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The Flavor of Love

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 15, age appropriate for kids over 18; suggested age 14.

  • Is it any good?

    1.0
  • Common Sense says

    Cringe-inducing reality show leaves a bad taste.

Why We Rated This off for Ages 14 and Under

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    Sends the message that it's OK to step all over someone and put them down to win a contest and that it's OK to do anything to get a man. Lots of conflict between the contestants, too -- spitting, slapping, cat fights, etc. One contestant defecated on the floor because she "couldn't hold it."
  • Violence:

    Not an issue.
  • Sex:

    Plenty of skimpy outfits (lingerie, etc.) and sexual innuendo. In one episode, for example, Flav -- in an attempt to ferret out a solution to a problem -- says, "I'm going to put my finger on it; hopefullly she'll let me put my finger on it."
  • Language:

    "Sluts," "bitch," and "s--tless" are used.
  • Consumerism:

    Flav is a rap artist; the show helps promote him as a "brand." He's also done two other shows for VH1.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Plenty of social drinking; contestants sometimes appear very intoxicated. Smoking is common.

What Parents Need to Know

This review of The Flavor of Love was written by Lucy Maher

Parents need to know that the show's female contestants perform challenges and go on dates with Flavor Flav (rapper and star of The Surreal Life and Strange Love), who will, by the end of the series, choose one to be his girlfriend. In their attempt to win his heart, the women degrade themselves and put each other down. Although teens will want to watch (it's like train-wreck TV -- you can't look away), much of this cartoonish, intentionally over-the-top show's content is wildly inappropriate for kids, and it definitely promotes an unhealthy view of male/female relationships.

Families Can Talk About

Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
  • Families can talk about self-respect. When someone puts you down, what's the best way to react? Why is it important to have boundaries in a romantic relationship? Do teenage girls think they'd ever compete in a series like this? Why or why not? Why do you think the women want to be with Flav in the first place?
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More on The Flavor of Love

What’s the Story?

In THE FLAVOR OF LOVE, former Public Enemy rapper Flavor Flav puts 20 women vying for his love through a series of challenges before whittling the group down to those who'd be a suitable girlfriend. (Keep in mind that most people have an entirely different definition of what "suitable" is than Flav does.) The women live together in Los Angeles in a house called the "phat crib." They have full access to Flav day and night, and multiple women often end up sleeping in his bed. Flav relies on the help of his chauffeur and bodyguard, Big Rick; his mother; and his ex-girlfriend, Brigitte Nielsen, to administer the challenges and help weed out the women who only want to take advantage of his money and fame. At the end of each episode, one woman is axed from the competition. The ladies always try to find out which of their competitors are in the game for Flav, and which ones just want to be on TV.

Is It Any Good?

Not only does The Flavor of Love paint a demeaning picture of male/female relationships and women in general, it also presents the mostly African-American contestants in an embarrassing light (none of them objects to being asked to cook a stereotypically "black" dish in the episode mentioned above, etc.). What's more, the women's sexually charged comments lend a seedy feel to an already smarmy show. There's really nothing redeeming about this show, which demeans everyone involved and seems to take pride in broadcasting crass, tasteless behavior.

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Our Members Say

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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Parent Reviewer
    Lives in Virginia
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 1.0

  2. Adult Reviewer
    I rate this title on for age 0 and give it 5.0

    this iz my favorite show!!

    i luv this show..although i dont recomend it for young people without supervision. it is soooo entertaining and i live for sunday nights at 10:00.

  3. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Illinois
    I rate this title on for age 0 and give it 3.0

  4. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Colorado
    I rate this title off for age 0 and give it 0.0

    Definitely The Worst of the Worst "Reality" Show on TV!

    I didn't realize what this show was all about until I sat down one day while my 13 yr old daughter was watching it. When she encouraged me to leave, I knew something was up. Sure enough, as I watched the show, I saw why my daughter wanted me to leave. As your review states, this is a very degrading show, and shows humanity at its worst. This show is the epitome of trash tv. Its very difficult as a parent to monitor all the NR shows. The NR rating allowed this show to get through the parental controls I had for R and TV-MA. It would be nice to have some sort of "R" rating for TV shows.

  5. Teen Reviewer Age 16
    Lives in Arizona
    I rate this title off for age 0 and give it 2.0

    AAh this show drives me insane!!!

    VH1's Flavor of Love is entertaining, but trashy and really will drive you crazy if you watch too much of it. Flava Flav is a truly bizarre man, he thinks he's really cool but he's more Willy Wonka than rapper! The women on this show constantly cuss, get drunk, fight, and sometimes do inappropriate things with Flava Flav. This show is plain weird.

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