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Petition against Married at First Sight

Petition gathers 12,500 signatures, but also serves as a great marketing tool for Nine's new show.

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A petition to cancel Nine’s Married at First Sight is attracting signature and headlines ahead of its impending launch.

And with it a slew of brand awareness for the network too.

The petition started by April Murphy at Change.org has 12,500 signatures.

“This television show is a disgrace. It is morally unsound and should not be aired on Australian television. It is appalling that we live in country that will not support marriage equality but will support a television show such as this!”

Of course the irony is the couples don’t actually get married in the series, despite the title which suggests otherwise.

4 couples undergo a commitment ceremony, which comes with all the TV trappings of a wedding, and complete an Intention to Get Married form. If at the end of the social experiment they decide to submit them, it’s their call.

But despite the fascination of watching the lengths some people will go to in order to find their perfect partner, the first episode is brief in its clarity on the legal situation.

It has previously named the series The Experiment: Married at First Sight, although that appears to have now been dropped. A quick re-edit of the first episode to make the legal situation clear would also avoid viewers feeling duped.

Once everybody accepts this TV experiment as a commitment ceremony, there might be less angst over what it is and what it isn’t. But networks have been known in the past to allow ‘controversy’ to help drive up ratings.

…and Committed at First Sight just doesn’t have the same ring about it, dang it.

Via: NewsCorp

26 Responses

  1. What is this different from what dating agency are already doing it? The only difference is that in this version people don’t have a chance to meet before and asses if they are really a match or not. Arranged marriages are still used in many Asian countries, so they must work (most of the time). I hope people understand the difference between arranged and forced marriage.

    1. In a number of countries where arranged marriages are the custom, at least for the wealthy, there is often a second partner. And dating agencies are, to be a little base, meat markets. You assume you will shop around, not pay a fee (if you have to) and just get one recommendation and that’s it for a month or two until you decide whether to commit or not. All this said, it’s the name of the show that’s misleading. Many young people these days will go into this simply to get an opportunity on screen. If that happens in Australia apparently you become what they call a “celebrity” and will appear multiple times in magazines, have a regular column in Fairfax and get to be on celebrity shows.

    2. I think there is a big difference between dating someone through a dating agency/site and fake marrying them in the day.

      You’re right, a lot of cultures do still practice arranged marriages – even to the point of meeting on the wedding day. It frustrates me though that it is cited as a great success because a lot of these couples stay together – they even said something about it in the
      Married at First Sight blurb. A big reason though that the couples stay married is because those cultures don’t generally believe in divorce either – it is either illegal or frowned upon so it can’t really be called a ‘successful’ marriage if the partners have no option but to remain married.

  2. This is just a left wing group exploiting a silly TV to try and change the law the way they want, when it has nothing to do with it.

    The simple answer is don’t watch it and it won’t be back.

    1. Agreed. If only people would vote and ‘speak’ with their remote control, they would get what they wanted (to see) far sooner. And I also think many of the petition sites need to educate people how to word a petition. Some wording that I’ve seen is nigh on useless because it’s either very vague or just way too emotive.

  4. This petition is PR gold. Loads of people will tune in to the first episode – see how bad it is – and then it will be shoved onto Gem or Go within minutes.

    And the PR people will walk away with the moulah laughing.

  5. Morally unsound? Im sure they’re ‘marrige’ would last longer then most people’s marriages last these days anyway, and people get married for much less reasons. If anything it’s a true reflection of the pointlessness of marriage.

  8. You people are just too cynical to envisage its potential to be as much a soaring success as ‘Yasmin’s Getting Married’ was 😛

        1. Oh yes, great example. Funnily enough it has a higher rating on IMBD than Yasmin’s. Sex sells I guess. Perhaps “Yasmin’s Honeymoon Shock” may have done better.

  10. Think people will be so fed up with reality shows that it could be a flop, other channels have tried different types of these shows but without success and think this will be the same.

  11. While I think it’s a tasteless & tone-deaf travesty of entertainment, I don’t believe it should be shut down.

    And I don’t just feel that about Ch 9, but the programme too…

  13. Coming soon to you: Committed at First Sight! We take 4 ordinary Australians and commit them to a mental health clinic for 6 weeks. Shenanigans will ensue.

      1. I have bipolar and have been in psych hospital and it would be really interesting to do a show with real patients but would be in extremely poor taste as a reality show – so it definitely could end up on Nine 😉

    1. What about that new Japanese show where the male contestants are masturbated by a female assistant and they have to try and fight off an orgasm in order to win. The action is done behind a table but if you watch it without sound and do a sort of Gogglebox thing on it…it’s hilarious.

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