# Where are the reality show winners? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 14, 2003, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-reality-show-winners/207301 "2003-10-14T02:19:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![juan2003](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9e5f3/32.png) [@juan2003](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/juan2003)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2003, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-reality-show-winners/207301/1 "2003-10-14T02:19:10Z")
Of the reality shows where the prize is a career, where are the winners? Whatever happened tp the _American Idol_, _America’s Top Model_, and _The Last Comic Standing_? Shouldn’t they be on TV, magazines, and advertisements by now? Wasn’t fame supposed to be part of the prize package? Unless you followed the contests, you wouldn’t even know who won. Considering that those who did watch the shows know the top 5 as well as the winner, is there even a benefit to having won first place? ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2003, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-reality-show-winners/207301/2 "2003-10-14T02:57:50Z")
I can’t speak to the other shows, but the _American Idol_ winners are doing quite well. Kelly Clarkson’s (first AI winner) album went platinum, and she has appeared on the T.V. show _American Dreams_ as well as numerous talk shows. She also appeared on the cover of pretty much every magazine in existence. This year’s AI winner, Ruben Studdard, will release his album in November, and has also appeared on dozens of magazine covers. Here he is on the cover of [Rolling Stone](http://www.rollingstone.com/photos/bigphoto.asp?gid=8217&s=1&e=5&seq=4&cf=2046656). ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2003, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-reality-show-winners/207301/3 "2003-10-14T05:18:37Z")
Reality show losers are ground into hamburger and fed to the contestants on _Fear Factor._ ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2003, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-reality-show-winners/207301/4 "2003-10-14T17:59:59Z")
If you have cable, Bravo will be repeating [The Reality of Reality](http://www.bravotv.com/The_Reality_Of_Reality/) which from the snippets I’ve seen goes a little bit into a “where are they now” mode. AI=0ne’s winner and runner-up, Kelly and Justin, made that wretched movie together. AI-Two’s runner-up, Clay Aiken, has an album either out or coming out (unlike Clay, who apparently is neither out nor coming out). ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2003, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-reality-show-winners/207301/5 "2003-10-14T18:49:41Z")
Ralphie May, the intensely polarizing runner-up from “Last Comic,” is on “Hollywood Squares” this week. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2003, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-reality-show-winners/207301/6 "2003-10-15T00:46:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by twickster \* > \*\*Ralphie May, the intensely polarizing runner-up from “Last Comic,” is on “Hollywood Squares” this week. \*\* I think this statement says it all, folks. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2003, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-reality-show-winners/207301/7 "2003-10-15T02:13:50Z")
_There they are, basking in the Maui sun, their debt to society paid in full…Whitman, Price and Hadat!"_ ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-reality-show-winners/207301/8 "2003-10-16T23:11:04Z")
A bunch of former Big Brother houseguests are going to be on “Yes Dear” October 20.