Celebrity scandals can sometimes be fun to hear about, but things are all fun and games until these scandals impact our favorite television series!
Sometimes, what’s going on behind the scenes has a big impact on the final product, and relationship drama and other scandals can completely change the course of a television series.
Here are 10+ scandals that changed the direction of TV.
Paula Deen’s racist remarks.
Paula Deen had a show on Food Network for 13 years, but after it was discovered that she had used racial slurs, ultimately, she got fired.
All of her past shows were also blocked from airing on the channel, and she eventually bought that work back from Food Network.
*Man Finds Food* was pulled over bullying Instagram comments.
The series was hosted by Adam Richman, who also previously hosted Man Vs. Food , and it aired on the Travel Channel.
However, Richman got into a fight with followers on Instagram and ended up responding to them in horrible ways. These comments are what caused the Travel Channel to cancel the show.
This HBO series was canceled over animal cruelty.
The series Luck aired for one season on HBO, but after it was reported that several horses died on the set, the series ended up being canceled.
There were many allegations made about the treatment of the animals, but the producers maintained they did their best to keep the animals safe.
Louis C.K. had his show canceled after he harassed women.
The comedian’s show, Louie , was on a hiatus at FX when five women accused the star of sexual misconduct.
Once Louis C.K. confirmed the allegations were true, the network decided to cancel the show and cut any ties they had with him.
Columbus Short was fired from *Scandal* over battery charges.
Given that the series itself was named Scandal, it almost doesn’t seem shocking a real-life scandal would occur.
The actor was fired from the show after season 3 because he was arrested several times for battery charges. His wife at the time, Tanee Short, also had a restraining order against him.
Jon and Kate’s crumbling relationship.
The couple started having marital problems which caused Jon & Kate Plus 8 to be canceled in 2009.
Jon was even sued by TLC for breaching his contract , but they still kept the show going without Jon after the couple divorced.
A tragic death ended MTV’s *Buckwild.*
In 2013, MTV introduced this reality show about young people in Appalachia who got up to some wild times.
However, the show was canceled after one of the cast members, Shain Gandee, died of carbon monoxide poisoning on a hunting trip.
This was mostly just a tragic accident, but MTV decided to cancel the show after one season.
An HGTV series was canceled over anti-gay activism.
The series Flip It Forward followed twin brothers David and Jason Benham who were house flippers.
However, it never even aired as it was canceled after the discovery that the brothers were aligned with anti-gay activism. HGTV never confirmed this was the reason, but it was heavily implied given the backlash from fans.
Josh Duggar’s misdeeds canceled *19 Kids and Counting.*
Josh Duggar has been involved in multiple s*x scandals, and there were many that were confirmed.
TLC decided to cancel the series after this, and they later created Counting On which would focus on some of the older daughters’ lives instead.
CeeLo Green’s show was canceled after a he posted an upsetting tweet.
TBS aired one season of CeeLo Green’s The Good Life before canceling it.
The reason for the cancellation was because CeeLo tweeted a series of posts about sexual assault that were quite disturbing.
These upsetting comments also got him blacklisted from other shows like The Voice.
A disturbing scandal involving Mama June ended *Here Comes Honey Boo Boo*.
TLC has had quite a long record of scandals leading to cancellations of their reality shows, and many of them are upsetting.
When it was revealed that Mama June was in a relationship with a child molester, the network decided to cancel the series immediately.
We just really hope her children are okay.
Christopher Eccleston’s replacement on *Doctor Who.*
After just 13 episodes as the Doctor, Eccleston was replaced by David Tenant.
In an interview later on with Daily Record , Eccleston explained his departure, saying, “I’d had enough. I wanted to do it my way, they wanted something else. We were never going to compromise so it was best to be straight about it and just go.”
This VH1 reality show was canceled because of murder charges.
After appearing as a contestant on Rock of Love with Bret Michaels , Megan Hauserman got her own spin-off show called Megan Wants a Millionaire.
The show was canceled, however, after it was revealed that one of the contestants, Ryan Jenkins, had been charged for the murder of his wife.
