Top 10 Times Contestants Got Caught Cheating
#10: Marie Winn Gets Answers Early
10 Best Tips from Tidying Up with Marie Kondo
“Dotto” (1958) It wasn’t low viewership that got this wildly popular quiz show from the late Fifties pulled from the airwaves. In reality, a cheating scandal surrounding contestant Marie Winn doomed the program. A “Dotto” contestant named Edward Hilgemeier Jr. found out that producers had slipped another player named Marie Winn some answers before her appearance on the program. The jilted competitors were initially paid off so the scandal wouldn’t come to light. However, Hilgemeier didn’t keep things quiet forever. An investigation and a confession from the show’s creator gave more than enough incentive to shut “Dotto” down. It would later become one of several programs whose cheating encouraged a grand jury to form and stop such practices.
#9: Breton Fails to Flip
“The Price is Right” (1972–) In this pricing game, you can flip or you can flop. And poor Breton flopped. He flopped so hard, that host Bob Barker actually walked off the stage in exasperation. The longtime host already seemed over the young man’s casual attitude from the start. But it was Breton’s complete misunderstanding of the game “Flip Flop” that led to a questionable cheating issue. The contestant was supposed to flip over at least one panel of numbers to match a hidden price. But Breton didn’t make any moves and just revealed the answer. Barker was appropriately miffed that the contestant couldn’t follow the one easy rule. Fortunately, the host was generous enough to give Breton the prize…before pushing him off the stage.
#8: Claire Buitendorp Makes Illegal Measurements
Top 10 Times Claire Was a Badass on Outlander
“Project Runway” (2005–) No matter how viewers felt about the Buitendorp Twins, there’s no denying the competitors left an impression on “Project Runway” Season 16. A half season of tension between them and the rest of the cast culminated in a scandalous moment. It all started when fellow designer Michael Brambila accused Claire Buitendorp of copying finished designs. While she was able to dodge that callout, she couldn’t deny that she used measurement tools outside the workroom. Since the latter action was explicitly against the show’s rules, Buitendorp was sent home. It wasn’t the first time a designer has been disqualified from the show. However, Buitendorp’s incident was definitely the most contentious.
#7: The Sook Jai Tribe Attacks Too Early
18 Celebs Who Got Caught Cheating On Camera
“Survivor: Thailand” (2002) “Survivor”s fifth season saw a challenge where the castaways raced along a bamboo course while trying to steal baskets for their tribe. There was a marked zone in the middle where contestants could try to knock each other into the water. However, the Sook Jai survivors were a little too eager to engage their opponents. Although they were only supposed to start getting physical when they entered a designated zone, tribe members kept launching attacks too early. Jeff Probst had to repeatedly disqualify Sook Jai contestants for their mistimed assaults. Every time someone was removed, the team had to forfeit a basket to their competitors. By the end, the Sook Jai Tribe had given their opponents the win by not following the rules.
#6: The Production Gave Preteens Too Many Advantages
Top 10 Times Singers Were Caught Lip Syncing
“Our Little Genius” (2010) “Our Little Genius” was essentially a quiz program whose competitors were all sharp preteens. The bright kids were supposed to fail or succeed on their own. However, there were claims that a member of the production team told contestants exactly what to study before they went on. There were also rumors that a conventionally timed technical glitch helped a kid he gave a wrong answer get a do over. In the end, what happened behind closed doors was serious enough that show creator Mark Burnett convinced Fox not to show the first episode. After this shocking turn, the series never saw the light of day.
#5: Emmett Blois Becomes a Three Time Cheater
“Big Brother Canada” (2013–) “Big Brother Canada'' contestant Emmett Blois became infamous for being involved in three instances of cheating while on the show. In the first instance, Blois carried balls with his hands in a challenge where he should’ve used a pouch on his knees. While he wasn’t the one to cheat, he was the only to lose his major advantage that week. Blois was later caught letting one arm rest during an endurance competition where he was supposed to keep both limbs on a pole. Lastly, he helped an ally get ahead by sharing his winning strategy. Since contestants aren’t allowed to share tactics, he could only throw a tantrum as he was disqualified.
#4: Adriana Abenia Uses An App to Cheat
“Pasapalabra” Actress and TV presenter Adriana Abenia was a contestant on a panel show called “Pasapalabra”. Everything seemed to be going normally until she reached a “Name That Tune” style game that finds the panel of players guessing popular songs. During this point in the competition, host Christian Gálvez caught Abenia using the song-identification app Shazam. As it turns out, he spotted the light of her phone between her knees. This incredibly obvious instance of cheating actually drew laughs instead of jeers. And to Abenia’s credit, she made no attempt to hide her unfair play. Even she couldn’t help but smile after being exposed.
#3: Michael Larson Memorizes a Game’s Patterns
Top 10 Worst Things Michael Scott Has Done
“Press Your Luck” (1983–) Is it cheating if it’s the game’s fault? That’s the question CBS executives had to ask themselves after Michael Larson’s record-breaking win on “Press Your Luck.” When he competed, he exploited a weakness in the seemingly randomized pattern of the “Press Your Luck” game board. Thanks to watching tapes of previous episodes, Larson figured out the best way to avoid running into any “whammies” that would cause him to lose money. This paid off when he won over $100,000 in cash and prizes. Larson set the record for earning the most money ever won during one game. Although his methods were dishonest, he got to walk away with a big payout because he didn’t technically break the rules.
#2: Charles Ingram Uses Coughing to Win Big
Top 10 Funniest Charles Boyle Moments on Brooklyn Nine-Nine
“Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” (1998–) Charles Ingram very nearly cheated his way to winning a million pounds by using an incredibly sneaky technique. While competing on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”, his wife and an accomplice named Tecwen Whittock would cough at strategic times. This allowed Ingram to figure out what the correct answers were. Shortly after he won the grand prize, video footage appeared to show the coughing technique in action. The evidence was also enough to convince ten members of a jury that every member of the trio was guilty of deception. Ingram was later forced to resign from the army in the wake of the scandal. Since the infamous incident, the story has been immortalized as a play and became the basis for a BBC miniseries.
#1: Herbert Stempel Exposes a Shady Show
Top 10 Creepiest Herbert Moments on Family Guy
“Twenty-One” (1956-58) After the first contestants on “Twenty-One” failed to impress, the entire competition portion of the show became an illusion. The producers were willing to give contestants answers, manipulate the temperature in the studio and more to keep things exciting. Their dishonest tactics came to an end after they pushed contestant Herbert Stempel too far. After he enjoyed a successful streak, producers pushed him to throw a game. Instead of burying his frustration, Stempel publicly called out the show. His candid statements eventually opened up a floodgate of confessions that brought the show down and put multiple people in legal hot water. In the aftermath of Stempel’s run on the show, a federal law was changed in hopes of preventing another “Twenty One” level scandal.
0
0
report