“Just because you can exploit young, doe-eyed talent desperate for the platform TV gives them, it doesn’t mean you should.” Original Real Housewives of New York star Bethany Frankel recently issued this rallying call for unionisation of reality TV. She hopes to instigate a “reality reckoning” that will help other unscripted TV performers realise their rights to better pay and working conditions.
And so just as actors and screenwriters are going on strike in the US, reality TV stars are asking whether it’s their time to demand better protections and rights as workers.
US union the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists certainly thinks it’s time. It’s supporting Frankel in her fight for reality TV star unionisation.
