There's more to Discovery's Naked and Afraid than people running around in the buff, trying
to start fires by rubbing sticks together.
A lot of planning goes into it…as well as some dirty deeds behind the scenes.
Here's the naked truth about Naked and Afraid.
Truth or fiction?
Lo and behold, another reality show that's received allegations of fakery.
Controversial contestant Honora Bowen outed Naked and Afraid in a blog post in late 2015.
In her post, she recalls that producers made sure they didn't miss out on exploiting her
father's death.
In between frequent interviews about his passing, she was also told by producers to refer to
a regular magnifying glass she’d brought as “her father's magnifying glass.”
Her main complaints stem from the fact that she was just trying to survive, while the
show was scripting her a fake story and coaching her on how to act at the same time...which
can be pretty distracting.
Doctors without lockers
In the same blog post, Honora Bowen also relates that while out on a walk one day, she stumbled
upon the production company's medical tent.
So of course, upon discovering it, she rummaged through it and found some Emergen-C, which
she took and shared with contestants.
And she's not the only one with sticky fingers.
According to Bowen, during filming for Naked and Afraid XL, fellow contestants stole food
from the medics.
And for revealing this truth to the world, Bowen received the honor of being threatened
with a lawsuit.
Ahh, show business…
Real danger
Despite the allegations of artificiality against the show, the people who appear on Naked and
Afraid really do face actual dangers.
But... some of the dangers get toned down for TV.
During the very first episode, contestant Shane Lewis broke three toes while filming
in Costa Rica, according to the New York Post.
However, when the episode aired in 2013, the audience only learns that he injured his foot
somehow.
The severity of the injury isn't disclosed, which is a strange choice given the nature
of the show.
“Because if I die, nobody gives a s--- about me.”
Poisoned Producer
While Lewis' foot injury kind of got swept under the rug, producers milked the injury
of one of their own for all its worth.
During filming in Costa Rica, one of the producers suffered a bite from a fer-de-lance, one of
the deadliest pit vipers on the planet.
“And as I jumped down I felt this bang hit on the left foot.
I knew straight away that it was a bite or sting of some description.”
Quick and irritable, the fer-de-lance's venom can cause bleeding of the gums and nose, gastrointestinal
bleeding, and vomiting, among a slew of other unpleasant symptoms.
In order to save the producer's foot, doctors needed to hack off a five by twelve inch section
of his flesh.
“I spent a month in hospital in total, I had several surgical procedures removing dead
tissue having the skin graft and follow up procedures on that.”
It's lucky that medical specialists were there.
“Snakes, why did it have to be snakes.”
A little help
Broken toes and poisonous snakes aside, contestants of Naked and Afraid don't truly have much
reason to be afraid.
That's because they benefit from medical attention behind the scenes as well.
In the premiere episode, hungry and desperate contestant Kim Shelton killed, cooked, and
ate a poor, defenseless turtle.
As a result, she became violently ill.
Throughout the following three days, Shelton was shown sleeping and suffering, yet on the
fourth day, she was feeling much better.
How?
Unbeknownst to viewers, medics nursed her back to health with two IVs and some baby
food.
Now, hopefully, no reality show will ever allow any of its contestants die for the sake
of ratings.
The producers of Naked and Afraid are smart enough to have doctors on set.
However, disguising the fact that medical attention is given to cast and crew is still
dishonest, and potentially dangerous for anyone who sees the show and thinks roasted beach
turtle is a good meal choice.
No clothes?
No problem
The people who appear on Naked and Afraid like hanging out in the buff for your viewing
pleasure.
“I like being naked.”
It's a good thing too, considering the nature of the show.
During a panel at the TCA Summer TV Press Tour, contestant Dani Julien said the naked
aspect of the show just "adds another element to the survival challenge."
However, there was one gripe the survivalists had with it.
While contestants don't mind appearing in their birthday suits, some of them wish the
pixelation was handled differently.
Former contestant Justin Bullard said, "They could have made my blur spot bigger."
Buck up, little guy!
But even though contestants are okay with showing some skin, some viewers are downright
irate about it.
One Million Moms
The collective of eternally disapproving individuals that is One Million Moms objects to the existence
of Naked and Afraid.
But considering this group finds problems with just about everything, that's not much
of a surprise.
The ornery old ladies have blasted the show, referring to it as "offensive," "inappropriate,"
and "soft porn," according to the Christian Post.
As part of their crusade against bare bottoms, they've taken to calling show sponsors and
asking them to stop buying ads during the show.
It seems to be working.
According to them, they managed to get both Delta Faucet and Mars, Inc. to pull ads from
not just the show, but the network as a whole during a 2016 marathon.
Looks like One Million Moms actually accomplished something, which is both surprising and frightening.
Look out….
Kermit?
They’re coming for you next.
You can’t hack it
It stands to reason that not everyone who survives Naked and Afraid would survive a
similar-yet-actually-life-and-death situation.
During a Reddit AMA, former season one contestant Forrest Galante had some choice words about
co-contestant Cassie DePecol.
According to him, DePecol only appeared on the show with the hope that it would lead
to fame and fortune… since it worked so well for Survivor’s Richard Hatch.
They should give Forrest a show called Naked and Throwing Shade.
Thanks for watching!
Subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch more videos like the one you just saw.
And leave us a comment to let us know what you’ve heard about Naked and Afraid...