r/90s • u/chinos88 • 5h ago
Video MTV The Real World: Seattle (1998) Stephen slaps Irene
659
u/Jonestown_Juice 4h ago
From Wikipedia:
Stephen is the oldest of five children raised by his mother in a black Muslim household. He converted to Judaism at age 15, and met his father for the first time when he was 17. He's an active member of Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity and is a business major with a minor in African-American studies at the University of California at Berkeley.\9]) During the show, Williams made a number of homophobic comments, including his response to the accusation of his being gay. Years after the show aired, Stephen came out as gay.\10]) In what has become one of the most infamous moments in Real World history, Stephen slaps Irene after she claims that he is gay.
This guy went from one end of a major spectrum to another again and again lol
565
u/Shyguyinblacksocks 4h ago
That’s not back and forth, that’s self-hatred.
21
u/phlegmdawg 1h ago
Indoctrinated self loathing for something completely natural too. I remember watching this season as it aired and not understanding the whole story on everybody’s side. He can still be accountable for how he handled it while being a victim of regressive ideas.
→ More replies (2)103
u/TheJaytrixReloaded 3h ago
Irene was completely wrong for outing Steven (to himself?) on TV. That does not excuse his behavior.
58
u/Annanake420 2h ago
The entire show hinged on doing things like that though. If they all got along and respected each other they wouldn't gave gotten past the pilot episode.
14
u/TheJaytrixReloaded 2h ago
I mean, reality television relying on being an asshole does not excuse asshole behavior. Makes for good TV, though.
17
u/BookkeeperBrilliant9 1h ago
It's not cool to out someone, but you lose normal expectations of privacy when you volunteer to be on a reality TV show.
36
u/Clavenesque 3h ago
Wasn't there a Weird Al lyric about a gay Jewish black dude?
19
61
33
4
→ More replies (6)3
399
u/Foxhound34 4h ago
Slapped for being right.
94
u/Then-Jacket9012 3h ago
Slapped for making him confront a reality he was hell bent on denying due to self-hatred.
→ More replies (9)55
120
u/lapinatanegra 4h ago
They should do a where are they now segment on them.
49
u/ThingNo7530 3h ago
Irene hates Bunim/Murray and the show and used to go to college campuses to tell kids how evil the producers are.
3
u/MUjase 1h ago
Didn’t she have Lyme disease?
10
u/JakeFromSkateFarm 1h ago
According to her Wikipedia article, she doesn’t (or didn’t at the time). Allegedly that was the excuse for her leaving as the real reason was her ethical objections to how the show was done.
→ More replies (2)
156
170
u/NoninflammatoryFun 4h ago
He seriously just slapped her and that’s that? Jesus lol.
And of course he was in fact gay. Nice to know he can still be such a misogynist.
5
u/aquacrimefighter 56m ago
Misogyny is pretty common amongst groups of gay men, unfortunately. Wouldn’t be surprised if that’s a ‘personality flaw’ he still has to this day.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (2)42
u/Positive_Type 3h ago
I think they made him leave after he did that.
→ More replies (7)45
u/LastCookie3448 2h ago edited 2h ago
Nope, MTV said it was up to the roommates, a bunch of kids who of course were too immature and intimidated to take a stand.
6
31
u/Oliffeyhooligan 3h ago
I remember watching this when it happened
7
u/SolinaMoon 3h ago
Me too! For some reason, this moment pops into my head at random times. That and the quote "Colin, SPOON ME!!" I don't even know if that's the same season, just sticks out for some reason. lol
5
3
31
83
40
u/MartyBellvue 4h ago
did she get her stuffed animal back? :(
→ More replies (1)55
u/ThanosSnapsSlimJims 3h ago edited 2h ago
Yes, one of them went into the water and fished it out. Actually, it was technically to. Two of them stood on the pier. One of them had a fishing rod, and a third person in their group climbed down and put it on the fishing rod's hook to hoist it up.
→ More replies (1)20
u/rumande 2h ago
This is the resolution I needed. Only a monster steals someone's stuffed animal.
13
u/ThanosSnapsSlimJims 2h ago
She ended up being right about him, too. He also tried to lie later and say on tv that they peaced it up, but he was immediately called out for lying.
