The title tells you pretty much everything you need to know about Dating Naked, a reality
show that aired on VH1 between 2014 and 2016.
Singles flew to tropical locales, stripped nude, then went on jet-skiing and horseback-riding
dates in their birthday suits.
But while the premise got a lot of buzz, the ratings didn't, and the show was canceled
after only three seasons.
Here are some of the issues that left Dating Naked in the dumps.
Feeling the sting
The tropical locales where Dating Naked filmed were home to swarms of mosquitoes.
When the show first premiered, host Amy Paffrath told USA Today about shooting in Panama:
"The bugs are insane.
We have all been eaten alive.
We've tried everything.
[...] My remedy is wearing pants."
As for the contestants who couldn't wear pants, Amy said,
"They've got bug bites in interesting places."
If itchy welts below the belt aren't bad enough, imagine getting a sunburn there too.
Season 2 star Kerri told the Tampa Bay Times that her co-star Chris fell victim to, quote,
"Gnarly burns [on his rear]."
Parental guidance
Parents were completely appalled by Dating Naked, and it was about more than just the
nudity.
The prime-time television show was rated TV-14, a fact that the Parents Television Council
watchdog group called "downright disgusting."
They pointed out that graphic conversations about everything from genital jewelry to sexual
encounters were common on the show.
Meanwhile, conservative group One Million Moms argued,
"Even though the frontal body parts are blurred out, showing so much skin leaves nothing to
the imagination."
Both groups hit VH1 in the wallet by pressuring advertisers to boycott the show.
And it worked...
Pulling out
It wasn't long before advertisers started dropping like flies.
Mondelez, the parent company of brands like Oreo and Chips Ahoy, claimed to have had no
idea their ads were even running on the show.
According to AdAge, a representative for the company reportedly told the PTC,
"We have directed our media partner to ensure that we do not run advertising for any of
our brands on this program in the future."
Other brands who reportedly pulled out included Dial and Right Guard.
PTC President Tim Winter said,
"By the end of the season more than 90 percent of the show's corporate advertisers were gone
- proving once again that without advertising dollars, television networks cannot afford
to keep harmful content on the air."
The infamous cam'
Dating Naked's cameras caught a lot of skin - and even went so far as to employ a "
cam" during activities such as kayaking or bicycling.
While it's not a complete surprise, many found it distasteful.
PopSugar's Maggie Pehanick pointed out,
"Whether horseback riding, paddleboarding, or riding a bike, we were exposed to the most
violating of camera angles."
Turns out not everyone wants to see "it" from every angle.
The " wedding"
Dating Naked wrapped Season 1 with a clothing-optional wedding.
"Duh-nuh-duh-nuh"
But it turns out the ceremony wasn't legally binding.
Despite its billing as a wedding by VH1, "bride" Ashley told Entertainment Weekly it was a
commitment ceremony, saying,
"I don't think you need a document [...] to say that you care for someone."
"Groom" Alika didn't even tell his parents about the big day, claiming,
"My mom's really Christian.
She'll be like, 'You're going to go hell!
You need to pray to Jesus tonight!'"
Too nude for comfort
Jessie Nizewitz, who appeared in Season 1, sued VH1's parent company, Viacom, for a whopping
$10 million in 2014, after her uncensored thing accidentally snuck into prime time
television.
While the show is all about nude dating, contestants' privates are typically blurred.
But Nizewitz's parts appeared for a split second during a bout of wrestling.
A New York judge ruled in 2015 to dismiss her case and even required her to pay Viacom's
legal fees.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Viacom claimed that she'd signed a contract stating
that:
"She would participate and be filmed fully [and] that the footage could be exhibited
and distributed without restriction."
The show gets dumped
While Dating Naked hasn't aired on VH1 since 2016, the network never came out and said
it was canceled.
Instead, VH1 President Chris McCarthy implied that it didn't fit with his channel's plans
for the future.
McCarthy told Deadline in 2017,
"We would like the opportunity at some point to reinvent it, but for right now we felt
the shows and assets that we have made more sense as we head into the year."
Ratings bomb
Despite all the drama surrounding Dating Naked, the show's ultimate demise might have been
pretty simple - not enough people tuned in.
Entertainment Weekly reported in 2014 that the show's hugely hyped premiere only enticed
about 800,000 viewers.
That number never improved throughout the run.
Ultimately, while an endless parade of young, hot, singles generated a lot of buzz,
it just wasn't enough to make people watch.
Sounds like a case of: no shirt, no shoes, no viewers.
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