The Flavor of Love Casting Process Is Sad and Fascinating
LatestFlavor of Love, a Bachelor-esque dating show that put Public Enemy hype man-turned-VH1 reality TV staple Flavor Flav in a house with 20 women vying for his affections, was possibly one of the most exploitive and jaw-dropping series to have hit the airwaves in the past decade. Racialicious described it as a “minstrel show,” VH1 rightly came under fire for using it to stereotype black people (particularly women) into “ghetto roles” and it was so stunningly heaped in misogyny that I don’t even know where to start with listing examples.
At the same time, Flavor of Love was also one of the most fascinatingly transparent and upfront reality shows to ever air. Unlike The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, Flavor of Love and its off-shoots (I Love New York, Rock of Love, Megan Wants a Millionaire, etc.) abandoned any pretense of idealized romance and — not that this is anyway heroic — were fairly upfront about the tropes they were forcing their contestants to emulate. In an episode of Flavor of Love, one contestant literally takes a shit on the stairs of the house they’re staying in. On Rock of Love, a woman drinks a test tube shot out of another woman’s vagina and on a different occasion (though possibly on the same episode), a contestant spends minutes barfing before heading directly to make out with an unwitting Bret Michaels. (To be fair, I’m not sure what part of that — vomiting or kissing Michaels on the mouth — is actually grosser.) It was revolting. It was shameful. It was fascinating.
These series — while entirely despicable — are what more mainstream, network dating shows would be if they were honest with themselves. Realizing that, I suppose it’s not all that surprising that Flavor of Love co-creator Mark Cronin and casting associate Douglas Howington gave a rather stark and direct interview about the Flavor of Love casting process to Vulture’s Rose Maura Lorre. The discussion, like the show itself, is both sad and captivating.