5 other times reality TV went too far as Below Deck Down Under controversy sees two stars leave the show

Reality TV is no stranger to controversy, but Below Deck Down Under undoubtedly overstepped the mark with its latest scandal this week. The show saw two members of its cast removed from the show following sexual misconduct incidents.

First, contestant Luke Jones was fired after he crawled into Margot Sisson's cabin. Producers removed him after he got into bed with Margot who was half-asleep after a heavy night of drinking.

Shortly after, Laura Bileskalne was fired after she climbed into Adam Kodra's bunk and tried to massage him - despite him repeatedly rejecting her advances and saying he was not interested.

The incidents have once again raised questions over conduct on reality TV shows - but other examples from the past - particularly from shows in the US - show how this is nothing new.

Survivor

During the American version of Survivor in 2017, an insensitive and despicable incident took place.

Contestant Jeff Varner outed his teammate Zeke Smith as being transgender.

Jeff had revealed the news in an attempt to show Zeke as untrustworthy, but the reaction of everyone else showed how it backfired on him.

The Swan

Down the rabbit hole of downright weird reality TV is where you'll find The Swan.

Contestants would undergo extreme makeovers - including - cosmetic surgery -in the show where one person was eliminated each week.

Serious eyebrows were raised about the show's messaging too.

Big Brother

Big Brother has had its fair share of controversies in the UK including Shilpa Shetty's treatment at the hands of Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O'Meara on the Celebrity version in 2007, and Kim Woodburn's furious rant, which saw her temporarily removed in 2017.

But one incident from the Australian version caused similar criticism to the recent Below Deck incidents.

The 2006 version of the show saw the term Turkey Slapping become a talking point.

For those unaware, this is the vile act of a man slapping someone else in the face or elsewhere with his penis.

Contestant Camilla Severi was pinned down by fellow contestant Michael Bric while Michael Cox - another contestant - carried out the sexual assault on her.

Following outrage and the incident still being aired on TV, the pair were removed and the late-night version of the show was curtailed.

Naked And Afraid

In a completely different incident, during Naked and Afraid Australia, participant Manu Toigu nearly died after she was bitten by a mosquito and contracted dengue fever.

She was bedridden for three days after the incident in Panama. She also had to spend several months in recovery therapy.

Despite the near-death experience, she re-appeared on the show in 2019.

Fear Factor

Before his successful career as a UFC commentator and podcast host, Joe Rogan was well-known as the host of Fear Factor.

Back in 2012, Fear Factor made headlines after contestants were forced to drink donkey semen and urine. It doesn't really get any more gross than that.

But once word got out about this, the show was pulled by NBC before it even aired. It was also the last episode of the show filmed by NBC.