:25 this.
13:26 (screaming)
13:28 - Everyone was understandably shocked.
13:30 It's a weird move.
13:32 However, it seems as if Aviva was fully aware
13:34 of how inappropriate the action was,
13:36 as she later told HuffPost Live
13:38 that she did it for the drama.
13:40 - Everything else is real.
13:41 Everything else.
13:42 Everything else is real.
13:44 - In her own words, quote,
13:46 "Would I ever do that in real life?
13:47 No, but there were several cameras around me.
13:49 And was I thinking about making a show
13:51 and being entertaining?
13:52 Yes, absolutely."
13:54 - Here, go ahead.
13:55 Go ahead, Heather.
13:57 - Oh my God.
13:58 - Number five, Asia's butterfly fail,
14:02 RuPaul's Drag Race.
14:03 If you're gonna attempt some dramatic flourish on stage,
14:09 best to make sure it actually works before the big moment.
14:12 On the season 10 finale of RuPaul's Drag Race,
14:14 Asia had planned to release some butterflies
14:16 from her chest and wrist compartments
14:18 during her lip sync in a quote,
14:19 "Amazing display of optimism."
14:22 ♪ I don't mean a thing ♪
14:27 - Unfortunately, the butterflies were feeling
14:30 a little lazy that day.
14:31 Most of them simply stayed put in their little compartment,
14:34 while others just fell to the floor
14:36 after Asia forced them out.
14:37 The horrified and hilarious reactions
14:39 from the audience say it all.
14:41 This fail instantly became a meme
14:43 and Asia was rightfully eliminated from the competition,
14:46 placing fourth.
14:48 Number four, Tiffany versus Tyra,
14:50 America's Next Top Model.
14:52 Is there anything more awkward
14:53 than watching two people scream at each other?
14:55 Well, in this case, it's one person screaming
14:57 while the other sheepishly takes it,
14:59 but the point still stands.
15:00 - Be quiet!
15:01 - That's what is wrong with you.
15:02 - I'm not trying to, but you're not--
15:03 - Stop it!
15:04 (explosion)
15:06 I have never in my life yelled at a girl like this.
15:09 - After Tiffany was eliminated from the fourth cycle,
15:11 Tyra criticized her seemingly careless attitude
15:14 and for treating the competition like a joke.
15:16 - I was rooting for you.
15:17 We were all rooting for you.
15:18 How dare you learn something from this?
15:21 - And when Tiffany fought back by explaining her side,
15:24 Tyra exploded in a scene right out
15:26 of an Oscar-winning drama,
15:28 complete with tear-choked lines like,
15:30 quote, "I was rooting for you,"
15:32 and quote, "You take responsibility for yourself."
15:35 We never saw Tyra explode like this
15:37 and it made for really uncomfortable viewing.
15:40 - You roll in her eyes and you act like this
15:41 'cause you've heard it all before.
15:43 You've heard it all before.
15:43 You don't know where the hell I come from.
15:45 You have no idea what I've been through.
15:47 But I'm not a victim.
15:48 I grow from it and I learn.
15:50 - Was there any intimacy after the wedding at all?
15:58 - After the wedding? - Yes.
16:00 - There was, but we started facing a problem.
16:04 - You see, this is what's wrong with reality TV.
16:06 Sure, we've had some fun before this,
16:08 but the idea of cameras capturing such a personal
16:10 and intimate conversation like this is just wrong.
16:13 It makes us feel voyeuristic and dirty.
16:16 Here we see Mohamed and Danielle talking
16:17 about their sex life, or lack thereof,
16:19 and how Danielle threatened to have Mohamed deported
16:22 if he didn't sleep with her.
16:23 - She was like,
16:25 be like sitting on the floor, crying,
16:30 screaming in front of her teenagers,
16:34 "I want my sex tonight.
16:36 If you don't give me my sex tonight,
16:38 I will call the immigration.
16:42 I will get you deported."
16:43 - Danielle further explains that Mohamed has told people
16:45 that she smells, she does, says Mohamed,
16:48 and that she's, quote, peed on him,
16:50 prompting many bewildered looks.
16:52 Everyone is clearly uncomfortable talking about this,
16:55 and we are just as uncomfortable watching it.
16:58 - He has told people that I smell,
17:00 and I peed on him.
17:02 - Number two, Josh and Emily's kiss.
17:05 Love at first kiss.
17:07 - I'm Josh, I'm 27, no pressure.
17:09 And today I'm gonna kiss a girl for the first time.
17:12 - Many of us have experienced awkward first kisses,
17:15 but the next time you're lying awake
17:16 and thinking about your god-awful first romantic impression,
17:19 take comfort in knowing that it couldn't have been
17:20 any worse than Josh's.
17:23 - Hello. - Hey.
17:24 - How's it going? - Good, how are you?
17:25 - Good.
17:26 - The whole concept of this show
17:27 is having complete strangers kiss each other
17:29 and seeing if anything sparks.
17:31 Nothing sparked between Josh and Emily.
17:33 Imagine that.
17:34 We watched in horror as inexperienced kisser Josh
17:37 approached Emily with a really creepy
17:39 and uncomfortable smile,
17:41 before lightly smooching her cheek,
17:43 weirdly embracing her and walking away.
17:46 We're forced to watch this through our fingers
17:48 because this is just too much.
17:50 Anyone who didn't physically recoil from this
17:53 wins one Ms. Mojo point.
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18:09 Number one, Jason dumps Melissa.
18:13 The Bachelor.
18:14 - You know, I came here to find,
18:16 in my whole life, find somebody like Melissa.
18:19 And since this all ended,
18:22 things have been different.
18:27 - Well, you don't see this every day on The Bachelor,
18:29 that's for sure.
18:29 Though it was shot a month and a half
18:31 after the filming of the main episodes,
18:33 the after the final rose special
18:35 aired right after the season finale was broadcast.
18:37 - Are you gonna end this tonight?
18:40 I have to.
18:42 - Let's bring her out.
18:43 - It followed Jason as he dumped winner Melissa
18:46 to get with Molly.
18:47 This is another instance of cameras capturing a moment
18:49 of incredible intimacy.
18:51 And it again made us feel terrible
18:53 for gobbling it up as entertainment.
18:55 - You're such a bastard.
18:57 I wish more than anything that last day
19:00 you would have just let me go.
19:01 Instead of doing this to me.
19:04 I'm so mad at you.
19:07 - How would you feel if your fiance dumped you
19:09 on national television in front of about 15 million people?
19:13 Luckily, everything worked out for Melissa
19:15 as she married Ty Strickland
19:16 and had three children with him.
19:18 But in the moment,
19:19 our hearts were shattered for the poor woman.
19:21 - Melissa was out here earlier.
19:22 And I ended things with her
19:29 because I haven't been able to stop thinking about you.
19:33 - Do you agree with our picks?
19:35 Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo
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