Reality TV Stars: The Ones We Love ... And the Ones We Love to Hate

By Andrew Scott Posted Feb 21st 2010 11:30AM

Over the years, reality television has turned a slew of ordinary people into famous Hollywood stars. Most of those stars have since become a nuisance, dominating the tabloids with stories ranging from scandal and affair to obsessions with plastic surgery. (We're looking at you, Speidi!) Never before has 15 minutes of fame felt like such an eternity.

But if the recent death of 'Deadliest Catch' captain Phil Harris has proved anything, it's that there are still some good people left in the medium. Upon hearing the news, thousands flooded the Internet with messages of sympathy and support for his family, and reminded us of the incredible influence he had on his viewers.

Of course, these days, it's a rarity for a reality star to make such a positive dent on television; for every Phil Harris, there seems to be a Tila Tequila, or a Jason Mesnick or a Bret Michaels.

With that dichotomy in mind, we here at PopEater decided to take a closer look at reality's most beloved and reviled stars. Read our picks, then post some of your own.

BELOVED

Melissa Rycroft
As it turned out, getting dumped was the best thing that could have ever happened to Melissa Rycroft. Granted, she was embarrassed by millions of viewers when 'Bachelor' Jason Mesnick changed his mind at the reunion, picking runner-up Molly Malaney instead -- but the payoff was worth it. Rycroft has since been a contestant on 'Dancing With the Stars' (she finished third), contributed to 'Good Morning America' and will soon appear as a special correspondent for 'Entertainment Tonight.' And since we all know what it feels like to be dumped, we'll be rooting for her every step of the way.

Mike Rowe
Whether he's cleaning an animal skull, making a flower pot out of cow manure or castrating a goat with his teeth (yep), Rowe brings a fearless, can-do attitude to the job that guarantees an hour of riveting -- and often hilarious -- television. As they say ... it's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it -- and we're happy that somebody is Mike Rowe.

Tim Gunn
Gunn's "nice guy" approach is a relief to the otherwise cutthroat world of fashion. As mentor on Lifetime's 'Project Runway,' he goes the extra mile for each contestant, offering advice and criticism that is constructive, logical and beneficial to their success on the show. In other words: The guy knows how to make it work. And whenever someone is able to steal the spotlight away from Heidi Klum, you know they're doing something right.

Cat Deeley
This bubbly Brit has all the right moves as host of 'So You Think You Can Dance': She's smart; she's infectious; she's easy on the eyes. Best of all, she keeps the show balanced; just when you think the hot tamale train will derail, she pulls it back in with grace and style. She's the perfect yin to Nigel and Mary's yang.

REVILED

Omarosa
She's the co-worker every employee dreads to be around, having twice been a contestant on NBC's 'The Apprentice.' And she hasn't made it any easier for reality TV fans, either, with additional appearances on about 20 shows, including 'The Surreal Life,' in which her short fuse and bad attitude was tested by Janice Dickinson, among other house guests. But Omarosa's ultimate low point? In 2008, when she used her infamy to take on the publishing world with the release of 'The Bitch Switch: Knowing How to Turn It on and Off.' Yes, Omarosa. Please tell us how to turn it off.

Heidi and Spencer Pratt
As if their drama on 'The Hills' wasn't enough, Speidi took it to a whole new level when they appeared on the trainwreck reality series 'I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here.' The result: More whining, more confused viewers and, of all things, a feud with 'Today' show weatherman Al Roker. By then, we thought their 15 minutes of fame might be up. But as we've come to learn, they always find a way to stay in the spotlight. Case in point: Heidi's latest bout with plastic surgery, in which she allegedly had 10 procedures in one day. Sorry, Heidi. But no among of surgery can fix how frustrating you two are.

Russell Hantz
He's been called the most evil survivor in history, and after all of the stunts he pulled last season, it's tough to dispute that title. Sure, he knew the island like the back of his hand, and could pull immunity idols out of thin air, but lying, manipulating, scheming and sheer arrogance will only get you so far -- second place, in fact, which is where he ultimately finished. Now that it's over, we can't say we blame the jury for picking Natalie instead.

Jon Gosselin
When you're a reality star and you find a new plus-one in the middle of divorce proceedings with your wife, odds are you probably won't make any man of the year lists. Instead, as was the case with Jon Gosselin, you'll find yourself on a slew of tabloid covers, in a nasty legal battle and at the butt of every joke in town. Luckily for us, things appear to be calming down on the Gosselin front, with news this week that Jon has finally reached a confidential settlement with TLC, the network which housed 'Jon and Kate Plus 8.' The only downside: This means that Kate and the rest of the Gosselin gang are probably headed back to TV soon.

