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Why are the Brits so mean? And why do we love it?
By Tenley Woodman

When people need to hear the brutal truth, reality TV brings in the Brits.

Simon Cowell unleashes his acid tongue on “American Idol.” Piers Morgan drops snide quips on “America’s Got Talent.” Gordon Ramsay has regular screaming fits on “Hell’s Kitchen.” Unlike their American counterparts, these judges revel in being painfully blunt.

“If you’re asking why Brits succeed on American TV at the moment, I think it’s because we tend to be more honest and we tend to express ourselves in a more frank way,” said Morgan, an ex-tabloid editor in Britain.

Morgan’s sharp remarks are in the best interest of contestants, he said.

“You’re basically saving quite deluded people from having a false dream. What can be worse than being an absolutely terrible singer and having David Hasselhoff going, ‘You were awesome, man, awesome’?” said Morgan, the winner of “Celebrity Apprentice,” in which he was portrayed as a villain.

Garland Waller, assistant professor of film and television at the College of Communication at Boston University, said these foreign personalities entice because they are exotic.

“It is just useful for us as programmers to bring in someone who is different. That British accent always makes Americans feel that Brits are smarter,” Waller said.

Casting Morgan as “America’s Got Talent’s” resident cynic was no accident.

“He (producer Simon Cowell) rang me and said that he was looking for somebody who was as obnoxious or more obnoxious as him to fill the role of the mean, snotty judge,” Morgan said.

This job could not be done by an American, Morgan said, because “American celebrities don’t like being booed.”

When Morgan or Cowell make a cutting comment, the contestants have a shoulder to cry on with “Talent’s” happy-go-lucky Hasselhoff or “Idol’s” syrupy sweet Paula Abdul.

So why do American viewers and show participants put up with the verbal abuse?

“I think a part of it has to do with our history. It is almost like we have a father or a mother looking on. They whip us into shape like any disciplinary (figure) would,” said Gregory Payne, professor of communication at Emerson College.

Despite the bite behind their comments, foreigners still charm Americans, Payne said.

“The real piece of it is (many) Americans do not have passports and do not travel. We have superpower status but almost a real sophomoric approach as to what the world is about,” Payne said.

Dog trainer Victoria Stilwell, host of Animal Planet’s “It’s Me or the Dog,” continues the trend of Brits serving as reality show judges on CBS’ “Greatest American Dog,” premiering Thursday.

Will she be nasty or nice?

“I don’t know if I’m breaking the stereotype or not,” said Stilwell, a Georgia-based trainer and behavior counselor. “I’m just being me. I feel like I’m a very compassionate person, but I’m very honest. I don’t feel I have time to mess around on the subject. I will tell it like it is.”

Like Morgan, Stilwell said her straightforward nature is meant to help, not demean people.

“When people get a wake-up call, they realize their shortcomings a bit quicker. Then there is the compassionate side (to me) where we get down to business. I will work very, very hard to rectify the problem so that the person will be successful,” Stilwell said.

Why are the Brits so mean? And why do we love it? - BostonHerald.com