Episode 164 – Belligerence Has Arrived! TFAL gets real with Melissa Beck from Real World NOLA Homecoming

This Filipino American Life

In the year 2000 MTVs Real World took the audience to New Orleans and introduced Filipino Americans to Melissa Howard. Over 20 years later Paramount Plus is giving Gen Xers the opportunity to revisit classic Real World casts. In 2021 Real World New York and Los Angeles opened the door to these Homecoming reunions. These shows did not take place in the vacuum. The casts dealt with the impact of Covid, the Black Lives Matter movement, and LGBTQA+ issues.

In this episode the crew learns about Melissa’s, now Melissa Beck, journey from reality tv to stay at home mom. The discussion ranges from learning about Melissa’s Florida roots (shoutout to the 813) to her memorable entrance into the Real World New Orleans house with her Calrose bag of rice.

Real World New Orleans Homecoming drops on Wednesday, April 20th on Paramount +. Make sure to follow Melissa on Twitter @MelissaBeckRWNO and Instagram @MelissaBeckRWNO for more gems that she will probably give to followers of the show!

Want your own Belligerence Has Arrived tote? Head to Melissa’s online store to pick up this tote and even a “I’m Not Trying To Mess With That Lady” t-shirt!

Listen or download the episode through the embedded player on this page, find us on Mixcloud or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts here. And for folks on Spotify, you can take a listen to us here.

What reality tv shows do you watch? What would your idea for a Filipino American reality tv show be? Should we do a Real World NOLA Homecoming IG Live watch party? Let us know by leaving a voicemail at (805) 394-TFAL or emailing us at [e-mail]!