The Teen Choice Awards Are Rigged...And Teenagers Are Pissed
Hell hath no fury like teenagers scorned. Fox is learning that the hard way, courtesy of one of its biggest awards shows, the Teen Choice Awards (which has become a star-studded night, with celebrities from all media showing up to accept awards). What made the show different from other awards shows is that teens are encouraged to vote online for their favorites in a variety of categories. This means that the winners (who get a surfboard-shaped award) directly represent the popular opinion of teenagers across the country...or at least that was the idea. Apparently, the Teen Choice Awards' winners are preselected (and not by the voters, AKA the teens).
It all came to light last year when Vine star Cameron Dallas took to Twitter after he lost "Choice Web Star: Male" to YouTube celebrity Tyler Oakley, angrily pointing out why Oakley didn’t seem excited about his win. “The TCA’s are rigged,” Dallas wrote in a series of Tweets. “He [Oakley] already knew he was going to win that’s why he didn’t promote and that’s why he didn’t seem surprised. It’s funny how they [TCA producers] told me I won the viner award 6 days before the voting ended and made the runners up still tweet to vote for them.”
Dallas deleted his tweets shortly after venting, but the damage had already been done. Other Internet celebrities soon joined in the expose; Vine star Matthew Espinosa confirmed that the winners had been informed nearly a week before the show aired – but were told to keep their millions of followers voting regardless.
“Basically they picked the people almost 6 days before voting was done and used all of us for promotion,” Espinosa tweeted. Other celebrities chimed in, resentful of having been used to promote a show that their followers ultimately had no say in.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, users then started sharing a screenshot of last year’s Teen Choice Awards that managed to confirm what these young stars were saying. The fine print that nobody reads clearly stated that all winners were essentially chosen by a committee of producers; teens’ choices had very little to do with it.
It should go without saying that the youth of America is very unhappy about this revelation. While some fans voted once and moved on, the truly devoted would vote repeatedly (users were allowed to vote every day). They promoted their favorite celebrities, and then tuned in for the results — all to find that their efforts didn’t count when it came to the winners. The hashtag #teensdonthaveachoice began trending as frustrated fans vented their sense of betrayal.
“Dear Tca,” wrote one irate viewer, “Its supposed to be, “TEENS CHOICE” NOT “Producers choice.”
“My childhood has been a lie,” wrote another despondent teen. “All the times I spent voting for nothing, lol.” These teens are learning a tough lesson about trusting corporations and mass media (and possibly these lessons will inform on their political opinions later on in life). But Fox is learning some harsh lessons too; they may have managed to turn off a huge number of potential viewers.
“Well never watching the tcas ever again that’s for sure,” wrote one fan.
“They let us believe we can make a difference but its all just a hoax,” wrote another. “Well now we are making a difference.” None of this bodes well for Fox when it comes to the under-20 demographic.
Fox has often expressed a desire to reach out to the younger generation, particularly Internet celebrities and social media users. Well they have — albeit not in the way they originally hoped. The Teen Choice Awards has taught their intended audience a hard lesson — and it’s one they aren’t going to forget any time soon.
[Pic via Wikimedia Commons]
