By the end of Love Is Blind Season 6, our daters have emotionally met the parents, made some curious comparisons to Megan Fox, and officially made it down the aisle in the romantic footsteps of Season 1 success story Lauren and Cameron. But how much of all of that reality TV drama was edited or manipulated by producers?
That question is the catalyst of a recent petition started by two former cast members of the Netflix dating show: Nick Thompson and Jeremy Hartwell, who you might remember from that dramatic second season of the reality romance experiment, have called for all reality television programming to include disclaimers before and after episodes to emphasize that series like Love Is Blind are for entertainment purposes only and that producers can edit, manipulate, and present content in any order for storyline purposes.
As of press time, the petition—which was posted to MoveOn and is directed at "Netflix and other reality television streaming and production companies"—has been signed by more than 24,000 people. The petition reads:
Over the past decade there has been an increase in reality and unscripted television due to the low production costs and high profit margins. But behind the scenes, reality television producers and networks are earning millions while exploiting cast members and manipulating reality. And these tactics can skew people’s perspective and have a negative impact on mental health—both for viewers and cast members.
Thompson and Hartwell criticized not only the "producers who are profiting off of these lies" but also the streaming companies "capitalizing off of them." They added:
It’s important that the public understand the truth behind reality television—that it is not an accurate depiction of reality and instead often features coerced reactions, misleading editing, and orchestrated plots. In fact, many of these 'unscripted' shows are highly scripted, and the lack of transparency creates a distorted reality that can be harmful for everyone involved.
Hartwell and Thompson are also the brains behind the Unscripted Cast Advocacy Network Foundation, a "network of reality TV participants and mental health and legal experts dedicated to supporting cast members" with the "resources to make informed decisions, understand the reality of productions, and seek help in a safe and supportive environment."
The action comes in the wake of reckoning through the reality TV world, with many former genre stars and fans calling out production teams for their alleged exploitative and manipulative practices.
Love Island UK drew thousands of complaints from viewers about the show's seemingly lackluster safeguarding protocols for contestants. Squid Game: The Challenge saw several lawsuits from injured competitors, Bravo is dealing with its own allegations from Real Housewives stars, and yet another Love Is Blind castmate, Season 5's Renee Poche, herself took legal action against Netflix for her "traumatic" time on the show.
We all want future editions of Love Is Blind to be better, so it'll be interesting to see if any actionable change comes from Nick Thompson and Jeremy Hartwell's petition. In the meantime, anyone with a Netflix subscription can tune into the reunion special for Love Is Blind season 6 on Wednesday, March 13.
