Hey Reader! Welcome to the first annual Reality Tea Awards! Since the new year is approaching, we thought it was the perfect time to reflect on the reality TV highlights of 2024. The Reality Tea staff voted on the best viral reality TV moment of the year and came up with four nominees, along with a winner. It was a difficult task considering the amount of meme-worthy moments this year, but a few moments stood out among the pack.
Keep reading to see our full list of nominees.
Nominee: ‘Fawk Aaron’ – Love Island USA
Season 6 of Love Island USA featured several memorable moments, but Kaylor Martin yelling “FAWK AARON” takes the cake. Viewers were obsessed with the Pennsylvania native’s pronunciation of the expletive and her constant disappointment in her match Aaron Evans. Fans made compilation videos and merchandise. You can buy a “Fawk Aaron” t-shirt on Redbubble for $20.00 (LOL).
Kaylor also contributed to the online hype. She posted a few TikToks of her lipsyncing to the “Fawk Aaron” soundbite.
Nominee: ‘Not Ekin-Su’ – The Traitors USA
In Season 2 of The Traitors (U.S.), Real Housewives of Atlanta star Phaedra Parks was surprised by Parvati Shallow’s decision to “kill” Love Island star Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu. The night before, traitors Phaedra, Parvati, and Dan Gheesling were tasked with “murdering” one of the faithfuls by tricking them into sipping from a “poisonous” chalice. Phaedra and Dan passed the responsibility onto Parvati, entrusting her to choose a target. Parvati chose Ekin-Su because she believed she would most likely drink from someone else’s cup.
After the mission was complete, Parvati filled in her fellow traitors, and Phaedra’s reaction was priceless. The RHOA star didn’t understand why Parvati chose sweet Ekin-Su over a serious threat.
“Oh, my Lord. Sweet baby Jesus, not Ekin-Su,” she responded. “Lord, not Ekin-Su.”
“Fan me, honey,” she told Dan after hearing the news.
Nominee: Danny Amendola and Witney Carson’s leg lift – Dancing with the Stars
Witney Carson and Danny Amendola captured the internet’s attention with one move from their contemporary dance during Dedication Week. The leg lift went viral on TikTok as fans posted their best attempts at the dance move.
Witney spoke about the response to her and Danny’s dance in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.
“You do your best choreographically…but you never know what [is] going to take off, and what people relate to and love,” she said. “The fact that people are loving [the move] and trying it is just really, really cool. We love it.”
Nominee: “Receipts! Proof! Timeline! Screenshots!” – RHOSLC
The Season 4 finale of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City will always be iconic. During a cast trip to Bermuda, Heather Gay discovered that newbie Monica Garcia was the mastermind behind the Bravo gossip account Reality Von Tease. The account was responsible for spreading rumors and leaking personal information about the cast. Heather confronted Monica at dinner one night, prompting one of the most famous scenes in RHOSLC history. Every Bravo fan remembers where they were when Heather yelled, “Receipts, proof, timeline, screenshots, f*cking everything!”
It was the best Real Housewives finale I have ever seen. It felt like a soap opera. No notes!
Winner: Dorit Kemsley smoking after her separation news breaks – RHOBH
Dorit Kemsley smoking a cigarette in the car in the Season 14 premiere of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills broke the internet. The moment caught fans by surprise and instantly became a meme. It was the first time we saw Dorit smoke on the show.
The Bravo star provided more context behind the viral moment during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live.
“You know what? I was actually being chased by paparazzi,” she said. “Yeah, so, I was like, ‘Oh, my God. Oh, my God.’ You couldn’t tell that.”
Our nominees put up a worthy fight, but it’s hard to beat this iconic RHOBH moment.
TELL US – DO YOU AGREE WITH OUR WINNER? WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST VIRAL REALITY TV MOMENT OF 2024?
