Archive through April 11, 2002
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TV ClubHouse: Archives: Real World: Chicago - Real World 11: Archive through April 11, 2002

Julieboo

Tuesday, April 09, 2002 - 12:46 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I'm with you Guin! Cara dropped several notches for her badmouthing Keri episode.

Seamonkey

Tuesday, April 09, 2002 - 08:00 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Cara didn't have any notches with me before that.. so she burrowed, worm-like, into the sludge in my book. And somehow I doubt that she'll crawl out in tonight's episode.

Sigh.

Cliotheleo

Tuesday, April 09, 2002 - 08:22 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Well, after seeing tonight's episode, I don't think it's as simple as Cara being a drama queen. She's obviously got a lot of issues she needs to deal with.

And the whole thing with Ali drove me crazy. I mean I guess it's just part of her issues, but she kept talking about closure, and it was clear the only thing he was after was, well, the OPPOSITE of closure. :)

Seamonkey

Tuesday, April 09, 2002 - 11:28 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Oh yeah, Cara has tons of issues. But she's also totally whacked in her self perceptions. Yeah..
"closure", right.. but still needy as she is, she also has a mean streak.. I saw the repeat of the last show and she was really pretty evil.

Ali is the most appealing guy she's been with on the show, so of course she thinks this is closure.

And what's this thing in the men's room.. ok when you're drunk you do crazy things, no problem with that, but HELLO??? You really want this recorded by MTV? Well yes, I suppose she does.

Aneesa has hated Tonya since day one, and yikes.. I find myself agreeing with Tonya tonight. Of course in your own place you should be able to do your "thing", Aneesa, but.. this isn't your house and none of you got to choose each other to be roomates, so just maybe you could keep some clothing on, sometimes? Not to mention the camera crew and those fans out there in TVLAND who get tired of floating bubbles..

And of course let's perpetuate the fear that straights have about gays/lesbians, that they are always lusting after or checking out other men/women.. by commenting on Tonya's privates.. and good for Tonya to call her on it, sort of.

I just remember Aneesa climbing into the shower with Theo and then having the gall to complain about HIS "shlong" yes the walks around outside the shower hanging it all out?

Oh well.. I'm hyperirritated tonight. thank god for the Osbournes.

Cliotheleo

Wednesday, April 10, 2002 - 06:17 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Yeah Seamonkey, I agreed with Tonya on this one to (and I don't normally.) The only experience I have like this to compare to is living in the dorms. While I myself am pretty comfortable in my own skin so to speak, I was always respectful that not everyone else felt the same way, so I kept my modesty at a level that was comfortable to them. I think with Aneesa it's more than just "being comfortable with your body," that's fine in principal. But when you have a "thing" about it like she does, then that just means you've got issues and you've got other motivating factors. And as we all know, having issues makes you a prime candidate for being on "The Real World." :)

Of course another factor in all of this is that Aneesa admittedly doesn't like Tonya and is just trying to push her buttons.

Good point about her reinforcing negative stereotypes about gays and lesbians. Fortunately I think MTV has had more positive examples in that regard than negative.

Julieboo

Wednesday, April 10, 2002 - 09:02 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Hi
I agree with you both, Sea & Clio. I can't believe that I'm actually on Tonya's side with the Aneesa stuff.
Let's see, my order of liking them:
Keri
Chris/Kyle (tied)
Theo/Tonya/Aneesa (tied, can't believe Tonya is moving up!)
Cara (dropped to bottom, especially after Badmouthing Keri/hitting on Kyle soon as Keri left/had sex with Dgordge-even after right before "they landed the deal" she asked him if that was all there was gonna be and he said yes. And then she complained about it.

Webkitty

Wednesday, April 10, 2002 - 09:03 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I caught this show while waiting for the Osbournes to come on.

The girl that was walking around naked was wrong!

That "house" is not her own private personal space. Some people have a problem with boundries of any sort and I think she is one of them.

I also think that her behavior is a form of intimidation.

I gathered that she knew even before the blond girl had a talk with her that it made the blond girl uncomfortable and not only continued to walk around naked, but to make unsolicited commemts about the blond girls private parts and insist that she hang around while the "neekid" girl went #2!

