When the cast of "The Real World: Austin" went home in May, they left behind two court cases and mixed feelings from locals about the way the show portrayed Austin.
The reality show, in which seven strangers were picked to share a converted warehouse on Third Street from January to May, finished airing on Nov. 22. One of the show's cast members, 20-year-old Nehemiah Clark, will return to Austin to face a court appointment on Dec. 5.
Clark was charged with a Class A misdemeanor for assaulting Jon Joseph Notarthomas, owner of Best Wurst, a sausage stand that caters to the late-night crowd on the 300 block of E. Sixth Street.
Notarthomas said that Clark had pushed up to the front of the line of customers, and that he was "irrational and hyped up."
"He created this drama in his head that we were messing with him," Notarthomas said.
Notarthomas asked the police to moderate the situation just before Clark "nicked" his head, Notarthomas said.
"I don't have any hard feelings toward the kid; I think it's misplaced energy," Notarthomas said. "Anger management would be a wise move."
Clark's attorney, Kristin Etter, said she could not comment on a specific motive for the incident but said that "the context of the incident occurred amidst this continual assault. They were verbally and physically assaulted by people here in Austin, and they were on the defensive constantly."
On Jan. 31, the second night of the cast's stay in Austin, another cast member, Daniel Jamieson, engaged in verbal confrontation before being punched on the side of the head by Austinite Ryan Getman, 29, according to court documents.
Getman was charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault.
Dale Price, a psychology junior at the University, said he was present at the time of the incident, and the portrayal of the fight between Getman and Jamieson was altered when it appeared on-air.
"A fight broke out in the bathroom, and everyone got kicked out, where the fight continued with the locals. This is where you see Danny get punched," Price said.
Because cameras were not allowed in the bathroom stalls where the actual fight took place, "MTV had to change the plot up," Price said.
Price said he is a fan of the show, and he went downtown hoping to see the cast, often succeeding. But by the end of the cast's stay, even Price said he was a little worn out.
"At first I was excited about the cast in Austin, but then I got sick of them with time," he said. "They didn't do anything but booze it up at the dirtiest clubs on Sixth Street. They didn't go to any neat bars that added life to Austin."
Downtown bars, the most frequented stops for the cast members, were affected by the show. Brian Hummel, the general manager of B.D. Riley's Irish Pub on Sixth Street, said that when the cast came in, he agreed to accommodate the show by turning up the lights and lowering the music.
"It was sometimes an issue," he said. "We're a bar, so we don't like it to be too bright, and lowering our music changed the mood."
Hummel said he thinks Austin looked bad at times, but that the overall outcome was good.
"It's hard for people to understand that because on TV we're portrayed as a negative image," he said. "But it's all publicity, and publicity for Austin is good."
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