# Dave Hester fired from Storage Wars, claims fraud



## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2012/12/storage-wars-sued-dave-hester-show-faked

The fraud he is talking about is the producers salting the lockers with good items, among other things.

This is the actual complaint
http://www.radaronline.com/sites/radaronline.com/files/David-Hester-Files-Complaint-Against-A&E.pdf


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## ts7 (Nov 1, 2011)

I suspect Dave Hester will come out on top. Is there any part of his complaint that comes as a surprise to anyone that has watched more than a few episodes? I remember an episode where a production tag was clearly visible when the locker was supposedly opened for the first time (it was gone in the next camera shot).

I still watch and enjoy the show for it's entertainment value - after all, isn't most TV just fiction?

...of course this whole firing Dave Hester and his lawsuit against the show could very well be more about publicity than anything else.


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

Of course it's faked. All of these shows are (in one way or another) which is why I don't watch them.


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

SayWhat? said:


> Of course it's faked. All of these shows are (in one way or another) which is why I don't watch them.


+1......It amazes me how many people think these types of shows are real.


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## Jimmy 440 (Nov 17, 2007)

Deleted.Posted in error.


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## photostudent (Nov 8, 2007)

I am guessing this all relates to Hester's salary issues with A&E from last year. Now he has to tell all the kiddies that there is no Santa Claus. At least his persona is not faked.


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## fluffybear (Jun 19, 2004)

MysteryMan said:


> +1......It amazes me how many people think these types of shows are real.


I'll second that.. My dad is a reality show junky and it disappoints me how such an intelligent man can believe any of them are real. At least I have comfort in knowing that he does know a show like "Hardcore Pawn" is fake..


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

MysteryMan said:


> +1......It amazes me how many people think these types of shows are real.


I've even seen discussions that Antiques Roadshow is 'salted'.

Funny how Barnum is still right:

"There's a sucker born every minute"

(Although there's some question if he ever said it or not)


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

I'd seen before that it was faked, along with American Pickers, Pawn Stars etc.

American Restoration? Not sure about this one. Maybe pre negotiating the price etc, but the part I like, them actually restoring the item is real. Just wish they showed that more, not the stuff between the crew.

I think Deadliest Catch and Flying Wild Alaska (when it was on) was at least mainly real, other than hamming for the camera and such.

I don't think Roadshow is salted. Look at what happened to the watermelon sword people. There were a lot of people that showed up for them when they came here. No way they didn't get a lot of interesting items legitimately.


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## BubblePuppy (Nov 3, 2006)

SayWhat?;3144581 said:


> I've even seen discussions that Antiques Roadshow is 'salted'.
> 
> Funny how Barnum is still right:
> 
> ...


And it was W. C. Fields who said "Never give a sucker an even break or smarten up a chump".


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

I like watching the show and I do believe a small portion is real, but for ever locker to have something totally awesome? Nah. Of course it's fake. Heck, I bet their contracts even tell them as much meaning that its unlikely Dave is going to win this. They are actors in a reality show. What's on air simply isn't what happens in real life. Without the help of the producers the show wood be boring and off air and the part implants know this. Yuuuuup!!!


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

dpeters11 said:


> American Restoration? Not sure about this one. Maybe pre negotiating the price etc, but the part I like, them actually restoring the item is real. Just wish they showed that more, not the stuff between the crew.
> 
> I think Deadliest Catch and Flying Wild Alaska (when it was on) was at least mainly real, other than hamming for the camera and such.
> 
> I don't think Roadshow is salted.


They're all faked one way or another, even if it's just scripting and editing. What you see is not how the scene really played out.

Even one of the most 'real' out there, The First 48, is heavily edited. And I don't mean just for time. You can tell they edit for drama, sound effects added and in many cases speak direct to the camera. You even see it sometimes on COPS and some of the others.

I guess 'fake' is sort of a generic term, but when COPS first aired, there was very little altered.

Today's 'reality' shows are just plain fake through and through. Paid actors is about it as far as describing the participants. Survivor, Bachelor, Great Race; ALL of them are faked to some extent.



Doug Brott said:


> I like watching the show and I do believe *a small portion is real*,


Maybe the location. And I'm not sure some of those aren't sets.

What I don't get is why some of these shows aren't treated as the game shows they are and subject to the same rules and regulations as game shows.


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## paulman182 (Aug 4, 2006)

Maybe I'm naive but why would anyone care if it were real or not?


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

paulman182 said:


> Maybe I'm naive but why would anyone care if it were real or not?


Truth in advertising. I'm fine with scripted shows. But if they're scripted, present them as such, don't present them as 'reality'.


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## Tiny (Feb 1, 2009)

Moonshiners is also fake how dumb can the law be to catch those idoits all u have to do is to find out where there camera crew stays at and simply follow them to the moonshine stills LOL......


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

It came out nearly twenty years ago that the original MTV reality show, Real World, was scripted. I can't believe that this is news and certainly not worthy of a lawsuit.

