Plastic surgery is a hot topic in the reality TV world and a controversial one at that, with a lot of stigma surrounding patients even to this day.
During the early 2000s and the 2010s, reality TV shows saw a rise in plastic surgery based shows that promised participants a rockin’ hot bod and a total image overhaul.
However, due to the shocking nature of these shows, many of them have received huge backlash since their release.
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Many critics slammed these shows for promoting unhealthy body image issues and the encouragement of plastic surgery on the general public.
Keep reading to check out some of the most shocking reality shows based on plastic surgery.
The Swan
The Swan in arguably one of the most infamous makeover shows to have ever aired on television.
Many even found the name itself offensive, a phrase based on the children’s tale The Ugly Duckling.
Women who were fed up and feeling disheartened volunteered to go on the show to receive an all inclusive, no expenses spared makeover.
The Swan offered women the works – plastic surgery, hair cuts, dyes and styles, makeup tips, wardrobe overhauls, a workout plan – if you could think of it, The Swan producers were willing to provide.
This celebrity level treatment was music to many viewers’ ears and a lot of the participants were mothers and women over the age of thirty.
Many believe that this encouraged a negative attitude toward ageing naturally, but the criticism didn’t stop there.
At the beginning of each episode, a panel of doctors, medical professionals and specialists sat down and picked apart the contestants while their bodies were put on display for every viewer to judge.
Season one winner Rachel Love-Frazier received an eye lift, liposuction, a breast lift, chin implants, veneers, a nose job and lip fillers along with a diet of just 1,200 calories.
The show’s toxicity shined through when show write Rebecca Hertz told Entertainment Weekly: “In a pre-interview, I led her husband to say Rachel looks average, but he thought she looked beautiful.”
“I cut it down to him saying she looks average, so he sounded like a mean, horrible a**hole. He was furious when he saw the show.”
After the women decided to accept their treatment, they underwent surgery and returned back to the show for their grand reveal.
The whole ordeal was clearly a trainwreck and American author Jennifer Pozner called the show the “most sadistic reality series of the decade”.
Of course, it received further backlash once it was released in the UK and many contestants have spoken out against the show.
Lorrie Arias said that she regained all the weight she lost and became depressed, bipolar, agoraphobic and developed body dysmorphia.
Botched
(Image: E!)
This particular show featured Terry Dubrow, star of The Swan, and his co-star Dr Paul Nassif.
The show followed the medical professionals as they attempted to right the wrongs of their clientele, including “botched” plastic surgery procedures.
However, Botched has come under fire for “misguiding the public,” as criticised by Samuel J. Lin in Boston Magazine.
The medical professional wrote: “I think that there are some viewers whose fears and concerns of having plastic surgery are overwhelmingly confirmed with this show. It offers a sensational, “Wow, look at that person!” kind of shock value.”
(Image: E!)
He continued: “Shows like Botched are bad for plastic surgery, and unfortunately can misguide the public. If you are considering plastic surgery, do your research. Make sure your plastic surgeon is board certified, and has completed a full plastic surgery residency, or training program.”
Lin urged people “not to trivialise medical treatment and plastic surgery” before he reminded readers that “not everything you see on TV is how it is in real life”.
Dr 90210
(Image: E!)
Dr 90210 followed the doctors that worked in Beverly Hills, California and the show’s main star has previously come under fire for his behaviour.
Sowetan Live claimed that Robert Rey, the star of the show, offended women after he held a lingerie show at South African Fashion Week.
The publication reported that Rey said: “For a long time South African women have been in a struggle, a sexy struggle. Well, you don’t have to struggle anymore. I’m bringing sexy back to South Africa.”
Sowetan Live said that “audience members were murmuring” after hearing his comment.
The president of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Dr Mark L. Jewell, has also called out Rey.
He commended the medical professional and noted that he is “a skilled surgeon” but that his “informal way with patients is inappropriate, even undignified”.
Jewell went on to say that Dr 90210 “gives viewers the impression that plastic surgery is a casual beauty treatment,” and not a “serious surgical procedure”.
Nip/Tuck
This medical drama aired from 2003 to 2010 and featured elements of crime drama, black comedy, satire and psychological thriller as the show followed the surgeons at McNamara/Troy plastic surgery centre.
It featured graphic and gory scenes of the surgeries performed on the patients and dived deep into the surgeon’s personal lives, including their sexual partners and their family dramas.
The controversial storylines often spanned multiple seasons as series two and three focussed on a serial rapist.
“The Carver,” as he was known, mutilated his victim’s faces and left the surgeons performing reconstructive surgery on them.
Send Nudes: Body SOS
(Image: Channel 4)
Star of the show Vogue Williams had to defend the controversial new plastic surgery show after fans branded it “horrific”.
The premise follows participants as they decide whether to go ahead with their procedures and the 36-year-old presenter had to set the record straight before the show had even aired.
She shared a teaser trailer on her Instagram profile and on fan commented that it was a “horrific horrible concept for a show,” while another simply branded it “awful”.
Vogue quickly jumped to add her thoughts and spoke to New! magazine about the idea to clear things up.
She said: “It’s about people who are really not happy about a part of their body and they’ve been considering surgery. People go on the show as we’re a last-stop shop before they decide whether they will have surgery.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
