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Tag: Steve Carbone

  • Blogger Reality Steve Settles With ABC, Says Spoilers Will Continue

    Are you a fan of the hit ABC shows Bachelor, Bachelorette, or Bachelor Pad? If so, you’re more than likely aware of Steve Carbone, AKA Reality Steve, the popular blogger who provides exclusive details and spoilers about the shows and their contestants.

    Despite his fame among his fans, the production companies behind these shows do not share the same feelings. In December, NZK Productions filed a lawsuit against Carbone claiming that he had exchanged money for information from contestants of last season’s Bachelor. After a 7 month legal battle, both sides were able to reach a settlement this month.

    Steve Carbone, Reality Steve “I think my readers know, I think the contestants of this show, and I certainly know, that what I do brings attention to their show,” recalled Carbone when we spoke with him recently, “so I don’t know why they would go after the guy who has spoiled their seasons for the last 3 years.”

    The root of the lawsuit was that Carbone was offering money to contestants in exchange for information. Although he denied this claim from the beginning, Carbone did admit that he offered 3 contestants money for information but said he was rejected.

    “They came after me thinking that that’s how I get my information – that I’m telling these people to breach their contracts, which wasn’t the case,” he said.

    As he explained, since the middle of the season was a little dry, he was hoping to add to it. Other publications such as US Weekly pay to get their exclusive stories, and since RealitySteve.com was profitable, he decided to make an attempt at it.

    “I shouldn’t have offered anybody money for information,” said Carbone. “I learned my lesson – shouldn’t have done it.”

    Carbone told us that, since he knew what he did wasn’t legally wrong, he felt he could have won. However, his mounting legal bills led him to settle.

    “The bottom line was it was gonna cost way to much money in the end,” he said. “There was no guarantee that I would’ve ever gotten all my legal fees back, and I just couldn’t take that chance.”

    His fans came through with some financial help, after blogger Matthew Chan suggested that Carbone incorporate a donation button on his site. Chan also set up a petition on Change.org explaining how Reality Steve was being wrongfully accused.

    Carbone told us that he very thankful for both Chan’s kindness and the support of his fans throughout the ordeal. Although he still has a hefty bill to pay, he’s grateful that they came through for him on both the financial side and the encouragement side.

    As for the settlement, Carbone was hesitant to settle at first because he didn’t want to have to give up his civil liberties. The terms that he did agree to though only prevent him from initiating contact with the cast, crew, and other employees of the Bachelor regarding issues of the series.

    “I’m still gonna be able to do what I do, and I was happy with their latest settlement,” he said.

    He went on to say that readers should expect the same content they always have, which, of course, means more spoilers and juicy details. Although some people have suggested that the current Bachelorette season has been impacted by the lawsuit, Carbone disagrees. According to him, he’s not 100% sure on the ending yet and that’s why he hasn’t revealed it. But, he said, as soon as he is certain, he’ll publish it.

  • The World of Reality TV Blogging with Reality Steve

    While many people really love reality TV, few can say that they write about it as a job. Steve Carbone, better known on the internet as “Reality Steve,” is one of the few.

    For a few years he’s been providing fans with his own “sarcastic, slanted, sophomoric, and skewed view on the world of reality television.” Steve’s specialty is the Bachelor and Bachelorette series, and he sat down with WebProNews to discuss this season, his blog, and reality TV in general.

    In the last couple of years Steve has made a splash in the entertainment world with his spoilers. Basically, he has inside sources that tell him things about the upcoming episodes of the Bachelor/ette and he talks about that information with fans. He has been near perfect in the last two years detailing what will happen each episode before it happens – specific dates, conversations, and rose ceremonies.

    Although Steve now runs a popular blog, his dishing on reality TV has more humble beginnings. He tells us that he began to write about reality TV during Joe Millionaire, saying he was drawn to just how “ridiculous” it was. He would send out a few emails to friends, and eventually they began forwarding them to other friends. Soon enough, he was sending out emails to hundreds of people at a time. So he started up his blog out of necessity and has grown in popularity ever since.

    How does Steve know every little detail about what’s upcoming on the show? He confirms that he has really good sources, but won’t get into specifics with us. On his blog, Steve has addressed the concept of revealing his sources, saying that questions like “how do you know?” and “who’d you hear it from?” put him in a ‘lose-lose situation” no matter how he answers them.

    Since Reality Steve is spoiling every episode of their hit show you would think that ABC would be a bit perturbed with him, but Steve says the network has never directly contacted him. He says:

    “I know they don’t like me because I’m giving away the ending of every episode of their show before it even starts, however, nobody from ABC has ever contacted me.”

    He thinks that if anything, he is bringing more attention the the show:

    “I think they should talk about me all the time, but that’s just me.”

    Steve says he doesn’t like spoilers in any other platform in his personal life – books, movies and even other TV shows. But the Bachelor/ette series is different for him and he tells us that most of his readers feel the same way. Although he gets the occasional email from angry fans, mad that he spoiled the ending for them, he says that many readers say that knowing the outcome gives them a new perspective and lets them watch the show in a whole new way.

    “People are interested in the journey, not the destination,” he says.

    People always wonder if what we see on TV is anywhere close to the reality of the situation. Steve says kind of. He calls it “unscripted drama,” meaning that producers might put the contestants in certain situations or suggest certain things to produce an outcome, but they stop short of actually telling them what to do or say.

    And all this writing about reality TV hasn’t ruined the genre for him, as he still watches American Idol, Survivor, Dancing with the Stars, and The Apprentice. He says he never really got into The Amazing Race or Big Brother.

    Reality Steve connects with fans on both Twitter and Facebook, and says that the two new social media channels have “been a godsend.” They let him connect in new ways that weren’t possible with email or even his blog.

    “I just happen to be a guy, who has a blog, who happens to have inside information about this show. People can choose to believe what I write, but it’s because of my track record…I have been right so much. Whatever Reality Steve says is probably going to end up coming true.”