In an attempt to keep viewers during the writers' strike, networks trotted out a slew of new reality shows on their audiences. But reality has always been a favorite.
More often than not, the stars of reality television shows act so much like scripted characters that it is difficult to believe that they are actually real people. Sometimes, though, they reveal something about themselves that makes them more believable and a little easier to relate to – a disability.
There have been a number of reality television stars with some kind of physical disability or impairment since the genre really took off in the early 00’s. Some of the more popular shows to feature a contestant with a disability include Survivor, Big Brother and even American Idol.
On September 29, 2000, Eddie McGee, an above-the-knee amputee who lost his left to cancer, was awarded $500,000 after winning the first installment of the American version of Big Brother, where he was the youngest House Guest. Eddie was, at the time of his win, a college student attending the University of Texas on a wheelchair basketball scholarship. Eddie coached a children’s wheelchair basketball team and has said that his proudest accomplishment has been teaching children that having a disability doesn’t mean that you can’t have a rewarding life. Now 29, Eddie has branched out into acting with appearances on Law & Order, Guiding Light and Desperate Housewives.
In the course of its 16 installments, CBS’s Survivor has featured two contestants with disabilities. Christy Smith of the series’ sixth installment, Survivor: The Amazon, shocked her tribe mates on the first day when she revealed she was deaf and relied mostly on lip-reading. Her reason for being on the show was to bring awareness to the deaf culture. Christy lost 90% of her hearing when she was a premature baby, weighing less than 2 pounds, and pulled out her air tube while in an incubator. Despite the obvious challenges of being deaf in a game like Survivor, Christy lasted 33 of the 39 days.
The ninth installment, Survivor: Vanuatu, featured the show's first amputee. Teacher Chad Crittenden had his leg amputated below the knee in 2002 when it was discovered that he had Synovial Sarcoma, one of the most rare and deadliest forms of cancer. Chad’s recovery was miraculous and he competed in a triathlon just nine months after the amputation and was selected to be on Survivor just a year after. Chad was voted off the show after 27 days.
Fox’s American Idol has also featured a hearing-impaired contestant. Elliott Yamin came in third on the blockbuster musical competition’s fifth season. He was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was 16 years old. Elliott also has only 10% of the hearing in his right ear.
The reality show contestant with the most visible disability was Carlana Stone, who appeared on this year’s Oprah’s Big Give. Carlana became a paraplegic at 17 after she and some friends went out for a night of drinking. Everyone but Carlana walked away from the accident. A successful television producer, Carlana spends her free time trying to dispel the popular public myth that people struck by tragedy are victims all their lives. She also scuba dives, sky dives, is working toward obtaining her pilot’s license and runs her own nonprofit organization. The Courage Community serves as an online networking and support community for injured Iraq war veterans.
