''A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila'' is an American reality television

dating game show Dating game shows are game shows that incorporates a variety of matchmaking systems and services in the form of a game with clear rules. Human matchmaking is involved only in selecting the game's contestants, who are usually selected more for the ...

similar to the TV show '' The Bachelor''. It premiered on October 9, 2007 on MTV starring

Tila Tequila Nguyễn Thị Thiên Thanh (born October 24, 1981), better known by her stage names Tila Tequila, Tila Nguyen, Miss Tila and Tornado Thien, is an American television and social media personality. She first gained recognition for her active p ...

. The series consists of a

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whic ...

-themed reality dating show where 16

heterosexual Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" ...

male Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...

men and 16

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

female Female ( symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Fema ...

women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...

contestants live in Tequila's house and compete for her attention and affection. The contestants were not aware of Tequila's bisexuality until the end of the first episode, after ten contestants had been eliminated. The remaining contestants, both male and female, then shared the same

home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. ...

for the

remainder In mathematics, the remainder is the amount "left over" after performing some computation. In arithmetic, the remainder is the integer "left over" after dividing one integer by another to produce an integer quotient ( integer division). In algeb ...

of the series. '' A Shot at Love II'' premiered on April 22, 2008.

Ratings

The show debuted at No. 1 in its time period across all of cable in the network's target

demographic Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as ed ...

of persons 18–34, averaging a 2.0 rating. It became MTV's second highest-rated series premiere for the year, behind '' Life of Ryan'' (August 27, 2007) and tied with '' Newport Harbor: The Real Orange County'' (August 15, 2007). The first season finale had 6.2 million viewers, which at the time was MTV's most watched series telecast.

Criticism and controversy

The show was the subject of a heated online debate. An article critical of the show appeared on ''

The Christian Post ''The Christian Post'' is an American non-denominational, conservative, evangelical Christian online newspaper. Based in Washington, D.C., it was founded in March 2004. News topics include the Church, ministries, missions, education, Christ ...

'' on September 13, 2007. Tequila wrote a response in her blog on September 28, 2007, criticizing churches for "bashing" the gay community while thanking God for saving her life. Criticism of the show has come from at least three conservative media organizations: Culture and Media Institute,

Media Research Center The Media Research Center (MRC), formerly known as Culture and Media Institute (CMI), is an American conservative content analysis and media watchdog group based in Reston, Virginia, and founded in 1987 by L. Brent Bozell III. The CMI promo ...

and

Parents Television Council The Parents Television and Media Council (PTMC), formerly the Parents Television Council (PTC), is an American media advocacy group founded by conservative Christian activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995, which advocates for what it considers ...

, which named two episodes of the show the "Worst Cable Content of the Week". Fox News and others stated that Tequila had a steady boyfriend and that the show was a sham, and that she is not bisexual. They cite ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

's'' Page Six article. In 2007, Tequila responded to the claims made by Fox and denied them stating "I find it absolutely absurd that they would even make such an ignorant statement," but in 2018 (11 years later) she admitted that the Fox News report was true and that she indeed had a boyfriend while the show was being filmed and aired, stating that she was never actually gay or bisexual, and described her presence on the show as being "

gay for pay Gay-for-pay describes male or female actors, pornographic stars, or sex workers who identify as heterosexual but who are paid to act or perform as homosexual professionally. The term has also applied to other professions and even companies trying ...

". On December 30, 2007, the winning contestant of the season, Bobby Banhart, posted a message on MySpace stating, "She never called me after the last show and no one would give me her number." Tequila offered her own reasoning for why they broke up:

Spin-offs, supplements, seasons 2 and 3

* ''A Shot at Love: The Hangover'' is a supplementary show that shows clips and interviews guests as a recap to the show. It premiered on November 13, 2007 on MTV starring

Ryan Stout Ryan Matthew Stout (born September 30, 1982) is an American stand-up comedian and television host.Pullen, Doug (2011)The life of Ryan: Comedian from El Paso finds his niche by poking fun where few dare, "El Paso Times, December 18, 2011, retrieve ...

. The show's debut averaged a 2.85 rating. * ''

A Shot at Love II with Tila Tequila ''A Shot at Love II with Tila Tequila'' is an American reality television dating game show. It is the follow-up season to ''A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila''. The series is a bisexual-themed dating competition where 15 hetero males and 15 lesb ...

