I was watching the news last night and saw some blurb about FOX making a public statement regarding the “Who wants to be a millionare” fiasco. I was shocked to hear FOX’s position. They put all of the blame on Rick Rockwell for not disclosing that a previous girlfriend had filed for a temporary restraing order. This is the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever heard of. While I’m sure Mr. Rockwell is far from Mr. perfect, it seems to me that he deserves the least blame in this episode:
(1) The concept was lame from the get go. The only reason people watched was due to a sort of rubberneck mentality… “I can’t believe how low TV entertainment has sunk.” FOX could not have had the best intellectual intentions in presenting this material in the first place.
(2) Rick Rockwell seemed to be abiding by the terms and expectations of the ‘social contract’ throughout the process. In fact, I thought he presented himself in a very professional manner even after the mess got into full swing. Darva Conger, on the other hand, violated the ‘social contract’ from the moment she saw the man. She contradicted herself when she first claimed that she had made a mistake because that’s not the kind of ethics she personally ascribes to. Later, she changed her story and claimed that the problem was due to the restraining order and the kind of man Rick Rockwell really was.
(3) The restraining order. I have two issues with this. FOX’s position was that Rockwell was obligated to tell them about the restraining order, but here I disagree. We know virtually nothing about the circumstances of this restraining order. Anyone can get a restraining order without any proof of misconduct. All you have to do is file a couple of forms (a Petitioner’s Affadavit and a Petition for Restraining Order) and pay a small filing fee. A judge will usually grant the temporary restraining order. Now I’m not defending Rockwell… in fact, I’m suggesting that we don’t know if there’s anything to defend against. Holding this over his head and trying to pin the blame of the failure in the aftermath of the show seems blatently unfair and, frankly, unamerican. Also, why is it appropriate and acceptable to do background checks and hold Rockwell accountable for some past episode, that may or may not be founded, yet none of the female participants were held up to the same scrutiny? Double standard? You betcha.
I consider most people in this forum to be of above average intelligence… Is it just me or do others also think that FOX is trying to unjustly shift the blame for the episode to Rick Rockwell?
I don’t know why I even car about this… I thought the whole thing was stupid from the start, but I guess I just hate to see people become fall guys to big corporations like FOX. Especially when it strikes me that if you want to pin blame on any one individual, clearly Darva was the one who immediately violated the terms and expectations of the premise, for the shallowest of reasons - because she didn’t find Rick Rockwell attractive.
Any thoughts?