MTV's 'The Hills' producer bribed cast with Birkin bags
"I felt so used. And I realized at that moment that I didn't matter. None of us mattered. It was all about ratings," she told Rancic.
In Fall 2009, promo ads featuring the bright-eyed, mostly blonde-haired cast of The Hills started making waves on MTV. One particular trailer for the upcoming season of the reality TV series (which later turned out to be a complete sham) featured Kristin Cavallari marking her return to SoCal beneath a series of blinding, blazing lights which read, "The B-itch is Back."
So returned the persona of the perky, villainous Cavallari, who made girls across America itch with anger when Lauren Conrad was bullied or emotionally tortured by her on-screen nemesis. As the reality TV culture pushed for higher ratings, more outrageous and outlandish scenarios, and fought for attention in the sea of E!, Bravo and VH1 shows, MTV's producers clearly felt the pressure to create more drama.
Four years later, 26-year-old Cavallari is now mom to a 7-month-old baby boy named Camden, fiancee to NFL quarterback Jay Cutler, and designer of a shoe line for Chinese Laundry. She's also spilling all sorts of secrets in various interviews, including her most recent sit-down with E! News host Giuliana Rancic. In her interview, Cavallari claims that one show producer tried to bribe her HIlls co-stars with $10,000 Hermes Birkin bags so they could weave tales about the troubled on-screen siren's drug use - on camera.
"I felt so used. And I realized at that moment that I didn't matter. None of us mattered. It was all about ratings," she told Rancic.
As for her castmates, did they take the bait?
Cavallari says no.