# "Fear Factor" rat gross-out lawsuit **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 7, 2005, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-factor-rat-gross-out-lawsuit/283597 "2005-01-07T17:18:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-factor-rat-gross-out-lawsuit/283597/1 "2005-01-07T17:18:31Z")
[Link](http://entertainment.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=177754). They mention the paperwork was hand-written – I’m guessing with a blunt crayon. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-factor-rat-gross-out-lawsuit/283597/2 "2005-01-07T22:58:04Z")
Anyone watching the promos for that show would have known in advance it was sickening, even if you edited out all the eat-this-icky-thing segments. Yack, what a waste of TV time. ---
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-factor-rat-gross-out-lawsuit/283597/3 "2005-01-07T23:26:43Z")
That’s so stupid. Nobody put a gun to his head and make him watch that show. And he could have turned the TV off or changed the channel once the rat eating started. And if he was feeling so dizzy and nauseous, he shouldn’t have tried to get up. It’s people like him that are screwing up the court system. :mad: :mad: :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-factor-rat-gross-out-lawsuit/283597/4 "2005-01-07T23:37:44Z")
And the relevant pit thread. > **[You're TV has an OFF Button](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=295537)** > > Link Another case of some idiot trying to change the broadcast media and pick up some bucks at the same time. Ya know, I don’t find Fear Factor to be all that entertaining. I’d just as soon not see people eat nasty things. My solution? Turn the... Yep, the guy’s a knob. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-factor-rat-gross-out-lawsuit/283597/5 "2005-01-08T02:44:20Z")
Any chance the handwritten brief is linked to [smokinggun.com](http://smokinggun.com) or anything yet? I _so_ want to grade it. Spelling, grammar, syntax, vocabulary…think of the possibilities! ---
**Author:** ![Spavined\_Gelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-factor-rat-gross-out-lawsuit/283597/6 "2005-01-08T03:46:32Z")
It is likely that the President will now seek caps and federal exclusive jurisdiction for “emotional injury inflicted by TV show” lawsuits. Authority is found in the Commerce Clause. Such lawsuits do, after all, maybe, increase the cost of producing TV shows that appeal to 7th Graders and thus impact the national economy. The legislation may apply only to Fox TV programs. ---
**Author:** ![vinniepaz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b4bc9f/32.png) [@vinniepaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vinniepaz)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-factor-rat-gross-out-lawsuit/283597/7 "2005-01-08T06:09:58Z")
Does this even have any legal merit? Can you sue a TV station for airing something legal? I guess the FCC could fine them, but that money wouldn’t go to this guy…