But then, if you are making stars of low life trailer trash...


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

Carl Spock said:


> But then, if you are making stars of low life trailer trash...


Or when low-life trailer trash is running the shows ....


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## iceturkee (Apr 1, 2007)

i'm surprised that hester would think the show is real.


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## yosoyellobo (Nov 1, 2006)

photostudent said:


> I am guessing this all relates to Hester's salary issues with A&E from last year. Now he has to tell all the kiddies that there is no Santa Claus. At least his persona is not faked.


Santa Claus is not real.


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

News coming out of a lawsuit over Pawn Stars and their talent agents. If it's '_real_', why do they need talent agents?


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

SayWhat? said:


> Maybe the location. And I'm not sure some of those aren't sets.


As for "small portion" I'll only assume that you and I aren't even remotely thinking about the same thing ... I'm talking about personalities, Jared and Brandy's interaction with each other, the Sheets jokes, etc. etc.

I don't believe the show is scripted, but I do believe the show is set up ... It's a bunch of guys ad-libbing their way throw a show that has been given a general direction by the producers (including planting cool stuff in pre-picked lockers). It's not even clear to me whether there is real bidding going on the day of show taping because shot setup, etc. will take a big chunk of the time. But I'm certain that only one of the shows stars is allowed to win the pre-picked lockers. How would it look if joe six pack came in off the street and took one of the really cool lockers - the producers would be out of a locker and have nothing to show for it.

It's 30 minutes of escapism TV and if anyone thinks "reality tv" is real just doesn't get it.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

iceturkee said:


> i'm surprised that hester would think the show is real.


:lol: I'm sure Dave knows that it's not real. Sounds like he's in a contract dispute with the producers ... Heck, even this event is probably a stunt to attract more viewers to the Show ... We'll probably see Dave back within the next two weeks after they've "made up."


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

Doug Brott said:


> It's not even clear to me whether there is real bidding going on the day of show taping because shot setup, etc. will take a big chunk of the time. But I'm certain that only one of the shows stars is allowed to win the pre-picked lockers. How would it look if joe six pack came in off the street and took one of the really cool lockers - the producers would be out of a locker and have nothing to show for it.


Can you say Spin-Off Series? 

They may seed the locker after the bidding. These really valuable things are in the back, hidden away.

They also might seed all of the lockers a bit. Really, what's a $3,000 guitar worth in the big scheme of things in a network series? If they have to spend $10,000 seeding all the lockers a bit, that's chump change when it comes to producing a television show. They'll spend that much on the craft truck feeding the cast and crew to produce a half an hour of television.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

SayWhat? said:


> They're all faked one way or another, even if it's just scripting and editing. What you see is not how the scene really played out.
> 
> Even one of the most 'real' out there, The First 48, is heavily edited. And I don't mean just for time. You can tell they edit for drama, sound effects added and in many cases speak direct to the camera. You even see it sometimes on COPS and some of the others.
> 
> ...


Ok, I get the editing. They do tend to create "characters", or make things more dramatic. I've noticed in a few shows, like on Pawn Stars, before the break you'll see the expert say something like there's a potential issue with the item, but after the break, there's no doubt and he's positive it's legit.

I can see why they don't have the same rules as game shows, in that case you have actual contestants, and you can't have it rigged in such a way that one person is guaranteed to win. I truly believe that the contestants on Jeopardy! are real people, not actors. It just takes quite a lot to get to that point. I had trouble with the online test...


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

> I can see why they don't have the same rules as game shows, in that case you have actual contestants, and you can't have it rigged in such a way that one person is guaranteed to win.


You don't think Survivor and Race have contestants vying for a prize? How are they not game shows?

Or am I misreading?


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

I think they do things in the editing (especially Survivor) to create a villain, or someone that looks clueless, making it look like two teams were neck and neck, etc but I personally don't think that they do anything to influence who wins. I certainly hope not at least.

Maybe I'm thinking too extreme, when I think of game shows being rigged, I think of situations like the classic Van Doren vs Stempel situation. But for Amazing Race, how well someone does or doesn't do I think is all legit. But some say the team that lost their passports this season really didn't, that it was all part of the plan for the season.

But what is reality on TV? Even the news, is it really the reality? I'm not talking things like Fox News vs MSNBC and political leanings, but when reporting a particular conflict, it's difficult at least to get all the angles.


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

fluffybear said:


> I'll second that.. My dad is a reality show junky and it disappoints me how such an intelligent man can believe any of them are real. At least I have comfort in knowing that he does know a show like "Hardcore Pawn" is fake..


I gave up on that one because it was crazy fake.

But I watch all the other auction, storage, pawn programs because of the objects that pass thru the shows. But *Hardcore Pawn* doesn't even have decent objects. Just three pawnbrokers lowballing on everything.


