MTV WANTS YOU! (Proceed with caution…)

by Dogpatch Press Staff

Not all media is created equal. The furry kind is best of course! But furry fandom gets damaged by protesting against “the media” every time a journalist starts on a good story that might not push good PR. PBS isn’t the National Enquirer. Sometimes knowledge is power or sometimes exploiters have less noble intentions… results vary, just be informed. Here’s Joe Strike, a journalist who is no stranger to working professionally in the media. He submitted this story based on contact he got as author of Furry Nation, the furry fandom history book. (- Patch)

September 6 2020
Joe Strike
joestrike@gmail.com

I received the following email last week:

My name is Joe Pinzone and I am casting a TV show for MTV called “Ghosted.”

We’re currently casting people who have been ghosted or have ghosted someone important in their lives due to people not understanding cosplaying/furries. I know that you wrote a book about it and was hoping you could spread the word by reposting the below notice. If you have questions, please let me know.

Did a friend, relative, or lover ghost you because of your love for dressing up as a furry or did you ghost someone who didn’t understand Furries?

Sharp Entertainment are now casting people 18-34 nationwide, who are ready to find or give answers, and share their story with the world.

Please send pictures, contact info & a short description of the ghosting in your life ASAP to: ghostedtvcasting@gmail.com

FINAL CAST APPROVED BY THE NETWORK WILL RECEIVE PAYMENT. NO TRAVEL REQUIRED. NON UNION—-

Joe Pinzone
Facebook casting page
LinkedIn Profile

Here’s my response to Joe P:

Personally, I’ve never been ghosted or ghosted anyone. I’ll relay your message to a few furry websites & message boards – with a proviso.

Even though the media has been treating Furry better and more accurately in recent years we’ve been burned many times in the past, depicted as strictly a kink scene for weirdos and losers. MTV has been guilty of this more than once, particularly with a segment that ran on your Sex2K program.

Several years ago I was invited to appear on Oddville. Even though producer Rich Brown assured me I’d be treated with respect, it was obvious from the show’s title they were looking for “oddballs” and weirdos to mock. (I never watched the show so I have no idea if any fursuiters ever appeared.)

When I forward your message I’ll remind people of these incidents and suggest they proceed with caution; if any furs contact you, I hope you will honestly reassure them Ghosted isn’t another Oddville.

(Joe’s response to my Email:)

Thanks! I don’t think we would be going for what they did with Sex2K, that seems a long time ago. But I appreciate you spreading the word.

Okay, here’s that proviso I mentioned above:

Joe P. is an independent casting agent. Apart from helping the production company find ghosts and ghosters, as far as I know he’s not involved with the show itself or MTV. In the meantime, here’s a link to Sharp Entertainment’s IMDB page: https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?companies=co0135664

You can decide for yourself if you want to be in a show produced by the creators of Marrying Millions, Love After Lockup or 90 Day Fiancé. However, Sharp Entertainment’s IMDB page has a link to already produced episodes of Ghosted: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9179640/episodes?season=1&ref_=tt_eps_sn_1 The episode descriptions don’t sound particularly exploitative, more soap-opera-ish and seemingly sympathetic to the people in the episodes. (Having never seen the show I don’t know how in fact the show actually presented the people involved.) The episode descriptions might be helpful to anyone who considers giving it a chance.

Links to Joe P’s facebook and LinkedIn pages are in his original message. Good luck – and don’t forget us little people when you’re a big-time celebrity!

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