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Ryan Lochte a Double Gold Medalist for Televised Awfulness at 2013 Bennie Awards — Olympian Earns Worst Reality TV Show and Worst Reality Male

Sep 19, 2013  •  Post A Comment

Press release from the Hollywood Temp Diaries:

Hollywood, CA — The Hollywood Temp Diaries (http://www.tempdiaries.com) announced the winners of the fourth annual Bennie Awards — recognizing the worst in prime time TV. While Ryan Lochte may be a winner in the swimming pool, he’s a two-time loser on TV as "What Would Ryan Lochte Do?" was named Worst Reality Show while Lochte also earned the title of Worst Reality Personality (Male). (A complete list of "winners" is at the end of this release.)

The eleven-time Olympic medalist, who Jezebel called “America’s sexiest douchebag," proved he’s still a tough man to beat in a field of awfulness that included fellow Olympian Greg Louganis ("Splash"), last year’s winner Donald Trump ("Celebrity Apprentice"), controversial therapist Dr. Drew Pinsky ("Rehab with Dr. Drew") and the screaming chef, Gordon Ramsey ("Hell’s Kitchen").

"Lochte knows he can win at whatever he puts his mind to. It appears in this case, he wanted to put out the worst reality show on TV, and E! let him do it," said Temp X, the legendary creator of The Hollywood Temp Diaries.

CBS’s "2 Broke Girls" got no love as the show was named Worst Scripted Program. The comedy, which features 2012 Worst Actress Nominee Beth Behrs, beat out a collection of forgettable dreck including the since-cancelled programs "Animal Practice" (NBC), "1600 Penn" (NBC) and "Smash" (NBC). The reboot of "Arrested Development," whose status remains uncertain, rounded out the runners-up.

"It was a (cup)cake walk for the girls," Temp X said. "If they play their cards right, this could be CBS’s next ‘Rules of Engagement.’ And that’s as bad as it sounds."

Taking home the Golden Trashcan for Worst Male in a Scripted Program was Angus T. Jones for his work on "Two and a Half Men." This is the second year in a row that a "Men" actor won the award. In 2012, Ashton Kutcher took home the honor. The Worst Female in a Scripted Program title went to Katharine McPhee for her role in "Smash." This is the most significant recognition the show has received since it was inexplicably nominated for a 2013 Golden Globe for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. (I’m willing to overlook the 2012 nomination from the Television Critics Association for Outstanding New Program of the Year. It must have been open bar at the TCAs that day.)

In a new category, DOA (honoring the new show least deserving of a network series order), the FOX comedy "Dads" beat out a field of soon-to-be-forgotten programs including "Sean Saves the World", "Super Fun Night", "We Are Men" and "Tomorrow People."

The Bennies is the only competition to celebrate television the same way The Razzies honors the silver screen. It pays homage to former NBC head Ben Silverman – Hollywood’s king of bad programming decisions and the architect of so many failed series including "Knight Rider," "Kath & Kim" and "Bionic Woman."

Over the past few weeks, visitors to The Hollywood Temp Diaries voted on the finalists for the coveted Golden Trashcan. Because the Bennie Awards uses "Chicago-Style Voting," participants were allowed to vote as many times as they wanted. A full awards show would have been hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, but he declined.

Here are the results:

WORST ACTRESS
WINNER: Katharine McPhee ("Smash" – NBC)
2nd: NeNe Leakes ("The New Normal" – NBC)
3rd – Kristin Kreuk ("Beauty and the Beast" – CW)
4th – Olivia Munn ("The Newsroom" – HBO)
5th – Kristen Bell ("House of Lies" – Showtime)

WORST ACTOR
WINNER: Angus T. Jones ("Two and a Half Men" – CBS)
2nd – Connor Paolo ("Revenge" – ABC)
3rd – Matthew Perry ("Go On" – NBC)
4th – Sam Waterston ("The Newsroom" – HBO)
5th – David Zayas ("Dexter" – Showtime)

WORST REALITY PERSONALITY (FEMALE)
WINNER: June Shannon ("Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" – TLC)
Mariah Carey ("American Idol" – FOX)
Britney Spears ("The X Factor" – FOX)
Shaunie O’Neal ("Basketball Wives" – VH1)
Christina Aguilera ("The Voice" – NBC)

WORST REALITY PERSONALITY (MALE)
WINNER: Ryan Lochte ("What Would Ryan Lochte Do?" – E!)
2nd – Donald Trump ("Celebrity Apprentice" – NBC)
3rd – Dr. Drew Pinsky ("Rehab with Dr. Drew" – VH1)
4th (tie) – Gordon Ramsey ("Hell’s Kitchen" – FOX)
4th (tie) – Greg Louganis ("Splash" – ABC)

PUSHING DAISIES (The best show canceled too soon)
WINNER: "Happy Endings" (ABC)
2nd – "Enlightened" (HBO)
3rd – "Boss" (Starz)
4th – "Touch" (FOX)
5th – "Life’s Too Short" (HBO)

DOA 2013 (New show least deserving of a network pick-up)
WINNER: "Dads" (FOX)
2nd – "Sean Saves the World" (NBC)
3rd (tie) "Super Fun Night" (ABC)
3rd (tie) "We Are Men" (CBS)
5th – "Tomorrow People" (CW)

WORST REALITY PROGRAM
WINNER: "What Would Ryan Lochte Do?" (E!)
2nd – "Princesses: Long Island" (Bravo)
3rd – "Splash" (ABC)
4th – "American Idol" (FOX)
5th – "Mob Wives" (VH1)

WORST SCRIPTED PROGRAM
WINNER: "2 Broke Girls" (CBS)
2nd – "Animal Practice" (NBC)
3rd – "1600 Penn" (NBC)
4th – "Smash" (NBC)
5th – "Arrested Development" (Netflix)

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