Tags: cat deeley, heidi pratt, jon gosselin, melissa rycroft, mike rowe, omarosa, phil harris, spencer pratt, tim gunn

Comments

(127)

Monday 22 February

By steve

Vote down Vote up Report this

is this all this about tiger woods? who cares! sounds like a dirty job for mike rowe to clean up? and bet your life on it! he dont care either! both have a life, like all of us! tiger woods dont pay my bills! an mike rowe cant clean my past! MOVE ON WITH YOUR LIFE!

By debbie

High Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

Mike Rowe ROCKS. What kinda date would he take a REAL WIFE on? LOL.....?? LOL

By Ericsons news

spell crap..

By Garry

Mike Rowe's 15 minutes are almost up
he is getting way too smug
when you start to believe you are a star...it's over

By ziminthehall7

Psh, I freaking love Russell from Survivor. He should've won. He's the best player that's ever been on there. He's #1 in my book.

TEAM VILLAIN

By Tony

The only way to get this Jon & Kate OFF THE AIR is to stop buying the products that are advertised while their worthless, annoying and waste of time show is on....\Who is God's name still watches these 2 losers and does anyone REALLY care what they are up to in their senseless lives....they have 8 kids to take care of instead of shoving their personal problems down our throats...I personally will never watch anything that either of them are on...not even a talk show ....DUMP THEM BOTH

By mintrubble71

I also like Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage from Mythbusters. They seem like they have a good time making the show. If I had to pick one "real" TV personality to hang out with though it would be Anthony Bourdain. You know you'd have a good time.

By Nico Toscani

Melissa Rycroft looks like she should have an oat bag strapped to her face. What a fugly horse-face she has.

By Andre

Dirty Jobs is a great show, and Mike Rowe is Smoking!
Whether he is stacking tires, or cleaning sewer drains, he is still Sexy-Hot!

By dave

A couple other good stars on reality are Guy Fiety (Diners, Driveins and Dives on food noetwork) Mike Holmes (Holmes on homes on HGTV) and Padma (Top Chef on Bravo)

By cm

90% of these reality "stars" are famous for being famous, two weeks later after their respective shows end, no one remembers them or even cares about it.
I'm so sick of tv these days I hardly watch anymore besides a few good "how to" shows and stuff from the 90's that actually had some VALUE to it. The rest of these whining, bratty attention grabers can get lost and stay lost.
TV for them = Fail

By stephieku

Outside of Mike Rowe, my favorite reality stars are the cast of the Ace of Cakes. I guess they're not really "stars" and more like normal people, but I love how chill the show is.

By Judy Garrett

You know Mike row is not all thaT i LIKED HIM UNTIL HE SAID ON THE MATTRESS PICKUP SHOW THAT IT WAS OK TO WEASTLE WITH A FAT WOMEN UNTIL SOME ONE SAW YOU. i THINK HE'S VERY SHALLOW.

By Tim

Not just Capt. Phil, but all of the fisherment on Deadliest Catch. One of the deadliest jobs in all the world, crabbing in the Bering Sea, and they bring it to life with great personalities and, yeah, it was the show that got Mike Rowe his start as a part of Dirty Jobs some years back...and is now the narrator for the series. None of those guys have a soap opera life...they are as real as it gets.

By Chuck Bass

Mike Rowe and Tim Gunn should hook up. They're both hot in their own way and perfect for each other!

By EVE

I HATE KATE GOSSELIN AND CAN'T BELIEVE ANYONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD WANT TO HEAR ANYTHING SHE HAD TO SAY. THE WOMAN IS HITLER IN DRAG!

By mindy

i like mike rowe, he is hilarous!! heidi and spencer, god they are annoying and i dont even watch the show!!

By Martin Podjski

Dirty Jobs rules, I watch it all the time. Regular network tv like nbc or cbs or those, are starting to lose alot of business, cause shows on discovery and national geographic are what I watch most. One thing, I saw about him liking poo, how about nominating the Man VS Wild guy, when things go wrong, he loves giving himself an enema.

By Katy

I like Samatha Brown...she has my dream job. :)

By Dina

Love Mike Rowe, he's funny as hell and sexy to boot. I also really like Tom Colicchio of Top Chef, he's tough but fair. And he's sexy too!

Page 5 of 7