MTV's New Show 'Ghosted' Sounds A Lot Like Stalking
People are taking issue with MTV’s upcoming reality show “Ghosted,” which promises to track down people who cut off all communication in a relationship with no explanation.
The series, which is set to air Sept. 10, features two hosts “helping distraught individuals track down and confront former lovers, family members or friends, all in an effort to get to the bottom of why these people suddenly disappeared,” E! News first reported on Wednesday.
The trailer, which you can watch below, is reminiscent of MTV’s series “Catfish,” where two hosts help a person track down someone they met on the internet and had a romantic relationship with, but whom they never met in person.
“Have you ever been ghosted? Totally left in the dark by someone you care about? No texts. No DMs. Nothing,” co-host Travis Mills says in the trailer. “Every ghost has a story and it’s our job to get them to tell it.”
The problem with “Ghosted,” though, is that people who ghost often have legitimate reasons for doing so ― such as ending a toxic or abusive relationship. Sometimes, if you’re afraid the other person will respond to rejection with violence, ghosting can seem like the safest option.
Twitter users were quick to point out this problem after the trailer was released this week.
One Twitter user likened the show to “sanctioned stalking.” Another wrote: “Trying to ‘track down’ the person that ghosted you, is stalking. A show about obsessed stalkers.”
Getting ghosted is never easy. But that doesn’t mean tracking down the other person with a camera crew is going to make things better.
“Could you imagine someone leaving behind a toxic relationship/friendship, healing, and then an MTV camera crew shows up in your face with that person,” one Twitter user wrote. “That would be super traumatizing for a lot of people.”
It’s not clear what measures MTV is taking, if any, to make sure its show doesn’t empower abusers. MTV didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment for this article.
Scroll below to read more reactions to “Ghosted”:
So y’all basically took a term from social media to turn it into a reality show. Ok. However. Trying to “track down” the person that ghosted you, is stalking. A show about obsessed stalkers. As a therapist i know my field is secure financially. Holy shit https://t.co/cseaTD2v66
— Vegeta IV (@A1SinceDayNone) August 21, 2019
It sounds like sanctioned stalking. o_O I'm pretty sure these people are about to one up the ghosters at being shitty people. *gasp!* Maybe that's they they were ghosted in the first place!
— Misfitdruid (@MisfitDruid81) August 21, 2019
That Ghosted show looks like it's gonna be 60 minutes of complete & utter trash television with train wrecks guaranteed for each episode. Plus, you're really out here stalking someone who ghosted you? Just all around awful behavior and a true reflection of our society but I'm in!
— local bIogger (@fergoe) August 21, 2019
"Publicly tracking down the person who ghosted you" is a weird way to say stalking. It's stalking. https://t.co/qn0Fe059ZV
— mariska hargibae (@Keelectric_Lady) August 21, 2019
Yes! Let me have a major entertainment channel and all its resources to assist me in nationally exposing the person who suddenly cut off my online advances despite my texting and emailing each and every hour for six months. #Ghosted
— Daniel Kochanowicz (@Blueskyfox) August 21, 2019
Never understood why folks get so worked up over being #ghosted. Regardless of the reason - and I understand sometimes it’s deeply personal - this person has let you know there is no space in their life for you, at this time. Sometimes you have to be okay with no closure. https://t.co/l6s2aWnyNz
— BG (@TheBGates) August 21, 2019
Could you imagine someone leaving behind a toxic relationship/friendship, healing, and then an MTV camera crew shows up in your face with that person. That would be super traumatizing for a lot of people
— Juicebox (@CentristsHateMe) August 21, 2019
If you're the kind of person who tracks down someone that ghosted you, you're the reason people feel the need to ghost to protect themselves in the first place. pic.twitter.com/XDedEThIbC
— Iain Kerr (@sarion_gamer) August 21, 2019
Everyone I #Ghosted was because they are toxic and were harmful to me. If @MTV gives someone I didn’t want around me , access to me, I’m fighting the cameraman and the producers. https://t.co/TyY6T3oNHO
— Maybe : Luna 💕 (@ChunaLuna) August 21, 2019
That #Ghosted show reminds me why I’m not on dating apps anymore. I had guys make MULTIPLE accounts just to talk to me once I block them to ask “why did you block me?” So fucking creepy. Take a clear hint, buddy.
— Mathew 👉🏻 Alchemy Tour Long Beach (@MeetMathewN) August 21, 2019
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.