This is RIDICULOUS. Someone at NBC should be fired for this shit. After Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich basically shit all over the Constitution by offering to sell Barack Obama’s Senate seat to the highest bidder, NBC wants to make him a TV star. They want him to be on their ellipses-tastic summer juggernaut I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!
“Rod Blagojevich will be a participant on the show pending the court’s approval,” NBC said.
In the series, 10 celebrities of various backgrounds compete in challenges to raise money for their favorite charities.
The network has been looking for household names for its version of the U.K. hit, which launches June 1. NBC is taking the unusual step of airing the show four nights a week at 8 p.m. for nearly a month, and a successful launch could fuel the network’s entire summer schedule.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Blagojevich’s attorney told a federal judge Tuesday that he will file a request to loosen his client’s travel restrictions to participate in the show, which will be shot in Costa Rica.
In fairness to Rod, he was indicted on April 1, he hasn’t yet been sentenced, and he’s plead not guilty. But still. WE ALL KNOW HE DID IT. It’s not like I’d be watching this shitshow anyway, but I think NBC should be ashamed of themselves for including him. I mean, it’s one thing to reward a pop star for running around LA with her labia hanging out, but this dude was a high-ranking elected government official who completely betrayed the trust of an entire nation. There should be no more opportunities for him, on TV or elsewhere.
Real celebrities are fun to watch. But, please, when will the onslaught of “reality” tv shows mercifully cease?! Bring back good writing, actual acting, creative skill. Reality shows (that are not documentaries) are merely the roadside trash of the Hollywood Highway. Actual documentaries have journalistic integrity which distinguishes them from the Anything Goes mediocre lazy fodder that passes for reality programming. A true celebrity has compelling talent and skills with lasting transcendent value, whereas reality shows are just televised auditions of disposable attention-seekers. I move to end the epidemic of reality programming and support actual creative artistry! In these hard times, who doesn’t want an “escape” from reality, anyway? I’d rather watch shows like Malcolm in the Middle, That 70s Show, M*A*S*H, Friends, I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, Murphy Brown, Seinfeld, My Wife and Kids, Frasier,…than watch egomaniacal hacks mug for the camera.
I don’t know what the US version of I’m a Celebrity is like, but if it’s anything like the UK one, it’s sometimes quite funny watching “celebrities” you dislike crying because they have to eat cockraoches or poo in a bush.
Yeah, Michael Vick too… what is the world coming to? So lame. And such dumb ideas for shows.
Being a resident of shitty Illinois, I’m sick to fucking DEATH of hearing about this asshole. Another thing he did on the slide is threaten to either cut off or limit the budget money that goes to Children’s Memorial Hospital. So while kids needed chemo or surgeries, he was willing to put them in even more jeopardy. He’s a real peach.
They’ll have a special seat in Hell set aside just for him when he gets there…
He’s such a douche. Stupid Blago.
his head is shaped just like a hippopotamus. he’s like a hippo with bad hair; all he needs is a little bird picking nits off his back.
this is a bad move, NBC.