# The 5 Million Dollar Hoax **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 17, 2004, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-million-dollar-hoax/275280 "2004-11-17T16:04:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-million-dollar-hoax/275280/21 "2004-11-18T20:34:09Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > The real deal is that the woman is supposed to waste all the money buying things for herself and not spend anything on anyone else. If she can successfully convince her entire family that this is true than she will win the real prize (I believe it’s $400,000). There’s an added twist: At the end of it all there’s going to be some kind of ceremony in her honor and all of her family members _must_ attend or she won’t win the real prize. So bascially it’s “do everything you possibly can to make them hate you, then make sure they all show up to honor you.” Disclaimer: I only saw the “rules of the game” and nothing else. I thinking those shows are disgusting and don’t watch it. ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-million-dollar-hoax/275280/22 "2004-11-18T21:21:26Z")
I agree with this bit from **Hampshire** : > [@](#): > > For this show they would actually have you believe that a daughter could win $5 million and spend it all in front of her family without anyone saying “boo”. Right. > No dad saying “can we talk privately for a second so I can talk some sense into you”? No daughter escaping the producers and cameras for a second to tell even one family member “It’s a hoax, just play along”? I’m not buying it. I can see no way they can prevent this from happening with 100% effectiveness. Especially when everyone involved is immediate family with one another; if anybody can communicate nonverbally or discreetly, it’s going to be a parent and child. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-million-dollar-hoax/275280/23 "2004-11-18T21:40:31Z")
I agree with this bit from **Lightnin’** : > [@](#): > > People, please. If you keep watching these shows, they’ll just _keep on making them!_ > > :smack: ---
**Author:** ![N.Sane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@N.Sane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N.Sane)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-million-dollar-hoax/275280/24 "2004-11-18T21:45:53Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > I agree with this bit from **Lightnin’** : But I don’t watch 'em! Haven’t watched 'em! Hate 'em! I wish they’d go the way of the T-Rex! ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-million-dollar-hoax/275280/25 "2004-11-18T21:56:01Z")
Oh, Og no, I don’t watch 'em; I’m just speaking in the theoretical. Heck, I hardly ever watch TV at all anymore. Reality shows are one of the major reasons why. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-million-dollar-hoax/275280/26 "2004-11-23T03:34:09Z")
I’m just watching this for the first time tonight. I’m disappointed it not more cruel. I found the whole family to be incredibly selfish. I don’t see why it’s supposed to be cruel that someone doesn’t want to give them lots of free money for nothing. If someone in my family won the lottery, I wouldn’t ask for or expect (or deserve) a dime. I don’t feel sorry for these people. Screw them. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-million-dollar-hoax/275280/27 "2004-11-23T12:12:15Z")
I agree with Dio. It is hard to imagine a more ironic incredulity than calling someone selfish because you want some of their money, and they won’t give it to you. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-million-dollar-hoax/275280/28 "2004-11-23T13:25:56Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > I agree with Dio. It is hard to imagine a more ironic incredulity than calling someone selfish because you want some of their money, and they won’t give it to you. I think the seflish part is that the family has to watch her spend it all. She’s rubbing it in. That’s the part I couldn’t handle. If you’re going to drag me along on your three day shopping spree, in which you spend every dime of a five million dollar lottery, then you better cut me in. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-million-dollar-hoax/275280/29 "2004-11-23T14:07:22Z")
I’d be happy as a clam to watch my daughter spend 5 million dollars on herself. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-million-dollar-hoax/275280/30 "2004-11-23T14:40:55Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > I’d be happy as a clam to watch my daughter spend 5 million dollars on herself. So would I. However, I would think it totally out of character for my daughter to do that, and not give anything to her mother, her brothers, her boy friend, and me, so I would think something very strange/fishy was going on. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-million-dollar-hoax/275280/31 "2004-11-23T15:23:14Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > If someone in my family won the lottery, I wouldn’t ask for or expect (or deserve) a dime. I don’t feel sorry for these people. Screw them. Damn I was beginning to think I was the only one who thought like this. I would hope that whoever it was would buy my kids decent birthday presents (nothing extraordinary, just not cheap) but thats it. It’s not my money, why would I expect to get any of it? ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-million-dollar-hoax/275280/32 "2004-11-23T15:28:25Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > I’d be happy as a clam to watch my daughter spend 5 million dollars on herself. You didn’t raise her to act this way did you? Then you probably wouldn’t _really_ be happy. Confused. Wouldn’t you wonder why she didn’t drop a single buck on her old man, the guy that spent years and hundreds of thousands raising her? No-one expects to get any of that paid back by any means, but such a display of greed would equal a disrespect to my fatherhood in my eyes. If she asked if I wanted any of the money I would say no. But if the offer was never made I would sort of expect some kind of gift. At the very least, set up something for her future so she could offer the same kind of monetary support for her offspring that I provided for her. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-million-dollar-hoax/275280/33 "2004-11-23T15:35:55Z")
