Top 10 Craziest Reality Show Freakouts
#10: Gordon Ramsay vs. Amy’s Baking Company
“Kitchen Nightmares” (2007-14)
Top 10 Most Intense Gordon Ramsay Moments Ever
When Amy’s Baking Company episode first came out on “Kitchen Nightmares”, it instantly became a worldwide sensation. As soon as Amy said that she speaks the language of cats, we all knew we were in for a wild ride. The dynamic duo that is Samy and Amy had a freakout whenever someone talked badly about their food. They went as far as calling their customers names and throwing them out while getting almost physical. Amy’s Baking Company remains the only restaurant that Gordon Ramsay walked out on and decided they were far too gone to benefit from his help. The best part is, Samy and Amy reportedly continued with their bad behavior after the episode aired, spewing negative comments via their social media, and the restaurant ultimately closed down.
#9: Pumkin vs. New York
“Flavor of Love” (2006-08)
You can’t talk about reality show freakouts without mentioning New York, otherwise known as Tiffany Pollard. When Pumkin got eliminated, she tried to come for New York by calling her an aspiring actress, which was basically her attempt to accuse the contestant of being fake. All Flav could really do is stand there and watch the whole thing go down. Things really escalated when Pumkin suddenly spat on New York, which kickstarted the violence in the iconic row. After Pumkin got kicked out, New York was still fuming, throwing in classic one liners about what Pumkin’s breath smelled like. Pumkin continued to play the victim on-camera, but it was clear that she went too far and New York ended up having the last laugh.
#8: Annie Duke vs. Joan & Melissa Rivers
“The Celebrity Apprentice” (2008-17)
If there’s a show where drama is 100% guaranteed, it’s “The Celebrity Apprentice.” It’s always entertaining to watch the bickering between various teams, but this rivalry was one of the most memorable ones ever. Having a feisty mother and daughter on board ensures there’ll be plenty of attitude and Joan and Melissa definitely brought their A game this time around. Joan’s tirade against Annie Duke and Brande Roderick was pretty remarkable, but Melissa also wasn’t willing to just leave the show after being fired without putting up a fight. She ended up completely cussing out the behind-the-scenes team, proclaiming no one would be getting a final interview. It got so loud The Donald heard it from the boardroom!
#7: Ronnie Ortiz-Magro vs. Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino
“Jersey Shore: Family Vacation” (2018-)
Ah, “Jersey Shore.” Memories of simpler times. Although the original “Jersey Shore” has plenty of memorable fights, one of the most underrated ones was definitely between Ron and Mike. No, not the one where Mike ended up bashing his head into the wall - but the one during the reunion series, “Family Vacation”! Mike judged Ronnie for drinking too much and Ron immediately popped off. He made it clear that drinking wasn’t his life, like Mike’s was before he got sober. But according to Mike, that statement wasn’t true. As an added bonus, we also got the iconic Pauly D ‘shocked’ face thrown into the mix. Don’t know if we seena fight this awkward since Ron and Sammi’s arguments!
#6: John Paul Jones & His Intelligence
“Bachelor in Paradise” (2014-)
Top 10 Best John Oliver Running Gags
It’s Bachie time! Season six of “Bachelor in Paradise” gave us the gift that is John Paul Jones. His emotional meltdowns were entertaining to watch, but when he caught feelings for Tayshia Adams, he really couldn’t stop himself. Of course, Derek Peth was going after Tayshia at the time and good old JPJ just couldn’t believe that was happening. John’s confrontation with Derek couldn’t come at a “better” time - at Krystal Nielson and Chris Randone’s wedding reception. Guess when love is that strong you just can’t control your feelings or actions any longer. In case you were wondering, JPJ and Tayshia ended up trying to date again after the show, but it didn’t last very long. Not too surprising, really.
#5: Teresa Giudice vs. Danielle Staub
“The Real Housewives of New Jersey” (2009-)
If you’re looking for a good reaction GIF, we bet you can find just about anything you’d want on “The Real Housewives of New Jersey.” The argument between Teresa and Danielle was one of the most talked-about reality show confrontations and it also gave us an amazing GIF. It all started with the ‘Cop Without A Badge’ tell-all book about Danielle’s ex. During a dinner party, Danielle told Teresa to “pay attention,” to which Teresa felt so disrespected that she let her anger turn physical and things ended with the infamous table flip. The best part of this freakout may have been the unnecessary shots of a child watching this whole thing go down.
#4: Marguerite Perrin’s Meltdown
“Trading Spouses” (2004-07)
The freakout by Marguerite Perrin is so notorious that people are still quoting to this day. Her “Trading Spouses” meltdown is still just as entertaining as it was when it first aired. After the devout Louisianian returned from her ‘swap’, she began screaming that the family she had just spent time with was “tampering with the dark side.” What followed was an absolutely iconic statement that she’s a “God warrior” and that she didn’t want anyone tainted doing anything with her family. She also kept repeating how “dark-sided” the other family was, even doing so in front of the kids. She ended up throwing everyone, including the crew, out, with the following statement: [“get the hell out of my house, in Jesus’ name I pray.”]
#3: Cardi B vs. Asia Cole [aka Asia Davies]
“Love & Hip Hop: New York” (2011-)
When reality shows have a reunion, you know you’ll be in for a treat. Especially if that reunion involves Cardi B. It all went from zero to 100 after Asia was asked about texting rapper and producer Swift Star. Before anyone could even react, Cardi launched her red stiletto at Asia, which started a massive but brief brawl. Security had to step in to break them apart and seat them further away from each other so the conversation could continue. It may’ve been a short freakout, but you’re probably able to get more than a dozen amazing GIFs from this moment. Lesson learned: don’t mess with Cardi B!
#2: Tyra Banks Screams at Tiffany Richardson
“America’s Next Top Model” (2003-)
Top 10 Craziest Moments from The Tyra Banks Show
We all knew this one was coming- and “we were all rooting” for it! This is by far one of the oldest reality TV freakouts that’s still quoted to this day. When it was revealed in 2005 that model Tiffany was eliminated - along with the other in the Bottom 2, Rebecca - she tried to stay positive while the other contestants cried. When Tiffany told them to “cheer up, water heads,” Tyra didn’t look impressed. The judge expected Tiffany to show emotion and told her she was extremely disappointed in her, before going on her now-infamous “we were all rooting for you” tirade. This included her blowing up at Tiffany, yelling at her to “be quiet” and to “stop it.” Years later, when Tyra addressed the freakout, she said she wouldn’t have done it in the first place, or if she did, she wouldn’t have let it run on TV.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
Wedding Limo Problems, “Bridezillas” (2004-13; 2018-)
Molly Couldn’t Handle Her Limo Not Being Ready
Joseph Tinnelly Mouths Off to Gordon Ramsay, “Hell’s Kitchen” (2005-)
And Neither One Was Backing Down
Kelly Hyland Slaps Abby Lee Miller, “Dance Moms” (2011-19)
What a Way to Leave the Show
#1: Aviva Drescher vs. Heather Thomson
“The Real Housewives of New York City” (2008-)
If you’ve never seen a “The Real Housewives of New York City” fight, you’re missing out. By far the most iconic reality TV freakout jas gotta belong to Aviva and Heather, who not only fought with words, but also with an actual leg. Aviva was being accused of lying to the group, and she simply had enough. She took off her prosthetic leg, claiming that it was the only artificial thing about her. She then threw it at Heather while saying that she’ll crawl home. Yep, you heard that right. She actually removed her prosthetic leg to prove a point. Things don’t get more reality TV than that!
