Though I am no big fan of reality television programming and in fact have frequently wished that there would be less reality television and more scripted television (even cheesy television shows are, to me, better than so-called reality programs that do not resemble any reality I have ever seen in this real world.) I still keep an ear open to the occasional occurrence when someone from the world of reality television crosses over into mainstream television by finding themselves on the news.
This is precisely what happened recently when the host and creator of the Bravo television program “Millionaire Matchmaker,” Patti Stanger, found herself in a bit of trouble after she made some rather offensive statements regarding homosexuals and Jews.
Why would openly gay Andy Cohen — programming bigwig at Bravo and self-appointed talk show host — employ a raging homophobe like Millionaire Matchmaker Patti Stanger? It doesn’t quite make sense, does it? An openly gay professional dedicating loads of airtime to someone who not only calls women fat, ugly, and “too masculine” to their faces (her rule of thumb: “Dumb it down a little because men are not that bright”), but who happily painted all gay men as uncontrollably promiscuous neanderthals on Watch What Happens last night. Even after Andy insisted that he is “down with monogamy,” Patti laughed and asked, “When was the last time you had a boyfriend?”
Regarding Jews, Stanger “only” said that they lie.
What bothers me about all of this is that she goes on with her life, being on this ridiculous television show and suffering apparently no consequences for her actions. I would think that if it were nearly anyone else doing something of the same nature, they would be reprimanded if not outright fired for doing this — why has she not been fired? Simply put, it must be because the ratings for her show are good enough and bring in enough revenue from ad sponsorship that they don’t want to lose it by firing her and replacing her with someone who might not attract a similar sized audience.
I feel that this is wrong and that all employees should be held to some kind of moral standard. At the very least, she should be punished for making these terrible statements — even if she later apologized for it.