Last week, we reported on how her 15 minutes of fame has apparently cost The Moment of Truth contestant, Lauren Cleri, her marriage.  In its most notorious episode to date, The Moment of Truth's show a couple of weeks back showcased New Yorker Cleri, admitting on national television that she had cheated on her husband, Frank.  To add insult to injury, not only did she announce to all and sundry that she loved another besides Frank, she went on to lose their community-property prize money by saying she believed herself a good person, when the all-knowing dreaded polygraph thought otherwise.

As home-wrecking as that revelation was on The Moment of Truth, the broadcast was surprisingly the lowest-rating in the history of the FOX reality show.

Perhaps it's a positive sign that viewers are looking more to programs that boost instead of demean morale, but The Moment of Truth's special Monday night telecast on February 25, where Lauren Cleri effectively destroyed her husband with admissions of infidelity and ardor for another man, managed to draw a mere 8.5 million viewers.

Without its usual, formidable American Idol lead-in, The Moment of Truth floundered against the ABC TV-movie, A Raisin in the Sun, starring Sean “P. Diddy” Combs in the role of Walter Lee Younger.  The made for TV film, based on a play by Lorraine Hansberry, scored 12.7 million viewers, enough to land in ninth place for that week's list of most-watched television shows.  On the other hand, The Moment of Truth plummeted out of the Top 10, all the way down to number 25.

Last week's Moment of Truth episode aired on its regular Wednesday time slot improved slightly, with 15 million viewers, thanks in part to American Idol's 28 million-strong lead in.  With its stronger performance Wednesday last week, The Moment of Truth dominated the 9pm block, a week before moving to another time slot at 8pm beginning on Wednesday.


-Rosario Santiago, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: E! Online, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety
(Image Courtesy of FOX)