Unveiling The Major Scandals That Rocked Alaskan Bush People

“Alaskan Bush People” first graced our screens in 2014 and quickly became a beloved staple of the Discovery Channel. This reality show follows the Brown family, led by the late patriarch Billy Brown, his wife Ami, and their seven children, as they navigate life in the Alaskan wilderness. While viewers are captivated by their adventurous lifestyle, the show has also been plagued with rumors and controversies, raising questions about the authenticity of the Brown family's life away from urban comforts.

What makes “Alaskan Bush People” fascinating is not just the picturesque landscapes and the family’s efforts to live off the grid, but also the scandals that have emerged over the years. From accusations of dishonesty to bizarre social media antics, the Brown family's reality is far more complicated than the show portrays. Join us as we delve into the most shocking scandals that have rocked this unique family and the show itself, revealing the truth behind the curtain.

As we explore these controversies, we’ll see how the Brown family has faced various challenges that question their authenticity and lifestyle presented on-screen. Let’s take a closer look at some of the most significant scandals that have left viewers and fans shocked. The journey of the Brown family is not merely one of triumph over nature but also one filled with drama, intrigue, and unexpected twists.

Table of Contents

• The show isn't nearly as isolated as the family would make it seem
• Is Browntown just a prop?
• Bear Brown faked his own death on social media
• Gabe Brown's catfishing scandal
• Rain Brown gets slammed for posting selfies
• Some of the girlfriends on the show are actually hired actors
• The on-again, off-again drama between Bear Brown and Raiven Adams
• Raiven accuses Bear of threatening her
• Raiven claimed that the show is fake and no one actually gets along
• Matt Brown claims the show is fake and that dad Billy Brown took all the money
• Matt Brown was accused of raping two women
• Billy and Joshua Brown hit with falsification charges
• Billy and Joshua Brown's consequences for falsification
• Will the show continue after patriarch Billy Brown died?

The show isn't nearly as isolated as the family would make it seem

“Alaskan Bush People” follows the premise that the Brown family lives a rural life, removed from technology and city amenities. In fact, as Outsider puts it, the Brown family has made a living based on their ability to “survive off the grid in the wilderness.” In the early seasons, they did this near Hoonah, Alaska, and on their official Discovery website, the Brown family claimed that they had lived in the wild “for the last thirty years.”

While this all makes for a compelling story, scandal hit the show when Radar reported some shocking information. Hoonah locals told the outlet that the Brown family was often seen coming and going from the Icy Strait Lodge. “All of the boys have their own rooms,” the source told Radar. While this all sounds fairly normal, the issue many viewers took with this information is that the Brown family curated an image that they rough it in the wilderness and their digs in a hotel felt disingenuous.

Anchorage Daily News adds another interesting element to the scandal of feigned remoteness. There is a pizza shop “about a half-mile away” from the Brown's allegedly rural land. While no one is surprised anymore that reality TV might not be as “real” as it would seem, the proximity to civilization certainly breaks down their facade of roughing it in the wild. So what does this have to do with their property “Browntown”? Keep reading.

Is Browntown just a prop?

Building on this scandal of feigned isolation, “Alaskan Bush People” faced more censure for their Alaskan property. Their compound, fondly called “Browntown,” is one more potential facade in the Brown's curated image of being an anti-technology, rural family. With Radar breaking news that the Brown family allegedly opts for spending their time at a hotel nearby, a related scandal that surfaced was that “Browntown” was more of a prop than an actual permanent home for the family. As the outlet said, “Browntown” was simply “a front for filming.”

But that’s not all. The late Billy Brown, father of the Brown clan, claimed to have built “Browntown” with his “bare hands,” according to In Touch. And while this is another touching detail in the growing narrative of the Brown's resilient, nature-loving personas, this might be an embellishment. Billy Williams, owner of Grizzly Pizza, told Anchorage Daily News that his wife saw a huge group of people join the Brown family on their Alaskan property to offer assistance in building their family cabin.

While scandals crop up around the Brown's Alaskan property, there are also plenty of scandals surrounding individual family members, particularly their behavior on social media. Let’s find out.

Bear Brown faked his own death on social media

There’s no shortage of social media scandals involving the Brown family and social media. On July 17, 2018, Bear Brown used Instagram to state that he had died. The cryptic post read: “R.I.P. 1987+2018 Loved son and devoted brother, he will be missed” as Radar reported.

Bear has since deleted the post but not before making fans really worried. In response to the feedback he received, Bear offered a follow-up explanation. “Hey everybody!! Sorry about the confusion death very serious,” Bear wrote, (via In Touch). “It’s definitely not a joke!! Those posts are from a project! I thought I made that clear!! I’ve been working on a homemade movie since my time in L.A.! Thank you for the concern!! And sorry for the misunderstanding!!”

Despite Bear’s explanation, fans were still muddled by the posts. As Radar reports, someone commented, “Sweetie people can’t read your mind....” At least he cleared it up, but this isn’t the end of the Brown family’s debacles on social media.

Gabe Brown's catfishing scandal

Bear Brown isn’t the only one with a complicated relationship to social media. His brother, Gabe Brown, stirred up some confusion on Instagram in 2017, according to In Touch. The confusion actually began when his sister, Rain Brown, shared a video to Instagram and said: “There’s this girl posing to be Gabe’s girlfriend. I wanted to quickly [clear] some things up for you guys,” via the outlet. As added explanation, Rain explained that Gabe didn’t have his phone and hadn’t had it for a while. “Please don’t listen to anything that anyone says about him,” Rain concluded.

Neither Gabe nor Rain offered any further explanation of the supposed catfishing scandal. Fans and commenters, however, leapt to two conclusions. Rain’s bizarre Instagram explanation came after a woman named “Betty” errantly outed herself as Gabe’s girlfriend online, which led fans to deride the woman as a “delusional” liar. Other fans somehow interpreted this whole situation as Gabe milking sympathy from fans who felt bad that not only was he dealing with the stress of his mother, Ami Brown’s, lung cancer treatments, but he was also supposedly single while someone was fake online dating as him. But why would they think it was actually Gabe being shady?

Well, on February 14, 2018, Rain returned to IG with a photo of herself with Gabe in the background, kissing Raquell Rose, who is now his wife, per In Touch. Rain added the caption: “Third wheelin’ like a pro this V-Day.” The fact that Gabe had an actual girlfriend while fans were sympathizing with him over a catfishing scandal made them feel like the Browns were “leading them on,” per the outlet.

Rain Brown gets slammed for posting selfies

It seems like the Browns just can’t stop getting attention on social media. Stepping in for her brother, Gabe Brown, isn’t the end of Rain Brown's scandals pertaining to Instagram. In 2017, she got slammed by fans for posting selfies. For a bit of context here, Rain’s mother, Ami Brown, had been diagnosed with “stage 3B lung cancer” that year, according to Inquisitr. The