Mike Fleiss v. “Reality Steve”: ‘The Bachelorette’ Spoiler War

If you’re a fan of ‘The Bachelorette,’ then you know that every season of ABC’s show is met with spoilers from an internet blogger known as “Reality Steve.” It’s been the bane of ABC’s existence for years, and last year ABC received a long-awaited gift in their inbox when they discovered that Steve Carbone encouraged show contestants to violate their contract, which finally gave ABC cause to sue. They reached a settlement, but that settlement may or may not have banned Carbone from future spoilers. My guess is it didn’t, because he’s still spoiling the ending, and no one is stupid enough to so blatantly breach a contract with a big network. But according to Twitter, series creator Mike Fleiss thinks differently. Fleiss ranted about Carbone, calling him a “parasite,” and insisting that his spoilers hurt his show because, “no one wants to know who won the Super Bowl before sitting down to watch the game.” Although I understand Fleiss’ frustration, his example is sub-par. Viewers like to watch the show with knowledge of the final choice so they can look for the clues they might not have noticed otherwise. And furthermore, Mike Fleiss is a generally creepy dude that should probably stay off twitter. He likely has limited knowledge of the legal system and what would constitute a breach of contract, so in the end, he’s needlessly exposing his ignorance.