The Moment of Truth "Season 2, Episodes '9' & '10'" (partially found Melanie Williams episodes from unaired season of Fox gameshow; 2008)

This article has been tagged as NSFW and NSFL due to its subject of sexual abuse and pedophilia.

Melanie Williams on The Moment of Truth.

Status: Partially Found

The Moment of Truth was an American game show that premiered on FOX in 2008. Contestants are asked 50 questions by a polygraph examiner prior to taping, probing questionable and unethical truths about each contestant. 21 of these questions are then chosen to be answered on set, in front of a studio audience, and the contestant’s family and/or close friends watching them. The questions would quickly get more personal and embarrassing, often destroying relations with the contestant's family and friends.

Melanie Williams was the show's first and only contestant to answer the final question 'correctly', winning the show's top prize of $500,000 USD. Growing up, Williams experienced sexual abuse and pedophilia from her family and the polygamist community she lived in.

She lived in a community consisting of members from the religious sect FLDS, which is based around Mormon practices.

The Episodes

Williams first appeared on The Moment of Truth in "Season 2, Episode 9", which is fully lost. Her father, sister, and brother accompanied her on the show. She answered questions that revealed truths not just about herself, but also many illegal things that her father and polygamist community committed. Some of the questions she answered yes to revealed that:^[1]^[2]

Her father set her up for a date with a 73 year old
Her experience had a negative impact on her relationships with men, making her fearful
The polygamist community giving alcohol to underage children
Underage children were married to adult men in the polygamist community

Williams answered no to the question^[3]:

"Do you think polygamy is a crime that a man should go to jail for?"

Due to time constraints, Williams finished her time on the show in "Season 2, Episode 10". After being given a second chance to walk away with $350,000 USD, she was given this final question:

"Do you believe your father, as an adult, has ever had sexual relations with a minor?"

Tearfully, Williams said yes. The show determines her answer as truthful, and she wins the top prize. The situation heavily burdened to Melanie, as her family is then shown to be very uncomfortable, unsure how to approach her. Melanie appears hesitant at first to hug her family, but does so as the host sends them off.

Melanie's Blog

On January 7th, 2011, Melanie Williams uploaded a blog post confirming some speculations and questions, as well as explain why she wanted to audition for the show. She confirms that her father did marry a minor, who was a fourteen year old girl named Joy. Williams says that her father lied about Joy.

Williams explains the reason that she wanted to get on the show, wasn't for the money. She says she wanted to spread awareness of what happens in polygamist, FLDS communities across America.

"I wanted to go on the lie detector and be a voice for the young girls who are pressured to be married before they figure out who they are."^[4]

Her blog contained a YouTube link, which led to a now-deleted video^[5] uploaded by MenaTheMaster in October 2010. After recovering the video, we only see footage from the first part of Season 2 Episode 10^[6]

Broadcast of Season 2 Episode 9

Although Season 2 never ended up airing on FOX in the U.S., The Moment of Truth was broadcast on television networks worldwide.

Various sources suggest or confirm that Season 2 Episode 9 aired on some of these networks.

Confirmed

Dedicated to Arabic programming, MBC4 aired Season 2 Episode 9 on October 15th, 2010. Season 2, Episode 10 aired on October 21st, 2010.
Focused on American programming, Portuguese channel SIC Radical aired Season 2 Episode 10 in a rerun on September 9th, 2010.^[7] The day when SIC Radical aired Season 2 Episode 9 is unknown.

Speculation

Sony Channel (South Africa) possibly aired Season 2 Episode 9 during the show's run on the network, with Season 2 Episode 5 airing in a rerun on March 18th, 2017.^[8]
Star World (India) also possibly aired Season 2 Episode 9, having been confirmed to have aired Season 2 Episode 13 on October 18th, 2010.^[9]
The Moment of Truth was also broadcast in New Zealand on TV 2. It is unclear if the second season aired on the channel. Notably, the last time that the show was broadcast on TV 2, was July 6th, 2012.^[10]

Availability

Only the latter of Melanie William's appearance is available to watch online, which is Season 2 Episode 10. The majority of her appearance in Season 2 Episode 9, is lost. However, some footage from the lost episode can be seen from earlier and following episodes throughout the second season.