Is the Jury Duty Show Unethical? Freevee's Surprising Hit, Explained

There's no doubt that Amazon Freevee's show, Jury Duty is a hit. But there are those that say it's unethical. And as you might expect, Redditors have plenty to say on the subject.

So, let's look at some of the comments and try to answer the question, 'Is the Jury Duty show unethical?'

Starting with the case against, some have described it as 'psychologically messed up' and that reality TV has found a 'new way to be unethical.' Interestingly, though, the user who posted that second comment also said reality TV is more 'fake than (it) wants to let on.'

If it is indeed fake, it becomes harder to question its ethics as this implies that Ronald Gladden is on it to some degree. This is a view shared by several Redditors.

One wrote, 'There are 3 possibilities here: 1) he's very stupid and thought it was real, 2) they told him from the beginning that it wasn't real or 3) he figured out that it was basically a scripted comedy and enjoyed playing along. I lean towards 2, maybe 3.'

This puts a different slant on the argument. But, as another user pointed out, '(Ronald) said it was surreal numerous times, but when you are in a real-life situation, you aren't going to stop everything and accuse everyone around of being a plant bc it would sound crazy.'

True. Even if you thought that, would you outright accuse everybody there of being fake? Or, like Ronald, would you mention it in your confessional so everybody is aware you knew things didn't quite add up?

One take on the show, though, was that, if you watch it 'thinking Ronald is getting played or he's a bad guy then maybe it's unethical,' which suggests the user believes the ethical status of the show rests on how the sole contestant perceives it.

This is a fair point. Had they chosen a different 'genuine' juror, we may have been looking at someone who was looking back at what they said in the show and feeling embarrassed or humiliated.

In summary, then, it seems fair to say that the premise of the show is one that has the potential to be unethical and that responsibility for ensuring it doesn't stray into dodgy ground lies with those who assess and select the person who will be the focus of the show.

On this occasion, they chose wisely. Whether the selection process for any future shows of a similar nature will be quite so well executed, only time will tell.

Source: Reddit.