Some people fervently watch reality TV with the notion that it is all authentic. No one is acting and everything being said and done is 100% real. Despite making you think that reactions and conversations are never scripted, this is hardly the case. As more people who have participated in these type of shows come forward and admit that they were given a role to play to break into show biz, the more we realize it’s that reality TV is an oxymoron. One show that was popular from 2004 to 2007 was MTV’s *Pimp My Ride*. The premise was to take an old, beaten up car and fix it up with extravagant and often unnecessary upgrades. Turns out not all that glitters is gold.The rapper showed up at the participant’s house to take a look at the car and see all the things wrong with it before promising it to make it look like a million dollars.
But it was some of the outrageous add-ons to the vehicles that had participants calling out the show’s producers.
While others say the expensive accessories put on were just for the show and taken off immediately after.
After filming, the device was removed. Co-executive producer Larry Hochberg argued that it was all about perspective.
Dearinger’s champagne contraction was removed because the show didn’t want to promote drinking and driving.
Another revelation was that the house’s the contestants were filmed in were not their own. Instead the participants were told they had won a gift certificate and were made to wait at a house rented by MTV. They wanted a “natural” reaction when the guys met Xzibit.
In fact, the director demanded a big, loud reaction from the guests. Dearinger recalls the director telling him to “be more energetic and jump around and scream.”
“There wasn’t much done under the hood in regards to the actual mechanics of the vehicle,” he explains. “For the most part, it needed a lot of work done to make it a functioning regular driver, which they did not do.”
“They added a lot of extra weight but didn’t adjust the suspension to compensate so I felt like I was in a boat, and every time I hit a bump the car would bottom out and the tires would scrape inside the wheel well,” Martino said about driving his car home.
“For the most part, it needed a lot of work done to make it a functioning regular driver, which they did not do.” he pointed out.
Only problem is that they stopped working after filming wrapped. He also had LED lights put in his seats that proved to be more of a danger than a luxury.
Another upgrade they did to his car Martino had to remove because no one sitting in the back could put on their seat belts.
Only problem was when the trunk door closed it didn’t leave room for the dome to close and keep the cotton candy from “flying all over the place.”
He said bags of candies were dumped in the car. Martino was told to act like this was something he kept in there in case he was hungry. Further explaining the situation, Martino said, “I sat there and watched them dump out two bags of generic candy.”
He wants people to know he never kept candies in the back of his car. He also admitted he didn’t complain or speak up “because it was an exciting experience and I just kind of went with the flow.”
Production then dumped cigarette butts in his car. He also told HuffPost how one of the producer’s suggested he break up with his girlfriend. He was told to “basically either get rid of her or have her not be a part of the program.”
“Why would we want a kid to break up with his girlfriend?” Hochberg argues. “How would that have helped the show?”
“I felt like a celebrity when people recognized me, the car,” Martino admitted.
He also spent months waiting for his car to be, “pimped” by the show having to rent a car in the meantime. MTV only paid for a couple of months and then he had to pay out of pocket. It took two years after his episode aired for MTV to reimburse him completely.
Turns out the interior was covered almost in entirely in this hue during the makeover.
He had to explain the car was on the show “Pimp My Ride.” He spent another $20,000 out of pocket after joining a car club, but his ride burst into flames one night when he was driving home with his girlfriend.
After the show aired, he sold it for $18,000. That’s because the audio company who put their system in the car wanted their equipment back so it wouldn’t be copied by competitors.
Martino, however, has mixed feelings about it. “The whole situation was definitely not what I hoped for, and there were times I wanted to give it all back because of how frustrating it was, but now I look back and laugh,” he said.
As to working with Xzibit, it was all positive for everyone.
While Glazier had an interesting conversation with the rapper. “I don’t remember why he brought it up, but we were just kind of talking about what we were doing that weekend and he said he’s going to go down to hell to kill the devil so he can make some Satan skin boots,” Grazier said.
