Barry Bonds will try to rehabilitate his tarnished image by confronting a fan who hates him on the upcoming reality show “H8R.† Akin to “Undercover Boss†— where big CEOs don overalls and try to do the jobs of their lowest-paid employees — “H8R†is offering pampered athletes, overexposed TV stars and other newsmakers a chance to tell their own stories.  Read more after the jump.
On the show, the MLB home-run king will watch a tape of one of his biggest detractors chewing him out, and then confront his “H8R†— who won’t know the slugger has been watching him — face-to-face.
It’ll be up to Bonds to convince the guy that he isn’t so bad, after all.
The show, set to debut next month on The CW, is turning out to be a new and significant stop along the rehab highway — now that “The Oprah Winfrey Show†is off the air.
Perhaps the most anticipated appearance will be Bonds, the notoriously media-shy baseball player who will make his first major public appearance since being convicted of obstruction of justice in April.
Bonds was supposed to tape the confrontation earlier this month but, according to show insiders, was injured in a serious bicycle accident that sent him to the hospital.
Officials declined to give details about the extent and nature of the injury but said the accident delayed the taping by about six weeks.
“H8R†host Mario Lopez, a close friend of Bonds, is taking credit for getting Bonds to come out of seclusion for his reality-TV debut.
“They were having dinner one night, and Mario told [Bonds] about the show,†says the show’s creator Lisa Gregorisch-Dempsey.
“Barry was really into it; he started coming up with ideas right away.â€
In the premiere episode next month, “Jersey Shore†star Snooki ambushes her “H8R†in a bar before making him and his family a home-cooked meal.
Snooki ultimately turned her “H8R†around, but there is no guarantee that Bonds will be as convincing.
“The ‘H8R’s don’t back down, and some are definitely not persuaded,†says Executive Producer Jeremy Spiegel.
“One ‘H8R’ threw a drink at the star, and they almost came to blows,†Spiegel says.
The show has taped about eight episodes so far — including one with “Desperate Housewives†star Eva Longoria and another with reality star Kim Kardashian.
But professional athletes have proven to have the most venomous “H8Rs.â€
“It is mind-blowing how vitriolic these people get,†Speigel says. “They really hate these people.â€
NBA stars Ron Artest and Charles Barkley, football players Terrell Owens and the WWE’s The Miz have all agreed to appear.
Artest, who shot his episode earlier this week, went into the daylong shoot unsure of how his showdown with a detractor would turn out.
But, crew members said yesterday, during the taping, he was heard to mutter, “I love this show.â€