What happens when people stop being polite and start getting real? Reality TV drama that is groundbreaking, eye-opening, and often uncomfortable.
MTV’s The Real World became a cultural phenomenon when it launched 30 years ago, on May 21, 1992. And viewers watched transfixed as various housemates navigated love and independence on the show, while contending with illness, addiction, bigotry, and violence.
With The Real World’s 30th anniversary upon us — and as The Real World Homecoming: New Orleans releases new episodes on Paramount+ — revisit major moments from the seminal reality show below.
Julie and Kevin fight about racism in The Real World: New York
In what Kevin Powell later called “the most famous argument in American TV history on race and racism,” he and Julie Gentry debated racial bias on the streets of Soho, with Julie claiming that racism is everywhere only because of people like him. “Get off the white-black thing,” she told him at one point. “I’m sick of it!”
David gets the boot in The Real World: Los Angeles
David Edwards became the first person to be kicked off a reality TV show after he ripped a blanket off a scantily-clad Tami Roman, who gave him an ultimatum that either he would leave the household or she would.
Tami gets an abortion in Los Angeles
Only a few episodes later, The Real World examined what it called “one of the most complex, controversial, and painful” of life’s struggles, as Tami told her mother and her housemates — some of whom weren’t pro-choice — of her decision to get an abortion.
Pedro commits to Sean in The Real World: San Francisco
Not only was Pedro Zamora reality TV’s first openly HIV-positive star, but he was also one half of television’s first same-sex ceremony, as The Real World aired his commitment ceremony to partner Sean Sasser. Pedro passed away in 1994, hours after the San Francisco season finale, and Sasser passed in 2013.
Mike and Melissa have a threesome in The Real World: Miami
Mike Lambert and Melissa Padrón had a steamy time with an unnamed waitress in the hot tub — and then in the shower — of the Miami house. Mike and Melissa denied any hanky-panky took place, but their eavesdropping housemates begged to differ.
Stephen slaps Irene in The Real World: Seattle
In perhaps the most shocking moment of the Seattle season, Stephen Williams hit Irene McGee in the face after she outed him as homosexual on the show. In a Vulture retrospective posted in 2013, Irene said that outing Stephen was “one of the meanest things” she had ever done to someone but criticized the Real World crew for “[doing] nothing more than film while a female got assaulted in front of them.”
Ruthie goes to rehab in The Real World: Hawaii
Real World producers intervened in the show’s eighth season, sending cast member Ruthie Alcaide to a 30-day rehabilitation program on MTV’s dime after she showed signs of a drinking problem. “It was like watching a train wreck,” executive producer Mary-Ellis Bunim said later, “and we couldn’t let that happen.”
Danny dates a member of the military in The Real World: New Orleans
When The Real World’s ninth season aired in 2000, the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy was still in effect, so MTV’s editors blurred out the face of the U.S. Army captain Danny Roberts dated. It was only after Paul Dill left the military that he revealed himself as Danny’s mystery man.