Reality Contestant Kills Himself After Taping Cheat On Me If You Can
Producers of the French reality program Trompe-moi Si Tu Peux (translated as Cheat On Me If You Can) canceled the show after one of the gay contestants killed himself.
Filmed in April in the Dominican Republic, Trompe-Moi featured 10 couples — include one gay male and one lesbian pairing — where contestants tried to hide who their real partner was from the other couples for a chance to win about USD$50,000. Each episode began with contestants being paired with a new partner; if the true couples were discovered by competitors, that couple was eliminated.
All of which French viewers would’ve seen on television beginning last Thursday had Jean-Pierre, 32, not hung himself in his apartment before the big debut.
The French entertainment magazine Entrevue reports Jean-Pierre changed his voicemail’s outgoing message blaming his partner Hakim, whom JP appeared on the show with, for his death. “Hello, Jean-Pierre is no longer part of this world. Whose fault that is? It’s Hakim’s. Well, I wish a happy and long life to all. Goodbye.” The magazine posted the audio on its website. Ugh.
The big question remains: Did something that happened during the show lead to his suicide, or are they unrelated? It’s likely we’ll never know, since Trompe-Moi won’t be airing … ever.
I agree with @David – what a terrible weight to put on anyone’s shoulders, no matter the situation. And, no matter how big or small an a**hole his bf was, he’s going to have it tough now that his face has been cordially plastered all over by Entrevue (which by the way is a nasty, filthy tabloid rag, and calling it “entertainment” is like calling the New York Post “paper of record”.)
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Very sad situation. Unfortunately, too many individuals place their personal value on the words and actions of others. And, too often those in the gay community are especially victim to this.
Because of the ongoing hatred, judgment and lack of full acceptance of gays by society there are many gays who struggle with depression from a young age. It would be great if our military and political leaders understood how their ongoing discrimination of gays (even in not repealing DOMA and DADT) contributes to gays feeling “less” than others. But, many leaders and people in society are completely blind to the reality that gays are people too. This sensitivity to straights in regards to DADT is ridiculous. Do they not understand the affects of DADT and discrimination upon gays?
We don’t know all of the details of this particular situation. But, it reminds me that suicide and depression hit many in the gay community. It just gives me one more reason to do what I can to push for equality.
http://whoismyrepresentative.com/
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Show sounds like one here called “Temptation Island” I think. Pure fluff.
I have to wonder is the show should be blamed for the death. My gut reation is *no* because the couple KNEW what they were getting into and signed up for the show anyway. Since they were the only M-M couple the chances of infidelity during the show were pretty low.
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Do you think the show would still run as planned if it was here in the US ?
Sad to hear whenever a LGBT person suicides. It happens far too often.
P.s. “Entrevue” magazine is really not to be trusted. So I take their info with a grain of salt.
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@Baxter: You’re right. I forgot about that show.
The travesty of justice on “téléréalité” here in the US (that’s my new word of the day !) was on Jon & Kate + 8 when the producers allowed the show to go on without providing family counseling to the couple/ family. They supposedly had consulting psychologisrs on staff but they apparently didn’t intervene. Big FAIL in the ethics department !
But that trainwreck got good ratings, eh what!?
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I would suspect that he had issues well before he agreed to the tv program. Few people are perfectly rational, happy or whatever, then suddenly do a tailspin because of one incident. It’s probably that the couple had issues that needed to be worked out before they were selected for the show, and that’s hardly the fault of the reality tv show.
I agree that it is shitty to put your suicide on the shoulders of someone else. You have to be seriously disturbed to hate someone that much, and no person is worth killing yourself over. Jean Pierre should have sought counseling, and he didn’t. That’s the tragedy for everyone involved.
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Reality shows have shrinks on hand evaluating possible contestants to find the most mentally imbalanced.
Every time you watch a reality show look closely at the people on them. There’s a reason they all seem the same from show to show and it’s not just because they have “certain qualities”. It’s because they’re handpicked loose cannons.
The monsters behind these shows push the buttons of contestants purposely hoping they’ll go as far as possible on camera.
This is far from the first suicide immediately following a reality show.
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Yes, Hilarious (and I don’t understand the neg rating of your comment by someone) remember the show that undid Jenny Jones – the Scott Amedure incident. I forget the guy’s name, but he was dark haired – invited on the show and it was revealed his neighbor Scott had a Gay crush on him. Even though the show never aired, dark haired guy killed Scott because his masculinity was impugned or something. But your point is well taken – both of these guys had issues before they ever went on the show.
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I think it is just as likely that the psych problems that led him to suicide are the same ones that led him to be an attention whore. I mean reality-show person. I know I should shoe compassion, but I freakin HATE suicides. Most selfish ugly sacks in the world.
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Fitz, I totally agree with you about suicide being the most selfish act. I feel dreadful for the suicide’s ex boyfriend and having this weight of accusation at his feet. My brother committed suicide over ten years ago (when he was in his mid forties). It hurts me to think that he felt so alone with his demons that he could see no other alternative, however, at the same time if there is an after life I will go up and punch him for the toll his actions took on our parents and his friends. Suicide is a totally selfish action.
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No to pick a fight with anyone, or to belittle anyone who’s been going through the hell that is a person you love kill themselves, but – I do disagree ever so strongly that suicide is selfish or cowardly.
As someone who’s been battling with suicidal thoughts for years and whose every other dream is about killing himself, I can tell you that, no matter how many shortcomings I find with myself (and I’ve stopped counting) selfishness isn’t one of them.
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@Republican: Actually, I don’t think I will prevail. I don’t think I _want_ to prevail. But I also don’t think (no, I’m not fishing) it’s that big a deal either way. (Sorry all for the moody comments, but this article sorta stirred a few things…)
Anyways, much more importantly: I’m very glad you did – and thanks for the hug, I always welcome those :)
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#17 one of my favorite aunt’s killed herself. Her brother died in a gun accident when she was about 11 and she had dreams about it every single night of her life until she killed herself at age 28. She truly was beautiful, a talented art teacher and many other things. I think having a dream like that every night, (never ending torment) would make anyone crazy.
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What a shame. Sure sounds like a dumb idea for a reality show. I guess the U.S. doesn’t have a lock on stupid reality shows.