I wouldn't have been as diplomatic as the blond girl about it, no not at all.

Grooch

Wednesday, April 10, 2002 - 10:04 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I saw this on Salon.com. It is a premium article, so you have to pay to read the whole thing. But here is the part that you can read for free.

Tom Daschle's little MTV problem
A "Real World" star's sexual hijinks cause some grief for her brother -- a Daschle speechwriter whose colleagues are decidedly unamused.


By Jake Tapper

April 4, 2002 |

Jeff Nussbaum, speechwriter and deputy communications director for Sen. Tom Daschle, was walking with his boss after the taping of a radio address not long ago when the two were suddenly besieged by reporters. There were cameras, microphones and intrusive reporters everywhere, recording their every gesticulation. "This is what my sister's life must have been like," Nussbaum, 27, mused.

When Nussbaum took the job with the nation's leading Democrat and prospective 2004 presidential nominee last year, there were a number of things heading his way that he never anticipated. That his boss would go from being minority leader to majority leader because of the defection of one fed-up moderate Republican senator. That an office anthrax scare would paralyze his office for a time. Nor, surely, did he ever wonder that his little sister Cara's sex life might in any way affect his work. Now all three have happened, and while the latter is of least consequence, it has its moments of discomfort.

Nussbaum's younger sister Cara, 22, is one of the stars of the latest incarnation of MTV's voyeuristic 20-something reality show, "The Real World," which was filmed last summer in Chicago and began airing in December. And his sister's onscreen exploits have put Nussbaum somewhere between a rock channel and a hard place.

Julieboo

Wednesday, April 10, 2002 - 10:28 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Thanks Grooch. Hmmm, did it really start airing in December? I didn't realize it had been on for so long. It is kind of weird that the RW people don't really talk about their siblings.

Grooch

Wednesday, April 10, 2002 - 10:34 am EditMoveDeleteIP
My first thought when reading it was, "Oh, her poor brother."

Now I am glad her brother is somebody who is in the public eye. Hopefully this will motivate him to make sure that Cara gets some help with her many issues.

I can't really talk bad about any of the HGs. They are all young and they really do have some serious problems. I think this might be the most screwed up cast yet.

Seamonkey

Wednesday, April 10, 2002 - 10:46 am EditMoveDeleteIP
yeah.. I thought Hawaii was bad (and they were) but this group, yikes!

I saw the rest of the article.. late last night I was on some site, clicked on a link and found a board for other reality shows and they had RW threads and someone posted the entire article..

Cara supposedly was surprised that they showed as much as they did.. Mary Alice Bunim actually said that Cara was so "willing to share".. yeah right.. willing to be exploited is more like it.

Webkitty.. not only is nekkid girl making comments about blond girl's private parts but nekkid girl is a lesbian, so it borders on sexual harrassment.

Funny, but I wonder if RW is getting a ratings bump BECAUSE of having Ozzy episode airing after it..

Webkitty

Wednesday, April 10, 2002 - 11:51 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Seamonkey, I think your right about the ratings bump. I was barely aware of this show before The Osbournes started.
Now I'm going to have to peek in from time to time to see what THIS bunch of rascals is up to!

Neekid girl is a lesbian? Oh man, if this was BB, the thread couldn't move fast enough on this one! That does add a new element into the mix. Yes, I'll definitely have to keep watching.

Seamonkey

Wednesday, April 10, 2002 - 12:06 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Full text on Cara's brother.... best line "Cara hovers above Gdjordge like a vinyl LP about to drop on a turntable"

snort

Tom Daschle's little MTV problem
A "Real World" star's sexual hijinks cause some grief for her brother -- a Daschle speechwriter whose colleagues are decidedly unamused.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Jake Tapper


April 4, 2002 | Jeff Nussbaum, speechwriter and deputy communications director for Sen. Tom Daschle, was walking with his boss after the taping of a radio address not long ago when the two were suddenly besieged by reporters. There were cameras, microphones and intrusive reporters everywhere, recording their every gesticulation. "This is what my sister's life must have been like," Nussbaum, 27, mused.

