Seeking to capitalize on the national debate over bathroom protocol for transgendered people, producers of the hit Discovery Channel survival series “Naked and Afraid” have offered Gov. Pat McCrory and Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts an episode of their own.
“This would be a very special episode,” said a show staffer who asked not to be identified. “We’ve never done one with elected officials. We felt that, what with all the movie companies saying they weren’t going to come to North Carolina because of H.B. 2, this would be a way for North Carolina to recoup some of that revenue and for us to take advantage of a huge national story.”
According to the staffer, producers see the Great Dismal Swamp near Elizabeth City, the Linville Gorge Wilderness near Morganton, or Umstead State Park near Raleigh as prime locations for the 21-day in-the-buff survival show. The filming would take place July 10-31.
Typically, the show’s participants do not know each other, but in this instance, they do. McCrory was mayor of Charlotte during Roberts’ tenure as a member of the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners. The staffer said that could provide additional tension and anxiety to the North Carolina episode.
The staffer shared a copy of the show proposal and included promotional art work it may use if the two elected officials agree to do the show. The staffer said the transgendered bathroom issue will likely remain in the news for several months, and the network wanted to capitalize on publicity generated by the issue.
Each 21-day event is edited down to a one-hour “Naked and Afraid” episode. Each survivalist is required to strip naked before they meet each other, is given no food or water, and must depend on their own skills and only a few survival tools and a map. A camera crew is nearby but can intervene only for a medical emergency.
Participants can opt out at any time. At the end of the 21-day filming cycle, they travel to a designated extraction point where they are picked up by a boat, helicopter, or other vehicle.
Roberts became mayor in December 2015. Shortly after she took office, the Charlotte City Council passed an ordinance allowing the transgendered to use the bathroom of the gender they identify with. Before the ordinance could go into effect, the North Carolina General Assembly convened a special session and passed a law known as House Bill 2 that overrode Charlotte’s ordinance. The law requires that people using bathrooms and shower facilities open to the public use the facility assigned to the gender on their birth certificates. Private companies are free to adopt their own guidelines.
McCrory signed the bill and has defended the bathroom provisions. Roberts supports the ordinance as passed by her city council.
Roberts says she is “torn” over the proposal to do the show and is undecided, but said she has no doubt the city council would support her participation. “If they’ll do something as crazy as mandate that men can use women’s restrooms, I’m sure they’d go for this,” she said. “But I have to give this more thought and maybe do some polling first.”
McCrory has not confirmed receipt of the TV show’s offer. A friend of the governor pointed out that the proposed time frame would require McCrory to miss the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. “I know he’ll do almost anything to promote North Carolina, but this may just be a bridge too far,” the friend said.
Parting Shot is a parody loosely based on events in the news. This parody appeared in the May 2016 print edition of Carolina Journal.