The stars of Alaskan Bush People documented their eccentric “wilderness” lifestyle for 14 seasons from 2014 to 2022. However, fans began questioning if the series was fake after it began gaining popularity.

Is ‘Alaskan Bush People’ Fake?

In 2015, late patriarch Billy Brown disputed claims that Alaskan Bush People was fake.

“What can you say to people like that?” Billy said in an interview with Radar Online in December 2015. “We call them ‘bobs in the basement.’ That’s just what we call the people who sit behind the computers and don’t have a life. I actually feel sorry for those people when they don’t have anything else to do.”

He continued, “I wish they did a little fact finding. It would seem simple to look up birth certificates and things on the kids to see we’re as Alaskan as you get.”

Years later, Bear Brown also denied the allegations that what fans saw wasn’t authentic when he answered some of the most-asked questions he received about the series.

“The show was not faked. It simply followed my family, which you can actually tell how not faked it is if you actually watch the show. Not faked at all,” Bear explained in a video shared to Instagram in May 2025.

Why Did Fans Think ‘Alaskan Bush People’ Was Fake?

The family seemingly lived in an isolated part of the state and were known to shun modern society in preference for a simple life in “the bush.” However, according to several sources, including locals who knew the family and fans with savvy investigation skills, some viewers began to wonder about the authenticity of the Browns and their story.

While it seemed like Browntown was in an area far from the conveniences of modern day life, the Anchorage Daily News reported that the famous family had distant neighbors and even a pizza shop located nearby.

In June 2016, Radar Online reported that Billy, his wife, Ami Brown, and their seven kids — Noah, Snowbird, Rain, Joshua, Solomon, Gabriel and Matthew — actually lived in a hotel in Hoonah, Alaska while filming Alaskan Bush People. Neighbors Jay Erickson and Becky Hunnicutt claimed they saw the Browns coming and going from Icy Strait Lodge at all hours.

“All of the boys have their own rooms,” Hunnicutt told the outlet. They added that production crew members from the Discovery Channel series often kicked back at the lodge as well.

Years later, Bear’s estranged wife, Raiven Brown, claimed “none of it was real” and only about “10 percent of it” was “real” during an interview with The U.S. Sun in 2020.

“When I was there, the only person who lived on the mountain was Rain and Bird, and they were living in trailers. They left half way of me living there and moved into an apartment,” Raiven continued. “Bear asked me to fly in and meet him and that we were going to film. I asked if I could come without filming and he said they wouldn’t pay for it unless I did.”

Instead, she alleged that she and Bear lived in a home in Loomis, Washington.

Why a Season 1 ‘Alaskan Bush People’ Episode Raised Doubts

During the “Fight or Flight” episode in 2014, fans were given this opening message: “The Discovery Channel was given permission to document the life of a secluded Bush family. During production, an incident occurred and filming was stopped.”

The crucial scene showed the family roused at night by what sounded like two gunshots fired outside. The men rushed out, heavily armed, when a third gunshot seemingly went off.

“This land is not worth dying for,” Billy told cameras.

According to the Anchorage Daily News, however, Alaska State Troopers said no one affiliated with Alaskan Bush People reported any shots fired, which seemingly corroborated the claim that the series was fake.

That discrepancy only fueled fan speculation that the Discovery series wasn’t showing the full truth.