There’s long been debate over the authenticity of the show, and some question if the hauls are as genuine as they claim to be. Storage Wars even faced a lawsuit from former cast member Dave Hester in 2012, claiming he’s been wrongfully terminated and alleging that the show sometimes planted items in the storage units to make the program more interesting. While the courts eventually sided with A&E, the stigma has continued to follow the show throughout its subsequent seasons.
But when asked about the show’s authenticity, Brandi was insistent that their hauls are 100 percent real.
“They’re public auctions. It would be collusion, which is against the law, to tamper with any of the storage units prior to [the auction],” she said, “because anyone can come to these auctions.”
She admitted that sometimes the show doesn’t include the storage units that had less-than-favorable hauls “because it’s not as interesting,” but she denied that items are planted in the units.
“You’re going to get good ones and bad ones, and I don’t think the show really highlights the bad ones as much … but it definitely happens,” Brandi said. “From the very beginning, I think when people saw the show, they just assumed that this was some kind of get-rich-quick, modern-day treasure hunt and in every unit, you’re going to find something great — but that’s just not how it goes. You just have to try your best to make a guesstimate as to what’s going to be in there.”