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## armophob (Nov 13, 2006)

The damage that show has done to the hobby of storage auctions is very real.
I used to love hunting the paper for auctions and buying storage units for the mystery. There usually were a small group of the same faces that would show up.
I won't go anymore. The crowds are so large you can hardly get close enough to look it over.


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## ts7 (Nov 1, 2011)

"armophob" said:


> The damage that show has done to the hobby of storage auctions is very real.
> I used to love hunting the paper for auctions and buying storage units for the mystery. There usually were a small group of the same faces that would show up.
> I won't go anymore. The crowds are so large you can hardly get close enough to look it over.


The local newspaper here did a story a few months ago about how the show has impacted local storage auctions. It mentioned how crowds were much bigger and lockers were going for 10 times as much as they did before the show. Like you mentioned, it affected the hobbyists but the article discussed how it was hurting thrift stores that catered to low income folks.

While these shows have an entertainment value, they can also have a seriously negative impact on large segments of the population. Another example is how the extreme couponing show has resulted in all kinds of new limitations and restrictions in retail coupons, again hurting a large number of folks that relied on those coupons but didnt abuse the system. I know, it's just TV, but TV is still the most powerful medium there is (with the possible exception of the Internet) and there still needs to be some level of accountability and responsibility of those producing the programs.


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

Why would Surivor need a 'talent agent'? Actually I can answer that question.

I worked with a guy who was on Survivor: Gabon (Dan Kay). We got to talking one day about all the stuff you DON'T see on the show. One of the topics was the 'audition' process. Yes, for the most part, these are real people but they ARE "scouted" by agents who look for people that they THINK will make "good television".

If you're something out of an old Norman Rockwell painting, you might make 'good tv' if they include some punk rocker to be in your group - the clash might be entertaining.

As it turns out, they use the same agent for The Amazing Race as they do for Survivor. When I mention to Dan that my wife and I were thinking of applying for The Amazing Race, he told me that he knew the casting agent for Survivor and would put in a good word for me since they worked both shows.

Just as a side note were two things he said you just don't get an appreciation for in Survivor. One is the hunger. You are ALWAYS hungry. Second is how edited Tribal Council is. He said that one of his last two hours. Nobody wanted to say anything that would get them in trouble. Finally Jeff told the crew to turn off the cameras as told the castaways that, unless they gave him something to work with, they would be there all night. He didn't tell them what to say - he just told them to stop "playing defense".


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

That's one thing Jeff Probst has said before, that the councils go on for a long time. But I think he's right. People can armchair quarterback about a stupid move someone makes either on Survivor or Amazing Race, and don't take into account that they are hungry, tired, miserable or all of the above.

A season or two ago on Amazing Race they had to do a Bollywood dance routine, and one of the racers had an extremely hard time with it. Someone tweeted Phil about it, and he responded something like "Of course they don't keep at it non stop, and we do provide water." It just gets edited out.


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## winman97 (Jan 30, 2013)

Reports also have it that the show's producers also paid the bill for plastic surgery for at least one of the female cast members. Is it the shapley Brandi...or the lovely Laura...or the saucey Nabila??? OR...OH NO could it be Barry's mom???? Say it ain't so mom


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## armophob (Nov 13, 2006)

I deleted it now.
I can't get into it anymore with the fraud hovering over it.


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## davejacobson (Mar 14, 2005)

Television shows are edited for content  Someone is hired to make the content worth watching  Please tell me its not true. The next thing you will tell me is that everything on the internet is not true :nono2:


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## oldschoolecw (Jan 25, 2007)

davejacobson said:


> Television shows are edited for content  Someone is hired to make the content worth watching  Please tell me its not true. The next thing you will tell me is that everything on the internet is not true :nono2:


Well, I think your looking at it wrong or maybe I'm looking at it wrong. But what I believed to be, was that this show and many others were filmed documentary style. Which meant they were true to life and non scripted, but we are finding out differently and I'm quite disappointed


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

davejacobson said:


> Television shows are edited for content  Someone is hired to make the content worth watching  Please tell me its not true. The next thing you will tell me is that everything on the internet is not true :nono2:


Editing is different than seeding. It certainly is possible to find a valuable item, I'm sure the producers didn't seed a half million dollars worth of gold, silver and coins that someone bought for $1100, even if Dan held the auction. No cameras were there.

But actually staging the lockers is not the same as it not being considered real because it was edited.


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## 456521 (Jul 6, 2007)

It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that items are planted in the storage lockers. There are way too many "finds" for it to be real. I still watch the show, but only because I find the characters entertaining to watch. Same thing with Pawn Stars, etc.


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## Griffs77 (Sep 22, 2012)

ts7 said:


> Another example is how the extreme couponing show has resulted in all kinds of new limitations and restrictions in retail coupons, again hurting a large number of folks that relied on those coupons but didnt abuse the system.


Amen. I love how most coupons now require you to purchase 3 or 4 items just to get a dollar off. Either you hoard or what's the point?


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