When Nussbaum took the job with the nation's leading Democrat and prospective 2004 presidential nominee last year, there were a number of things heading his way that he never anticipated. That his boss would go from being minority leader to majority leader because of the defection of one fed-up moderate Republican senator. That an office anthrax scare would paralyze his office for a time. Nor, surely, did he ever wonder that his little sister Cara's sex life might in any way affect his work. Now all three have happened, and while the latter is of least consequence, it has its moments of discomfort.

Nussbaum's younger sister Cara, 22, is one of the stars of the latest incarnation of MTV's voyeuristic 20-something reality show, "The Real World," which was filmed last summer in Chicago and began airing in December. And his sister's onscreen exploits have put Nussbaum somewhere between a rock channel and a hard place. Nussbaum, like most political press aides, is tasked with keeping discussions substantive and making sure that all information about senators' personal lives is left on the cutting room floor. In Washington, denizens are instructed to avoid anything that could even remotely be interpreted as scandal. But on "The Real World," Cara's sex life has become a major plot point this season.

The teasing began innocently enough. In October, dozens of Daschle staffers were exposed to a letter containing anthrax and the Hart Senate Office Building was quarantined, forcing Daschle's staffers to cram into his Capitol Hill leadership digs. In the communications office, a few welcome moments of levity were provided when office manager Chris Bois took a publicity still of Cara from the MTV Web site and fashioned it into wallpaper for his computer screen. Nussbaum knew it would likely get even worse when the show began airing. But Nussbaum, with his genuine, aw-shucks delivery, is a full-time spinner who is nothing if not smart beyond his years. Eventually he realized it might behoove him to apply some damage control.


Adhering to the age-old dictum of Washington scandal -- get it all out, get it out early and on your own terms -- Nussbaum took matters into his own hands. On the night of "The Real World" premiere he threw a bash at Stetsons, a dive with a widescreen TV in Washington's Adams Morgan neighborhood, and invited all his friends to delight in his misery. Nussbaum was confident that sweet Cara would live up to earlier MTV promotions that seemed to pitch her as the centered, sensible girl. He hoped that would be that.

Daschle press secretary Jay Carson praises his colleague's handling of the situation. "He got out in front of story," Carson says, as if Nussbaum had ordered the Watergate break-in. "He took a lot of steam out of those who would razz him on it."

An example: Having worked on the presidential campaign of Al Gore, Nussbaum even argues that MTV's casting process is just about as "grueling" as running for president. "Probably you have your personal life probed about equally," he says. Though for MTV "they don't check your tax returns."

No, in many ways -- particularly for poor Cara -- it's been far more intrusive. At the time she signed the MTV contract, Cara now admits, she didn't give much thought to how her behavior might reflect on her brother or anyone else. "I guess I didn't understand how selfish it was," she says. It's that earnestness that made her an appealing choice for MTV. Mary-Ellis Bunim, the co-creator and co-executive producer of "The Real World," says she was unaware of Cara's connection to Daschle, and that Cara was chosen because she "is a very compelling personality, and very likable." Thin and smiley, Cara does seem infinitely like the most reasonable and caring of the roommates, if a little, well, young and foolish. Cara says that the editing hasn't done them any favors. "The more I look at the show the more I see seven really selfish kids, self-absorbed and narcissistic."

But of the many subplots in this season's show -- will Kyle stay true to his long-distance girlfriend? Will gay alcoholic Chris fall off the wagon? Will playah Theo convert lesbian Aneesa? -- the most riveting has been Cara's active dating life, which has included, according to the Hook-Up Report on the MTV Web site, an unnamed "Rock Star," Jared, Jason and Nick.

"Newly single Cara is lonely and on a mission," the Web guide reports, "the Boy Hunt is on ... She feels lonely when she's not with someone and needs physical affection to feel good about herself."

"Jeff and I are pretty different," Cara says from her apartment in Los Angeles, where she's now pursuing an acting career. "Jeff's just in general more of a firstborn, Type A and I'm much more of a wild middle child. He's sort of more pensive and more focused and I'm sort of more spontaneous, and, you know?"

