WEBVTT

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- It's the year 2004, and the networks

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are scrambling to profit
off the overnight success

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of American Idol.

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Enter superstar USA.

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- Superstar USA: it's the most
anticipated show of the year.

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You know, people said we couldn't do it.

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People said we shouldn't
do it, but we did.

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- Superstar USA was a singing competition

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with one big twist: a deception that,

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in the words of one person
who worked on the show,

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made the program truly
morally reprehensible.

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- Thousands of singers
auditioned, all believing

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that we were searching
for America's best singer,

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but we're not.

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We're actually searching
for America's worst singer.

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- All while lying to contestants

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and telling them that they
were fantastic vocalists.

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The judges were rapper
Tone Loc, pop singer

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Vitamin C, and resident
meanie, a guy named Briggs.

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- What do you say to
people who think this show

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is cruel and offensive?

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- I'd have to say

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(bleep) you.

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- Briggs went on to work
on the Hostile films,

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which feels appropriate

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because superstar USA was
basically torture porn.

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The judges praised the
truly terrible singers,

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while anyone who could
actually sing was sent packing.

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♪ Freedom ♪

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- Okay, Theresa, I've got good
news, and I've got bad news.

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- Great.

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- The bad news is you
are not a strong singer.

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Good news is you're hot,

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and I would love to
take you out to dinner.

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- A select few impressively bad singers

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were flown to LA to perform

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in front of a live studio audience.

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How did the show get the studio audience

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to cheer for these horrible singers?

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Get this.

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They told the studio audience

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that the contestants were
terminally ill patients,

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living out their pop star dreams

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through the Make-A-Wish foundation.

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I'll give you a moment
to really take that in.

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(crickets chirping)

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The winner was told, on stage,

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she'd been duped the entire time,

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but also, that she'd won
$50,000 in a record deal.

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Luckily, she didn't seem
to have any hard feelings,

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and even more luckily,
the show ended its run

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after just seven episodes.

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- Knock, knock

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- Who's there?

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- You sucked.