If anything, I would beseech her to donate some significant portion of the money to charitable causes. I would be disappointed if she didn’t do _that_ but I wouldn’t want anything for myself and wouldn’t accept it if offered. I’m not raising her in order to get a monetary payoff. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-million-dollar-hoax/275280/34 "2004-11-23T15:41:34Z")
My favorite part: “Sorry, your sister didn’t win 25 million. But wait! We’re going to make it up to you. Each of you boys will receive, get this, a Sony Playstation!” “Don’t you feel better now?” ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-million-dollar-hoax/275280/35 "2004-11-23T15:44:40Z")
I don’t think the family was as disappointed in not getting material goods as they were in what it was saying about their daughter/sister. It would be very disconcerting to believe that someone who you believed was one way was the complete opposite when put to the test. Sure the family couched their anger in therms of not getting anything but I think the disappointment in character was the real downer. That sister most have alot of unconcious anger for her family and I can see where it comes from: Mom. This was a cruel hoax even if it was done “selflessly.” This wasn’t like the Fat Fiance show because the family was never offered something positive that was subsequently taken away; instead they were given something negative and then had the burden lifted. posted by Dio > [@](#): > > I’m just watching this for the first time tonight. I’m disappointed it not more cruel. You are just a mass of contradictions. Get help. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-million-dollar-hoax/275280/36 "2004-11-23T15:45:42Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > My favorite part: > > “Sorry, your sister didn’t win 25 million. But wait! We’re going to make it up to you. Each of you boys will receive, get this, a Sony Playstation!” > “Don’t you feel better now?” Yea that was so lame. I thought these things were in addition to the $400k. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-million-dollar-hoax/275280/37 "2004-11-23T15:59:53Z")
> [@KidCharlemagne](#): > > I don’t think the family was as disappointed in not getting material goods as they were in what it was saying about their daughter/sister. It would be very disconcerting to believe that someone who you believed was one way was the complete opposite when put to the test. Sure the family couched their anger in therms of not getting anything but I think the disappointment in character was the real downer. > > That sister most have alot of unconcious anger for her family and I can see where it comes from: Mom. This was a cruel hoax even if it was done “selflessly.” This wasn’t like the Fat Fiance show because the family was never offered something positive that was subsequently taken away; instead they were given something negative and then had the burden lifted. What were they offered that was negative? If the “burden was lifted” by the reveal, why did they all act like someone had just killed their dog? Sad music played while interviews with grieving family members informed us that they “really wanted that money.” Why were they yelling “noooooooo” when she tore up the check? I would argue that the Fat Fiance show _was_ a case of being presented with the apperance that something bad was about to happen and then having it revealed as a joke. This was simply a play on greed. They all thought they were going to get rich without work. Then they found out they weren’t. I don’t see how that’s cruel, especially since they still ended up with a bunch of cas and prizes that they would have been delighted to have been offered straight up. Only within a context of irrational greed could those prizes be seen as a “consolation” rather than a moderate jackpot in its own right. > [@](#): > > posted by Dio > You are just a mass of contradictions. Get help. What have I said that’s contradictory? ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-million-dollar-hoax/275280/38 "2004-11-23T16:12:07Z")
Actually, amid all these new reality shows, I think I spot a light at the end of the tunnel… looking at the ratings for these shows, and comparing them to those of the major prime-time dramas out there, reality TV may indeed go the way of the dinosaur–and hopefully soon! ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-million-dollar-hoax/275280/39 "2004-11-23T16:55:33Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > What were they offered that was negative? > > If the “burden was lifted” by the reveal, why did they all act like someone had just killed their dog? Sad music played while interviews with grieving family members informed us that they “really wanted that money.” Why were they yelling “noooooooo” when she tore up the check? > > I would argue that the Fat Fiance show _was_ a case of being presented with the apperance that something bad was about to happen and then having it revealed as a joke. > > This was simply a play on greed. They all thought they were going to get rich without work. Then they found out they weren’t. I don’t see how that’s cruel, especially since they still ended up with a bunch of cas and prizes that they would have been delighted to have been offered straight up. Only within a context of irrational greed could those prizes be seen as a “consolation” rather than a moderate jackpot in its own right. What have I said that’s contradictory? [/QUOTE] I think you misunderstood me. I was saying that the “burden” was lifted off the family from BFO Fiancee, not the Hoax family. On another note: I think the family took it in great stride. Of course someone is going to wonder why someone was tearing up a $25 million check. Sad music and grieving family members? That was the happiest I saw them throughout the show. They were more than happy to know their sister was only a slightly less of a bitch than they originally thought and get some money to boot. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-million-dollar-hoax/275280/40 "2004-11-23T17:05:12Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > What have I said that’s contradictory? I forgot to address this in the last post. The contradiction is not within this thread, but in this relative to others. Let’s not turn this into a debate thread but since you asked: I find it contradictory that you wish more cruelty on a family that, in your opinion, is greedy (and I disagree there) but wish less on those who have murdered/tortured their own people. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-million-dollar-hoax/275280.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-million-dollar-hoax/275280.md?page=3)