If You Grew Up In The '00s, You'll Remember These 25 Seriously Messed-Up Things We All Lived Through

"Throughout the 2000s, paparazzi relentlessly pursued Britney Spears, earning hundreds of thousands per photo. When she publicly struggled with mental health, tabloids framed it as entertainment and a moral failure. The infamous single-shaved-head photo reportedly generated millions of dollars in media revenue. The host/cast of Family Feud joked about her breakdown, and late-night comics mocked her custody battle. She was ultimately placed under a conservatorship that lasted 13 years."

"Girls Gone Wild (GGW) sent camera crews to spring break destinations and college bars to film young women - some proven to be underage - flashing or performing sexual acts while intoxicated. Multiple lawsuits alleged coercion, deceptive tactics, and filming minors. The brand ran relentless late-night infomercials and made an estimated hundreds of millions of dollars during its peak. Founder Joe Francis was later indicted on federal tax-evasion charges and ultimately pled guilty to filing false tax returns as part of a plea deal."

"Reality shows like Extreme Makeover and The Swan aired multi-surgery transformations, featuring liposuction, nose jobs, brow lifts, and implants, all for a "reveal." The shows positioned surgical intervention not as a medical procedure but as a reward for a moral failure - that the person was "unworthy" of love or success without a total physical overhaul. The show The Swan went so far as to put contestants through a "beauty boot camp" before unveiling"

Paparazzi monetized celebrities' personal crises, with relentless photo coverage turning mental-health struggles into profitable spectacle and contributing to long-term legal control. Late-night media and game shows often mocked and dehumanized those subjects. Commercial ventures like Girls Gone Wild exploited intoxicated young people, sometimes filming minors, and faced lawsuits alleging coercion and deception while generating vast revenues. Reality television normalized extensive cosmetic surgery as a moral corrective, framing physical transformation as a remedy for personal worthiness. These practices combined media profit motives, legal consequences, and significant psychological harm for the people targeted.

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