It seems all T.V. shows have at least one scandal in their lifetime, and now it looks like "The Voice" is having their first one, one that shows the popular competition might just be a little bit rigged.
Or not. I guess it depends on how you read the fine print.
The NY Daily News (via Jezebel) got their hands on the contract that contestants are given to sign and it's not pretty.
According to the secret 32-page document (which, incidentally, is never actually shown) the website was able to obtain, in order to protect NBC from getting sued, the contract contestants sign basically lets NBC do whatever it wants, including changing the rules at any point and ignoring fan votes.
NBC can:
- Change the rules at any time.
- Eliminate contestants at any time, even if they are “winning” with the public.
- Ignore the show’s voting system, which includes sales figures for contestants’ songs on iTunes, in the event of problems.
- Force contestants to undergo medical or psychological testing and, under certain circumstances, release the results on TV.
- Producers are allowed to show contestants in a way that “may be disparaging, defamatory, embarrassing (and) may expose me to public ridicule, humiliation or condemnation.”
Yikes!
Any contestant who reveals their contract can be subject to a lawsuit of $100,000 to a million buckaroos, so it's probably understandable why the actual contract the NY Daily News obtained isn't being shown.
Blake Shelton and fellow "The Voice" coaches get turned into muppets for Sesame Street
"The Voice" contract really doesn't surprise me much. All reality shows are manipulated it seems and many of the shows you watch thinking you're getting a glimpse into someone's real life is actually scripted, so why should singing competitions be any different?
And in case you're wondering, American Idol's contract isn't much different.
So I guess you can either sell your soul to the devil for fame and fortune or you can go the quicker route and audition for a singing competition.
On a side note, it kind of makes me wonder about the celebrity coaches and their contracts. Wouldn't it be kind of funny if all these rumors being leaked to the tabloids about Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert's marriage were actually leaked by the show bosses to drum up publicity and there was nothing Blake could do because it was in his contract? Strange to think about.
Does the contract contestants are forced to sign change your view of the show at all?
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