18
u/goobly_goo 2h ago
Even the slap was gay! 😂
2
u/Ok-Administration296 51m ago
Bingo. Was gonna say the same thing. The slap itself outed him. Its the accidental slap that happens when you pop someone's bubblegum bubble.
49
52
u/Strange-Painting6257 3h ago
Bitch behavior. Him, not her. It’s like he was telling on himself. That fake laugh said it all. He was projecting and overcompensating the entire time. A hit dog hollers and he was screaming.
13
u/Putrid-Builder-3333 4h ago
I'll always remember Brooke from Real World Denver
The bowling outburst lol I only know what I know from Soup wkth Joel McHale but she was crazy lmao
12
u/F0RDYoz 4h ago
Brooke was a certified psycho
→ More replies (1)10
u/Putrid-Builder-3333 4h ago
Now she's a licensed social worker/therapist
5
u/Alchemyst01984 4h ago
Makes sense
3
u/Putrid-Builder-3333 4h ago
Lol right
I saw and was shocked then went and remembered not all but good many being crazy. So checks out.
2
u/Alchemyst01984 3h ago
I wouldn't say they're crazy. Most people don't know how to express themselves. She clearly doesn't have that problem. If properly channeled, people like that are the best therapists
2
8
u/Thin_Bother8217 4h ago
I only watched the SF one cause I live there. The guy Puck was a total jerk who was a complete stereotype of bike messengers.
13
u/herotovillain84 3h ago
Met her in SF in 2010. She was hosting some stand up comics at a local bar. I was probably the only person in the room who recognized her from The Real World, and she knew right away after I asked to have a photo with her. She was really sweet about it.
19
u/Adept-Lettuce948 2h ago
But, he was a homosexual. He admitted to it after the show aired.
→ More replies (15)
9
u/Fabulous_Log844 1h ago
Years after the show concluded, Stephen publicly came out as gay. In 2008, he announced his engagement to his male partner, officially sharing his life after reality television with the public.
So…there's that.
70
u/Peas_Are_Upsidedown 4h ago
Real world was the infection that ultimately killed MTV.
58
u/MIKESOLO666 3h ago
The entire Reality TV epidemic may have started with Real World tbh
32
u/thin_white_dutchess 3h ago
Honestly, it was Cops (1989- 3 years before real world). That’s when studios realized they didn’t have to spend much on production and still make money. Yeah, different vibes and whatnot, but the concept was there.
10
6
u/Frodorable 2h ago
It was actually a network tv series from the 70’s that started it, an american family
→ More replies (2)22
13
u/acapwn 3h ago
I hated it when I had TV time as a kid. Turn on MTV and it was a fucking Real World marathon
→ More replies (1)12
u/deddPan 3h ago
That was road rules…
17
u/good_morning_magpie 3h ago
I will never forgive them for bringing Theo Vonn into the public eye.
4
u/but-I-play-one-on-TV 1h ago
THAT'S WHERE I RECOGNIZE HIM FROM! My god for YEARS I've wondered how that guy just appeared out of nowhere on the podcast circuit but I still vaguely recognized him.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)6
17
u/ThanosSnapsSlimJims 3h ago
I remember this. Their arguments were often and very toxic. She was mean to him and should have held accountable for that. However, him stealing and assaulting her was uncalled for.
→ More replies (1)3
u/LastCookie3448 3h ago
He was antagonistic and hostile. He didn’t get along with the other housemates, she got along with most. She left b/c she was sick and was sick of him and sick of MTV’s bs.
4
u/ThanosSnapsSlimJims 3h ago
People in other threads were saying that him hitting her was ok because 'she outed him', except... he never admitted to it or acknowledged it. What's hilarious is that he admitted it years later. He ended up becoming a sex worker and a criminal who got caught trying to steal a car. He also got caught lying and saying that him and Irene peaced things up. Someone immediately called him out on it.
7
u/man-on-bended-knee 3h ago
Stephen publicly came out as gay in 2008 and revealed during an MTV reunion special that he was engaged to a man.
22
23
41
u/Hefty-Drawer-2382 4h ago
Can you imagine, what a piece of s…, he should have been arrested or an another guy should have knocked him out.
