"Squid Game" reality show on Netflix faces backlash for "exploiting" contestants
If you watched the worldwide phenomenon that was Squid Game, the harrowing scenes from the dystopian Netflix show were probably seared into your brain.
So, when the streaming giant announced that it would turn fiction into reality TV with Squid Game: The Challenge, fans were understandably baffled by the irony of it all.
Many took to X last year to drag Netflix for “completely misunderstanding” the “moral stance” of the original show.
Squid Game: The Challenge finally aired last week, and the reviews are in — most people still hate it.
The outrage recently poured in after Netflix shared a clip of a contestant who had “one of the most dramatic reality show exits of all time.”
The clip shows Player 299 (yes, they stick to the show’s script reducing people down to numbers) playing the now-popular game where contestants have to carefully break a shape out of brittle dalgona candy.
You can see him struggling, his face red and his stomach grumbling due to anxiety. He fails to cleanly cut out the shape and gasps, falling onto his back in defeat.
He’s then shot with a paint gun to indicate his elimination.
299 had one of the most dramatic reality show exits of all time. #SquidGameTheChallenge pic.twitter.com/UTy3OBmwae
— Netflix (@netflix) November 26, 2023
“This show should never have been made,” one X user replied to the post. “The original was literally an example of why something like this shouldn’t exist in real life.”
This show should never have been made. The original was literally an example of why something like this shouldn’t exist in real life.
— Jordan Wharton (The Writing Spartan) (@Writing_Spartan) November 27, 2023
Many doubled down on the irony of the Squid Game reality TV show.
Does Netflix not realize the irony in literally any of this or what
— Halo Plasmaposting (@Plasmaposting) November 28, 2023
this ain’t weird to anybody else
— VANNIALL ♡ U=U (@Vannialll) November 27, 2023
My mind is blown at them making a reality show and then sensationalizing Squid Games while simultaneously exploiting the contestants. I swear we are in a simulation because what the fuck?
— Blue LaSirène🔞🇭🇹🧜🏾♀️ (@MizzPatFussy) November 28, 2023
Another said they wouldn’t watch the show “out of principle.”
Feel like out of principle, I can’t watch this show
— NiiNiiFC-BlueLionsTV (@NiiNiiFC) November 27, 2023
One X user says contestants reported “seeing others drop to the floor convulsing in the middle of recording but weren’t allowed to help bc they’d get kicked out.”
contestants reported seeing others drop to the floor convulsing in the middle of recording but weren’t allowed to help bc they’d get kicked out, and they needed that money for their families/health/etc.
— jamison shea🩸 (@wickedjamison) November 27, 2023
The show’s real-life ramifications have put it in some hot water.
According to Deadline, some contestants are threatening legal action against Netflix and producers, claiming they were injured during the filming of Squid Game: The Challenge.
A UK law firm is representing two unnamed players who claim they suffered hypothermia and nerve damage while filming in cold conditions.
Despite the backlash, many are still tuning in.
Show’s great. That dude stressed me out. He definitely needs help with handling his stress and anxiety. Poor guy.
— Jaden Williams (@JadenJTW) November 26, 2023
Will you be watching the show?
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