Before each show airs, a copy of each episode is sent to the cast members. The package that arrived at Cara's apartment on Monday, March 11, was not well received. In the episode that was to air the next night, Cara is shown in very intimate moments with Djordje, a friend of a fellow roommate in town for the night. Stunningly, the two are caught on a night-vision camera, in pre-in flagrante delicto positioning, with sheets covering up the appropriate parts, though Cara hovers above Djordje like a vinyl LP about to drop onto a turntable. The two discuss the fact that she will never see him again after that night. Djordje is then shown tossing a familiar wrapper onto the bedroom floor. Fade to black.

Even for envelope-pushing MTV, this was fairly scandalous stuff. Cara had watched previous seasons of "The Real World" and had never seen such a thing aired, though she assumed that previous cast members had similarly acted upon their hormones.

If they did, it wasn't captured as graphically as it was for Cara. "Cara has unusual courage and willingness to open her life," says Bunim. "She was very outspoken about having just left a relationship and wanting to explore her new freedom." As for Cara being stunned by the inclusion of her moment with Djordje, Bunim says, "certainly, after all these seasons, everyone knows how many microphones and cameras there are in the house."


Nonetheless Cara was shocked. She called Jeff, their parents and grandparents, friends and cousins, telling them not to watch the show. "It's brutal," she says. "It's explicit; it's embarrassing." Cara says that she's angry at herself "for not having this sort of reserved control that my brother has, for not having even a piece of that in me."

It did pose a unique problem for her brother. The Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call had twice poked fun at Nussbaum for his sibling's growing stardom, and the buzz grew. According to Nielsen Media Research, the March 12 episode of "The Real World" was the 10th highest rated cable TV show that week, viewed in 2.85 million homes.

Some colleagues were sympathetic. "I, for one, have a younger sister, so I'm especially sensitive about giving him a lot of shit for it," says Carson. Carson's magnanimity aside, senior Daschle staffers seem quite sensitive to it all. After tentatively agreeing to allow me to ask the senator about his curious connection to the MTV hit, or at least to give me a written statement about the matter, Daschle's office suddenly rescinded the offer. It was, I was told, a pretty clear attempt to keep Daschle far from young Cara Nussbaum and her Generation Y misadventures.

"Our office is not commenting about this," Ranit Schmelzer, Nussbaum's boss in the communications department, offered tersely.

"I think people recognize that not only is my sister's life not my life," Nussbaum says hopefully, "but my life -- as boring as it is -- shouldn't reflect on Daschle." Like any good press secretary, he underlines the main point he wants to make sure I get clearly: He loves and is proud of his sister. "I would actually expect someone to talk about your family or your character. But I think people recognize that if you put a camera on yourself 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and give someone else sole editorial control, you'd be lucky to come out looking as good as Cara does."

Or as good as her brother. However much his superiors are freaking out about Caragate, Nussbaum seems to take it all in stride. "I'm sure people involved in politics have had siblings do things a lot worse," he reflects. "In fact, most presidents have."


salon.com

Webkitty

Wednesday, April 10, 2002 - 12:12 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Is Cara the one who couldn't get closure with the x-boyfreind?

Julieboo

Wednesday, April 10, 2002 - 12:21 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Yup.

Seamonkey

Wednesday, April 10, 2002 - 12:22 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
yes, webkitty.. that's our Cara..

Cara's the stick thin one with long curly hair.

Keri is the lush lipped one who pines for Kyle who plays yo-yo with her while remaining "true" to an absent girlfriend, who dumped him but he still sees a future with her.

Kyle being the large headed male roomate.

Chris, the one who dared to pinch Cara, is the cute gay recovering alcoholic who keeps rejecting the darling Kurt and now has a job in a bar.

Tonya's the boob enhanced blonde, child of the foster parent system, who has issues with black and gays and also keeps pumping out kidney stones, but this doesn't stop her from swigging sodas..

Aneesa's the nekkid lesbian who hates Tonya and has now dumped the disaster date, Veronica..

Theo is the black playah, straight guy, who is also actively homophobic tho he kinda likes the idea of two lesbians and originally planned to convert Aneesa. Theo brushes his teeth alot.

Their job is to be lifeguards, but only Kyle, Chris and Keri managed to pass the swim test.

The others are working with kids to create some mural (which reports from another board say has never appeared on the wall, hmm) for the Chicago parks dept.