'' – The second season premiered on April 22, 2008, and follows the same bisexual-bachelorette formula. The premiere date was announced on Tila Tequila's Spring Break Fantasy Couple. It is set in a

Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills are a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Geography The Hollywood Hills straddle the Cahuenga Pass within the Santa Monica Mountains. The neighborhood touches Studio City, Un ...

mansion (the same one as the second season of Rock of Love). It was planned to be aired after '' That's Amoré!'' Tequila announced at her Masquerade party, Tila Tequila's New Year's Eve Masquerade, that MTV greenlit her for a second season. During the Masquerade, she revealed that she and Bobby parted ways, which prompted suspicion that she would be the bachelorette during season two of ''A Shot at Love.'' News articles confirmed this. * '' That's Amore!'' – Nesci's third spin-off featured former contestant Ashley as his

consigliere Consigliere ( , ; plural ) is a position within the leadership structure of the Sicilian, Calabrian, and Italian-American Mafia. The word was popularized in English by the novel '' The Godfather'' (1969) and its film adaptation. In the novel, a ...

. It premiered on MTV on March 2, 2008. * ''

A Double Shot at Love ''A Double Shot at Love with the Ikki Twins'', also referred to simply as ''A Double Shot at Love'', is an American reality television dating game show that first aired weekly on MTV from December 9, 2008 to February 3, 2009. It is a spin-off of ...

'' – A third season spin-off premiered on December 9, 2008, with the

Ikki Twins Erica "Rikki" Mongeon and Victoria "Vikki" Mongeon (born February 18, 1981) better known by the stage name the Ikki Twins are identical twin models, and television personalities. They are best known as the stars of the MTV reality dating show '' ...

replacing

as the host. * ''Double Shot at Love'' (2019 TV series) – A fourth season ''

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May P ...

'' hybrid spinoff was announced for a 2019 premiere, with DJ Pauly D and Vinny Guadagnino as the hosts.

Episodes

* Ep. 1 ''Surprise! I Like Boys and Girls'' (''May The Best Sex Win''-title on DVD and iTunes) (first aired October 9, 2007) * Ep. 2 ''Can't We All Just Get Along?'' (''Fight For Love''-title on DVD and iTunes) (first aired October 16, 2007) * Ep. 3 ''Under the Covers'' (first aired October 23, 2007) * Ep. 4 ''A Broken Heart'' (first aired October 30, 2007) * Ep. 5 ''I Always Get What I Want'' (first aired November 6, 2007) * Ep. 6 ''The Cat Fight'' (first aired November 13, 2007) * Ep. 7 ''A Second Chance?'' (first aired November 20, 2007) * Ep. 8 ''Welcome To The Family'' (first aired November 27, 2007) * Ep. 9 ''Three's A Crowd'' (first aired December 4, 2007) * Special: ''One Shot Too Many'' (originally aired December 11, 2007) :In the week after Episode 9 aired and the week before Episode 10 aired, there was a special episode titled ''One Shot Too Many''. Instead of being a regular episode, it was flashbacks and never before seen footage of events of the previous weeks of the show. * Ep. 10 ''I Choose...''(''This Is Real''-title on DVD and iTunes) (first aired December 18, 2007) * Special: ''The Final Round'' (first aired December 23, 2007)

Contestants

The following table lists the roster of contestants for each episode, ordered based on Tila's call-out order. * Contestants surviving elimination in the first two episodes are arranged alphabetically, while eliminated contestants are arranged based on the order Tequila announced that their shot at love had ended. : The contestant was eliminated. : The contestant won a date with Tequila. : The contestant won a date with Tequila, but was eliminated. : The contestant left of his/her own accord. : The contestant won the competition.

Eliminations

The following table explains Tequila's reasons for asking each contestant to leave. * Some reasons were not stated in the episode in which they aired.

Amanda Ireton

Among the contestants, the comedian and television personality Amanda Ellen Soloman Ireton after the show went on to appear on other MTV television shows '' Hang Over Show'' and ''

That's Amore "That's Amore" is a 1953 song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Jack Brooks, and became a major hit and signature song for Dean Martin, who first recorded and released it that year. ''Amore'' () means "love" in Italian. History The song ...

'', WETV's ''Secret Lives of Women'', CCTV's ''The Rack'', and Entertainment Television's '' The Soup'' and '' Extra''. She hosted CBS's reality show '' Big Brother – The reunion special'' as an interviewer. She starred in Karmina's ''The Kiss'' music video. Furthermore Ireton was MTV's columnist and video blogger for '' A Shot at Love 2''.

DVD release

''A Shot At Love With Tila Tequila – The Complete Uncensored First Season'' was released on April 15, 2008. The DVD contains the ten episodes, the reunion listed as episode 11, but does not contain the special episode "One Shot Too Many". It also includes some extended and deleted scenes.

References

External links

A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila's official site
*
Tila's official website

Analysis of the complete season of 'A Shot at Love'
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shot At Love 1 2007 American television series debuts 2000s American reality television series Bisexuality-related television series American dating and relationship reality television series American LGBT-related reality television series MTV game shows American game shows 2000s American game shows 2000s LGBT-related reality television series