→ More replies (2)
28
u/tahtahme 3h ago
Unfortunately, youre likely only going to get a blow up and wild reaction when trying to publicly out someone in a homophobic world, religious family, and patriarchal society.
I am glad that he found his truth, and I understand his fear and anger, but it is unacceptable at the end of the day to steal from her and put hands on her...especially when all on the line was ego and reputation, not his life.
→ More replies (1)
12
u/No_Blacksmith_2591 2h ago
Well, if anything proved he wasn't gay, that little limp wristed slap did it, for sure. no doubt about it.
17
10
5
5
5
4
u/imhereredditing 1h ago
Everything with the stuffed animal, holding it out and saying everything he said then throwing it into the water was regression to like 6 year old status
→ More replies (1)
9
u/Strange_Fee6922 2h ago
Whats the lore, was stephen gay?
27
u/Boccs 2h ago
Yes. He came out in 2008. In 2001 he was apparently arrested for prostitution as well. Guy, at this point, was very deep in the closet and seemed terrified that other people could see it anyway.
→ More replies (4)5
→ More replies (1)7
19
u/africanlivedit 4h ago
Man I loved that season!!!!
→ More replies (7)8
u/No-Programmer-2212 3h ago
Seattle got me hooked on Real World. I remember watching this in real time.
18
u/Carastarr 3h ago
Irene wrote an essay about this incident over a decade ago, and I really recommend reading it.
→ More replies (2)6
u/Drmlk465 3h ago
Ahhhhhh it’s behind a paywall
6
u/Financial_Paper_2415 2h ago
Use archive.ph 👌, just copy the link to the article and paste it in there
2
11
u/MIKESOLO666 3h ago
This episode taught me about Lyme disease and eventually led me down the rabbit hole of where it came from.
2
u/abmoonstar 2h ago
Yes! We all learned about Lyme disease this season lol. I feel like it was some strange thing that nobody believed was real back then.
10
u/calrammer 2h ago
I lived in Seattle when this was filming and a bunch of the cast members came to a bar we were at. Everyone there gave them shit until they left and we all celebrated when they did. It was hilarious and of course never aired on TV.
→ More replies (2)4
8
26
3
u/Idaho_In_Uranus 3h ago
The only season that I watched as it aired was San Francisco. Puck and Rachel and Judd and all of those cats.
3
3
u/winkymcjewgallo 3h ago
Did he get kicked off for assaulting her?
4
u/LastCookie3448 2h ago
No. MTV stood by and watched it play out then didn’t do a damn thing. He should’ve been evicted and arrested. They proved Irene’s point - she left b/c the environment was so manipulated and toxic.
3
3
3
u/MyDisplayName 1h ago
Omg why do I remember this scene and these people so vividly from 28 years ago? What a strange memory unlocked from the vault.
5
5
u/Timely_Interview_530 1h ago
Remember when a man slapped a woman and MTV promoted domestic violence as entertainment? Pepperidge Farm remembers
11
u/RevolverOcelot16- 2h ago edited 1h ago
I remember this. He then took her childhood stuffed animal from her hands and threw it into the water, knowing she couldn't retrieve it. I don't care what she said, later proven to be true; he had no right to hit her and destroy her property.
Edit: As the person below reminded be, He did not snatch it from her hands. He stole it
6
5
5
5
u/Flat-Cap-1063 2h ago
Stephen's hiding deep in the closest and Irene sounds like she's two days into Heroin withdrawal.
Ah the 90's were a glorious time.
8
u/CarryAmbitious638 3h ago
Am I just PMSing or was this upsetting? I remember it back in the day. But now being a grown adult, the whole thing is sad. She never should have said that. And throwing the stuffed animal was enough.
14
u/_GTS_Panda 3h ago
Physical violence is rarely okay. Def not in this case.
She was wrong for saying that, but he was VERY wrong for assaulting her.
→ More replies (7)14
5
u/Ok_Squirrel23 4h ago
Also, living in Seattle now. So wild to see the waterfront back then.
→ More replies (3)
4
u/Positive_Type 3h ago
I remember this well. Me and my sister were giggling at the whole thing up until he slapped her. We got so pissed off.
