Victims Seek Last Laugh on TV Pranksters
June 27 -- The original Candid Camera was never like this. Today's reality shows are pulling pranks on people that are more daring, more outrageous, and scarier than ever before — and everyone is fair game.
Watch Jami Floyd's full report on 20/20 this Friday at 10 p.m.
In the jargon of the new TV trend, you can be the subject of a scare tactic, you can be "Ex'd," and you can be "Punk'd" — like celebrity Justin Timberlake was.
The pop idol was visibly shaken when he believed he was being evicted from his home for failing to pay back-taxes — a prank set up by the MTV show Punk'd.
In an episode of Scare Tactics, a young woman camping in the woods with friends is terrified after seeing a masked man with a machete peer into the cabin. She's upset and frightened — and then, her friends not only tell her it's all a joke, they also tell her she's on a reality television show.
Humiliation for a Laugh
Welcome to the world of ambush TV — a whole new breed of reality television where the star of the show — and the butt of the joke — is an unsuspecting victim. Nearly a dozen new hidden-camera shows use the same M.O.: pick a target, humiliate them, terrify them, turn their world upside down, then laugh about it.
"This new kind of programming is designed to be shocking. This new kind of programming is designed to be … just about over the edge," said Bob Thompson, who heads up the Center for Popular Television.
One hot new show that skates up to the edge with this hidden-camera technique is the Jamie Kennedy Experiment.
In one episode, Kennedy works with a co-conspirator — Scott — who sets up his family with a big surprise.
Scott tells them this is his wedding day, and then introduces Kennedy — dressed in drag — as his "bride."
Kennedy said the prank went on for 45 minutes before he told Scott's family, "You've been Ex'd!" That's what Kennedy calls the moment of truth — when the hoax is revealed.
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