If you're a regular CB reader, you may have run across Kelly's story a few days ago about one of Fear Factor most gag-inducing stunts yet. If you've managed to avoid soiling your brain with the story so far and happen to be eating at the moment, hold on to your croissants. The episode in question, filmed last summer, included a stunt where contestants were tasked with chugging down tall glasses filled with donkey semen. Don't worry, though -- the show also provided a glass of donkey urine to help wash it down. Unfortunately, any contestants who were willing to give it all for $50,000 and bit of TV fame may not get their moment in the spotlight, because now it looks like NBC has pulled the episode from the schedule.
Slapped with the title "Hee Haw! Hee Haw!" the episode was originally scheduled to air tonight. TMZ, however, is reporting that the episode listing has vanished from NBC's media website. It's been replaced with a listing for a rerun of an episode that aired earlier this month. The gossip site also confirmed that channel guides in both L.A. and New York are showing a rerun on tonight's schedule, and it looks like promos for the donkey episode have also been pulled offline. Spokespersons for NBC, Comcast, and Fear Factor production company Endemol hadn't returned TMZ's calls at the time they published the story.
It's understandable if NBC choked at the prospect of actually airing the donkey semen ep, given how widespread the story has broken online in the past few days. Fear Factor by its very nature has to constantly push the boundaries of safety and good taste with its stunts, but this is pretty extreme even for them. This particular stunt might have sounded daring on paper, but as the date drew closer and the story went viral, it was no doubt harder for skittish network execs to swallow. It's unclear at this point if the episode will air at some point in the future or if it's been whacked for good.
And what about the contestants who downed a donkey load and then didn't win the fifty grand? As Mack points out, if you go on the show you deserve what you get, but I can imagine there are probably a few contestants who think the Peacock network is a bunch of jerks for slapping down their big TV debut.