More than you ever ever wanted to know, but, there it is..

Grooch

Wednesday, April 10, 2002 - 12:37 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Has anyone heard that some of the RW/RR people are going to be in the May issue of Playboy?

It's Beth S. (RW-LA), Flora (RW-MIA), Veronica (RR-SAS) and Jisela (RR10)

Julieboo

Wednesday, April 10, 2002 - 01:10 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Seamonkey
How true do you think it is that the mural never appeared? Wonder if we could find out for sure.

Webkitty

Wednesday, April 10, 2002 - 01:14 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Just typed a long post and lost it, ack!

Anyway, I DID catch one previous episode, the one with Kyle and Keri.
I thought Kyle takes himself too seriously. He could do worse than Keri. She seems mature for her age and cute to boot.

On last nights show, I didn't think Cara's X boyfriend was all that. He seemed rather "slow" to me.
She has issues, that's for sure, but seems like a decent person.
Time will help that. ~wise saying from webkitty~

Julieboo

Wednesday, April 10, 2002 - 01:24 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I wonder if Keri went to college (anyone know?) Cuz I wonder if Kyle cares about that, or about the fact that Keri smokes. Just a thought....

Seamonkey

Wednesday, April 10, 2002 - 03:28 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Well.. the other guys she bedded on camera were total strangers.. a friend of Kyle's in town for a night.. she jumped him on the dance floor, then in the hot tub and then in bed, and the "rock star" guy and another old friend..

And then the decent person part.. she was doing fairly well until Keri went home for a weekend and instantly she was all over Kyle, making puppy dog eyes and asking why he wasn't going after her and badmouthing Keri for monopolizing Kyle.

Julie.. I don't know.. the person who posted about the mural says he or she drives right past there every day and there was never a mural, someone else also thought that was true.. and pointed out that the way it was painted didn't look like something that would hold up well in weather, not to mention that being a gang area so likely to cause problems or at least be tagged over. But I have no idea how accurate the report is.

Cliotheleo

Wednesday, April 10, 2002 - 11:15 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
One more thing about being comfortable in my own skin, while I may be that way around the house, I CERTAINLY would not be that way in a house full of cameras. I forgot about that factor. So yeah, Aneesa's definately got some issues. (duh!)

I don't know that I'd classify her comments to Tonya as sexual harrassment though just because she's a lesbian.

Julie, I think I remember Keri either wearing letters or talking about something having to do with her sorority, but I could be wrong.

Seamonkey, did we ever figure out who the "rock star" that Cara slept with was? His name was bleeped out.

This is just a random thought but I'm just glad that Theo's not fallen into the "angry-trouble-making-black-man-portrayal" pit that seems to happen so often on this show. I was worried in the beginning that things might turn out that way (and the season's not over, so they still may.) I really liked the way he handled the situation last week re: Tonya and the kid at the youth center. Plus he's just adorable. He needs to be a little less hypocritical about the gay/lesbian thing though (I mean if you're gonna be opposed to it, then BE opposed to it) but other than that, he's my favorite in the house. .......... LOL! @ Seamonkey about the him brushing his teeth a lot. Maybe Theo does some things in his off hours that REQUIRE him to brush his teeth rather frequently :) ....... oh, and I'm TIRED of seeing that shell necklace.

Whowhere

Thursday, April 11, 2002 - 07:28 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Gay or not, I think Aneesa’s comments and/or actions would definitely qualify as sexual harassment. I compare it to a gay man walking around with his schlong hanging out and waving it in front of straight guys while making comments about their schlongs.

If her actions are unwelcome and offensive, that’s considered sexual harassment. She’s definitely got issues.

Ocean_Islands

Thursday, April 11, 2002 - 08:01 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Cara does have issues. The thing that bugs me about her is that she so articulately expresses what she should not be doing and then goes ahead and does just that.

That quote about the 'seven selfish people' is a prime example of that. It's very seductive to believe her words but her behavior seems otherwise.

She reminds me of that BBII houseguest who had a kid named 'Just Us' -- what was her name?

Julieboo

Thursday, April 11, 2002 - 08:12 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Autumn.