He's a Lady
He's a Lady was an American reality television show that aired on TBS from October 19 to November 16, 2004. The premise of the show involves eleven men accepting an invitation to be a part of a reality show, under the guise that it will be the ultimate male competition. It is eventually revealed that the contestants will have to live, act and dress like their wives or girlfriends in order to win $250,000. The show's name is a parody of Tom Jones's 1971 hit song, "She's a Lady".
| He's a Lady | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Reality |
| Created by | Tom Campbell Bryan Hale |
| Written by | Tom Campbell Bryan Hale |
| Directed by | Stephen W. Alvarez Katherine Brooks Glenn GT Taylor |
| Presented by | Tony Frassrand |
| Judges | Morgan Fairchild Debbie Matenopoulos John Salley |
| Composers | Michael Lloyd Greg O'Connor |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Tom Campbell Kathleen French Dean Minerd Robert Riesenberg Douglas Ross Greg Stewart |
| Producers | Joycelyn Di Palma Babette Pepaj |
| Editors | Craig Anglin Anne-Marie Hess Andrew P. Jones |
| Production company | Evolution Film & Tape |
| Release | |
| Original network | TBS |
| Original release | October 19 – November 16, 2004 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The show is hosted by Tony Frassrand, and produced by Evolution Film & Tape, Inc. and Full Circle Entertainment.
Show format
The eleven contestants were originally told that they would be competing on a show named All American Man, where they would participate in physical and mental competitions. The inevitable reality television catch is that they are actually competing with each other to act as effeminately as possible.
To accomplish this goal, the contestants are required to violate a number of taboos relating to traditional gender roles. They participate in activities traditionally regarded as exclusively "female", including:
- Bonding with other females in an all-female, non-sexual situation
- Wearing a brassiere, feminine jewelry, and cosmetics
- Planning a wedding
- Serving as bridesmaids
- Passing as a female in public and, later, in front of family and friends
- Participating in a beauty pageant
Each week, the contestants' performances were judged by a panel of celebrity judges. The panel included Morgan Fairchild, John Salley, and Debbie Matenopoulos. The show ended with a beauty pageant, when the contestants answered the question, "What, as a lady, have you learned about being a man?"[1]
The final three contestants were Donnell (ended third place), Albert (ended second place) and David, who ultimately won the $250,000 prize.
Music
The show's theme song goes like this:
Well, he's tough and tall and tan,
He's a macho manly man.
He's very burly!
But he's taken off his jock,
Puttin' on a fancy frock.
And now he's…girly!
He's a lady!
Oh, no, no, he's a lady!
Now he's in shock,
Cause he's a lady!
And it's blowing his mind.
Controversy
Originally, the show was sponsored by S.C. Johnson Wax[2] but it was pulled out[3] later at the last minute on claiming that an SCJ spokesperson said "We've assessed the show, and we will not sponsor it". Additionally, it was also sued by Freund & Brackney LLP by plaintiffs John Phillips and Derek Gerard[4] claiming that the format was taken from the transgender-theme reality show called Sex Change with its plot, themes, dialogue, mood, setting, pace, characters and sequences of events.
References
- "He's a Lady - The Show". tbssuperstation.com. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
- "TBS to premiere 'He's A Lady' gender-bending reality show on October 12". Reality TV World. 31 August 2004.
- Neff, Jack (13 October 2004). "SC JOHNSON PULLS OUT OF CROSS-DRESSING REALITY SHOW" – via AdAge.
- "TBS Sued Over He's a Lady". Multichannel News. 23 November 2004.