20 Reality TV Moments Where We Were Grateful The Cameras Kept Rolling

These shows had god-tier camerapeople and we applaud their service.

Say what you will about reality TV, but for pop culture observers like myself, they're the gift that keeps on giving.

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Over the years, reality TV has really gone there, whether it's an emotional moment, a messy moment, a legal predicament, or all the above.

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Here are the moments where cameras kept rolling even when they maybe shouldn't have and gave us reality TV gold.

1. On the first season of Jersey Shore when Snooki got punched in the face and chaos ensued.

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One of the first big moments that turned the Shore family from a group of twenty-somethings to friends, Snooki getting punched in the face was a major reality moment. The guy who punched Snooki got arrested, fined, and lost his job over this hotheaded moment.

2. New York and Pumpkin's fight on the first season of Flavor of Love.

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There was not a viewer out there who doubted Tiffany "New York" Pollard was About That Life, but Pumpkin put her to the test when she spit on her during an elimination ceremony. Reality shows shouldn't be about condoning violence, but there were few people who watched that scene and didn't think Pumpkin had more coming to her than she got.

3. The origin of Tyra Banks' infamous America's Next Top Model meme, when she let loose on cycle four contestant Tiffany Richardson.

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Tyra admits she would handle the infamous moment differently in retrospect, but she really laid into this woman with no mercy and no concern for public perception in the present or future.

4. Joe Gorga and Joe Giudice getting into a fistfight while supposedly at a retreat to improve their relationship on RHONJ.

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Gorga-Giudice family feuds are at the heart of RHONJ, but this felt like something that would have been better handled off-camera.

5. Reality drama meeting IRL drama when Ashlee Simpson's disastrous SNL lip-synching moment was on her reality show, so she could share her side of the story.

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Ashlee Simpson was embarrassed when she was caught lip-syncing as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, but it was the different stories around it that made it a meme moment. Initially, she said it was that her band played a different song than she was ready to sing. Then, she blamed acid reflux for lip-syncing. On The Ashlee Simpson Show, you see a doctor warn her not to go on with the performance, which later was revealed to be because of nodes on her vocal cords. 

Watch on Peacock.

6. Amber Portwood's physical altercations with then-boyfriend Gary Shirley on 16 & Pregnant and Teen Mom.

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Amber Portwood and Gary Shirley had a tumultuous relationship that included several incidents of domestic violence that played out in front of MTV production, their child, and after it aired, the world. Many have questioned why MTV didn't intervene in these incidents and why they took it a step further and aired the footage.

7. The mom who dressed her pageant-contestant kid up as Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman on Toddlers & Tiaras in 2011, horrifying pretty much everyone else in the room.

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This once again begs the question, "Why did TLC air this?"

8. Kyle and Kim Richards' limo fight in season one of RHOBH.

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Family fights can be hard to watch, and a confrontation between the Richards sisters of Beverly Hills was no exception. Both sisters have had regrets about the fight looking back, but the fact that Kim's addiction was central to the argument made some feel uncomfortable with watching it play out.

9. The entirety of The Swan, an early-aughts reality show that ruthlessly tore women apart and glorified their self-esteem issues while promoting the hell out of plastic surgery.

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Enough said.

10. Jon and Kate Gosselin announcing their divorce on Jon & Kate Plus 8.

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The news had already hit the public courtesy of every conceivable tabloid and blog out there, but watching the two discuss it with all the tension still very fresh was just bad.

11. Kendra Wilkinson confronting husband Hank Baskett about cheating with a transgender model while she was pregnant with their second child on Kendra On Top.

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This was a beyond uncomfortable conversation and it was clear that Hank wasn't giving anything up on camera, but fans almost didn't blame Kendra for putting him through it because of what he put her through.

12. Brooks Ayers presenting false medical paperwork that says he had cancer on RHOC.

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While Ayers maintained he did have stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2013, he says he produced fake documents to maintain his privacy while silencing other castmates' suspicions he was faking his illness.

13. When a guy found out he got catfished by his cousin on Catfish, for a particular kind of revenge.

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Tony catfished her cousin Antwane for three years because he called her "a fat ass Kelly Price." That's the kind of petty revenge you kind of love to see, but you do feel a teensy bit bad for the dude finding out on national television in what would go on to be one of the most meme'd moments in reality TV history.

14. Mohammed revealed why he wasn't intimate with Danielle on 90-Day Fiance.

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Fans were suspicious when this couple didn't kiss on their wedding day and when it was discussed after the fact, Mohammed revealed he'd sampled the goods and they were not so good. Sex tantrums and possible peeing were just a little TMI, even for hardcore 90-Day fans.

15. Porsha Williams slapping Kenya Moore during a heated RHOA exchange at the Season 6 reunion.

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While this did give us the iconic slight "you are a slut from the '90s," it turned ugly for the first-ever Housewives reunion fistfight. Andy had to jump in, as did production, and it led to an assault charge.

16. Bachelor in Paradise alluding to the situation between Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson in the first days of filming Season 4.

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Production was suspended due to alleged inappropriate behavior between Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson that was initially believed to have been sexual misconduct. Both were later cleared but opted to leave the show. Many questioned whether BiP producers threw this in to garner more interest for the season since it ultimately appeared to be much ado about nothing.

17. When it was revealed that Tristan Thompson was cheating on Khloe Kardashian when she was preparing to give birth to their daughter.

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We've had a front-row look at a lot of uncomfortable and emotional moments in Kardashian history, like Kim being reunited with her children after her robbery and watching the entire Kar-Jenner clan learn that Tristan had cheated on a pregnant  Khloé, just before she was due to give birth. We saw it all play out in real-time so while necessary to the plot, seeing it replayed felt icky.

18. June Shannon refusing her family's intervention on Mama June: From Hot To Not.

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It's been heartbreaking to watch the Thompson/Shannon family deal with Mama June's battle with addiction, and at many points, fans have wondered why so much of the family's heartache has had to play out on camera.

19. The end of Kody and Meri's marriage playing out on Sister Wives.

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There were a lot of signs Meri and Kody Brown's relationship was running it's course, but to see Meri deal with rejection and humiliation (and that's before the Catfishing) felt like a bit too much for some viewers.

20. When Jen Shah gets off the Sprinter van and the feds show up approximately 5 minutes later on RHOSLC.

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Of course, the latest season of RHOSLC wouldn't have been complete without discussing Jen Shah's arrest, but a lot of viewers were upset by seeing authorities pointing weapons in a raid of her home while there were children present.

Some of these were big learning moments, some changed the shows, and some were just pure entertainment. Which reality TV moment left you in awe after it aired? Let us know in the comments.