And just like that... MAFS is over

[mumofoneAloneandwell]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8pz1k4r2lo

It was coming. You dont get good reality TV without people suffering.

This news however is awful. Bloody awful.

Sex sells and money talks. It's as simple as that.

I enjoy the program and hope it doesn't die a death as a result.

And here we have it - never mind how many women are abused and exploited as long as someone gets their not so guilty pleasure.

It’s got sleazier over time.

Indeed, viewing pleasure before raped women and vulnerable 'contestants'.

Its horrible to believe that people put their TV enjoyment over real people's dreadful experiences.

It's always been the way though.

These people would be the same ones watching gladiators fighting to the death, setting up a chair by the gallows, paying to visit Bedlam, watching 'freak' shows...

Low intelligence entertainment for the low intelligence masses 🤷🏻‍♀️

it amazes me how people are desperate to sign up. Year after year, they surely can see how exploitative the show is and it getting worse.

inwould hate to be in an intimate situation with a perfect stranger.

It is a modern day freak show. These contestants are thrown to the lions. It’s not about finding a love match. It’s actually the opposite. The couples are put together for maximum entertainment.

Dont people realise? If you are selected, its because you are vulnerable!

Like a few pp’s, I liked Big Brother when it first aired. I watched a couple more series and that was it. The very obvious push towards controversy was sickening. At least there used to be some interesting discussion and debate in among the antics, but it just descended into farce with everyone being a ‘larger than life’ character. Yawn. I liked Survivor and Castaways was really good (the one on the Scottish island.) I did watch a few other reality shows which were definitely supposed to be titillating rather than highbrow, but I stopped when I realised I was feeling uncomfortable and voyeuristic rather than entertained. And although some of them have rightly been consigned to history, others replaced them that didn’t push boundaries but rather ignored their existence. I’m actually ashamed of some of the stuff I used to watch. I’d love to say that it’s because we live in enlightened times. But we don’t. I still love shit TV in among all the more ‘worthy’ stuff, but I veer away from shows with people in forced, often sexually charged situations, being manipulated and humiliated. Even with their supposed consent.

I don't believe the 'masses of people are desperate to sign up' thing though. Certainly in relation to MAFS Aus. They had to head hunt quite a few of the cast members. If they had the pick of hundreds of potentials, I can't see that happening. They can't all have had a 'face for radio'.

But this is skewed. People that have watched it already were not aware of these allegations. People that watch it in the future would hope that measures are put in place to prevent this in the future.

As for your 'abused and exploited', that statue over the top of law courts, the woman holding the balance and wearing a blindfold. She has a blindfold for a reason.

The Sarah and Dean situation was awful, really felt for her being attacked every week. And also Caspar and Emma. He was vilified every week because he didn’t want to be intimate with a woman that reminded him of his sister. Women are up obviously more vulnerable in these situations but the so called experts were guilty of pushing reluctant men and women

It has led to (allegations) Rape.
How many women were overpersuaded and experienced regret.
Surely that was inevitable.

There’s very unlikely to be a future for you to view now. I have no idea what your reference to the Old Bailey statue of justice is supposed to mean, it’s just word salad. And she’s not blindfolded.

But if there wasn’t an audience for MAFS and Love Island, they wouldn’t make them

Anyone who watched, encouraged this type of programme

The blindfold is to represent the law being applied impartially, objectively and equally and in this case it is not. One of the accusers stayed with her 'husband' for six weeks after the end of the show in which she is now stating she was subject to (at best) sexual assault. If you were accused of sexual assault under these circumstances, would you not expect people to effectively laugh in her face? These allegations should never have seen the light of day let alone be in the public domain.

Accuse me of word salad all you like but the way the law is rightly applied means there are people being accused of stuff that they may or may not have done but the time to act appropriately was AT THE TIME. Not now when they have zero hope of defending themselves.

Aren’t they filming the new series of the UK version now? It’s usually filmed around now, and I think John A came over from Oz to take over from Mel when she got ill. What will they do with that?

The bitchiness is awful. We teach children that bullying is not acceptable. Yet fully grown adults seem to get away with it generally based on looks. I have struggled with the Australian series this year. It’s a show I dip in and out of. A lot of drama seems to be pushed for tv. Another show was age of attraction where a 19 year old had to move in with her late thirties match. It didn’t sit right with me at all.

@SignGrudgeBluebook but it’s pretty obvious it’s exploitative tv, like Love Island and similar programmes where intimacy is pretty much expected from the start. It’s grim to start with but there was bound to be coercion going on either from fellow contestants or from people working on the show to ramp up the ratings. Not sure how viewers couldn’t see this and why some of these revelations are a shock

And yet - no-one is surprised that victims of grooming take time to realise what has been done to them.

Good.

Can’t lie, I’ve always wondered how safe and vetted it was because my country’s MAFS seems to get some right weirdos on it. No way I’d want to be in closed quarters with any of them.

I agree. I have never seen the UK version, only MAFS Aus.

The whole show has changed so much. People seem desperate to build a brand and will do and put up with anything to garner exposure for this it seems.

If it gets much worse the 'experts' will be little more than pimps.

According to the article on BBC news, it's already been filmed and is due to be shown later this year.

Lady Justice is blindfolded and carries scales to weigh the evidence equally.

There is no blindfold. 🤷‍♀️

https://old-bailey.com/

It has been throughout, i'm very clearly disgusted by the rape allegations

Reality tv is sanitised now. Understandably as tv channels dont want to be sued, but it means that only 'professional' wannabe influencers are hired and its no longer real people and therefore 'staged'

This is separate to women being stealthed or raped

I dont think that these rape allegations are unique to mafs, sorry. They could happen on any reality show.

Traitors, virgin island, big brother, love island

Anywhere where people are forced to spend time together, men and women, there is the potential for men to take advantage of women

Nowhere on the panorama show was there a complaint about the content of the show. This may still have been an issue for the complainants but the issue was clearly; these men took advantage of me because I didnt want to lose my place on this show.

The likely knee jerk reaction of these tv shows will be to only cast 'professionals' and thats what i meant by 'reality tv is finished now' - which is what happened with love island imo

Which i am sad about - its not good highbrow stuff but its light entertainment for when i'm bloody exhausted

Can i live now?