2
u/terry1381 4h ago
I watched this show when it came out maybe one or two episodes…not really for me but not designed for me either 😁
2
u/passingby 3h ago
It has completely changed in the last 10 years: https://www.reddit.com/r/OptimistsUnite/comments/1in7hnj/seattle_waterfront_before_and_after/
2
u/urbanlife78 3h ago
I still remember visiting this pier in Seattle a couple weeks after the show finished airing. It was very surreal to walk around the pier knowing Real World had just been filming there.
2
u/snowflake711 3h ago
I remember watching this when it happened. All I could think about then, and also now, her hair is just so so curly.
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
8
u/Gambit-47 4h ago
These garbage shows killed MTV
→ More replies (8)6
u/KestrelWindhover 3h ago
Old MTV became MTV2 for the folks that wanted nonstop videos.
→ More replies (1)
3
2
2
2
2
u/redmasc 2h ago
I never watched any of this so this is all new to me. But why did the driver stop and why was the door unlocked?
9
→ More replies (1)3
0
u/EmbarrassedPrompt697 3h ago
Not cool to out someone, or use "gay" as an insult.
Even less cool for a man to slap a woman in the face.
5
u/timetravelinggamer 2h ago
lol. Someone who didn’t grow up in the 80s and 90s would say that. This show was for kids from those times. Completely normal behavior
→ More replies (1)4
18
u/LastCookie3448 3h ago
She wasn’t using it as an insult, she was calling him out.
→ More replies (3)17
u/ManyRespect1833 2h ago
Was it meant as an insult? Or was she just saying you’re homosexual I don’t think a marriage will work?
2
u/EmbarrassedPrompt697 2h ago
Ok ok. Got it. I didn't know the context.
It just seemed like she was laughing at him
4
2
u/Pleasant-Ticket3217 2h ago
No it was meant to be an insult. She just knew exactly where to press that would hurt him. He was always a little sensitive but Irene would make comments like that to other people in the house when her Lyme disease became an issue.
There was talk of Stephen’s sexuality and it was clear he was deeply closeted. So that was meant to twist the knife.→ More replies (1)12
u/fartpoke 2h ago
He used it against himself. She said "you're homosexual." It wasn't an insult. It was a statement that has context backing it's appropriate use.
He called himself a "homo"
→ More replies (9)→ More replies (7)2
u/Responsible-Tap-3748 1h ago
Cast members are selected based on the likelihood that they will escalate interactions on a consistent basis
2
u/NUMBerONEisFIRST 3h ago
That was referred to as the "slap heard around the world" when it happened.
Wasnt that the first season?
One of the only season I watched, other than the NOLA season with sexy ass Danny.
That was such a dramatic moment on TV and today it feels like child's play. Although he seems like a shittier person today than he even did back then.
2
u/Cleric_John_Preston 38m ago
Not sure; definitely one of the first seasons. Although, I think Puck was second season, which means that his guy was first (if the way I mentally catalogued them is correct).
I watched a number of seasons, including NOLA, I think. Was Danny the guy who got his eye socket broken in a fight on the first episode?
I could swear the slap got David kicked off the show.
0
4h ago
[deleted]
10
u/Even-Tone2608 4h ago
MTV was actually scorching hot around this time with these types of shows. It was when the music slowed down was the real decline. Too much of one thing is never a good idea
6
u/ClunkerSlim 4h ago
I don't know. I think dumb shit like this kept them afloat longer than they deserved to be. Even by '98 they had competition on all sides that were just playing music videos.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Box_(American_TV_channel))
MTV as a concept was always doomed to fail eventually, either because the concept was so easy to replicate or simply because technology made them redundant. I mean, you think about it. MTV didn't own a single one of those music videos. What other successful major network operated with zero original programming or at least programs they had the rights to? None. Anyone could start a channel and play the same music videos MTV was playing.
→ More replies (1)3
u/Beholder_V 4h ago
They could have been fine if they’d have just had this shit as a part of the lineup instead of going full-bore. I doubt the actual music video portion of MTV would have survived too far into the YouTube age, but they had other good non-reality original content. It’s a shame they let that stuff die on the vine.
4
3
u/BlooNorth 4h ago
Real World was on the front end of the reality tv trend.
What killed MTV was bad music and lack of interest in video as a medium and the internet.
1
628
u/Lead_resource 4h ago
And she was right he was the classic angry closeted gay stereotype