It’s one of the scariest and most horrifying reality TV show scandals ever.
*House of Cards* had a very different final season because of Kevin Spacey.
After Kevin Spacey was accused and later arraigned for multiple sexual harassment and assault cases, Netflix dropped him from the series.
The show continued with one more season with Robin Wright as the lead, but it was canceled after that.
The *Roseanne* reboot was pulled because of racist comments.
Many fans were excited when Roseanne was rebooted, but this didn’t last very long as Roseanne Barr took to Twitter to post a racist rant.
The president of ABC Entertainment released a statement saying, “Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show.”
Corey Monteith’s passing rocked the entire cast of *Glee*.
At the time of his passing, Corey was one of the biggest stars on Glee . The show incorporated Corey’s death into the show as best they could, but never expressly stated how Finn Hudson died.
From that moment on, Glee was forever changed.
Jussie Smollett staged a hate crime and was swiftly taken off *Empire*.
Jussie Smollett hurt an incredible amount of people with this heinous charade. When the smoke finally settled, Empire wanted nothing to do with him.
They briefly let the audience know that his character, Jamal Lyon , ran off to London and then they moved on.
Bill Maher’s *Politically Incorrect* comments got him pulled from the air.
Bill Maher has always been a bit of a zealot for the left.
After trying to defend the use of the n-word, the network had finally had enough of Bill and he was fired.
Misconduct allegations ended Jeffrey Tambor’s tenure on *Transparent*.
Jeffrey was accused of sexual misconduct and harassment by his former costar (and TV wife) Jessica Walter.
Transparent lurched forward without Jeffrey for another season and was then canceled.
An ongoing feud between Will Smith and Janet Hubert led to Aunt Viv being canned from *The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air*.
Have you seen The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reunion ? Talk about something exceeding the hype! One of the things I was most looking forward to was the reunion between Will and Janet.
It’s nice to see them be able to bury the hatchet.
Selma Blair was written out of *Anger Management* thanks to a fight with Charlie Sheen.
By this point in his career, Charlie Sheen had built an infamous reputation for being volatile and difficult to work with.
Something that Selma came to experience first hand.
*Parts Unknown* abruptly came to an end after the passing of Anthony Bourdain.
I considered Anthony Bourdain to be an idol of mine, and I was extremely sad to learn of his passing.
While filming an episode in France for his legendary travel series, Anthony sadly took his own life.
Confederate ties got *The Dukes Of Hazzard* pulled from syndication.
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a re-run of The Dukes of Hazzard playing anywhere on network TV.
That’s because the Dukes’ car (General Lee) is emblazoned with a giant confederate flag.
Future generations will likely never see a single episode of *The Cosby Show*.
After the allegations against Bill Cosby began piling up, networks across the country began simultaneously removing The Cosby Show from their regularly scheduled programming.
Considering the irreparable harm this man has caused, I’m inclined to agree.
Charlie Sheen’s “Winning” tendencies got him kicked off of *Two And A Half Men*.
Do you know how a lot of people dream about telling off their boss? I mean, I certainly don’t. I’m just speaking hypothetically.
Well, Charlie actually did it — right to Chuck Lorre ‘s face. Then he did it again on TV, and the internet, in magazines… You get the point.
*7th Heaven* was pulled from circulation after Stephen Collins’ molestation accusations.
If you’re unfamiliar with the show, Stephen Collins played Eric Camden. He was a minister on 7th Heaven .
You can understand why the network would want to distance themselves from such a salacious scandal.
Mark Salling was removed from the project *Gods And Secrets* after being arrested on child p*********y charges.
In light of the seriousness of the charge, the network had no choice but to fire Mark.
Salling then took his own life while awaiting trial.
Andy Whitfield passed away from lymphoma and had to be recast on *Spartacus: War Of The Damned*.
For a while, it looked as if Andy might indeed make a full recovery. Part of the reason why they filmed Gods of the Arena was to give his treatment time to work.
Sadly, Andy lost the fight. The role of Spartacus was recast (poorly) and the show lasted for just one final season.
Phil Hartman was murdered while he was still starring on *News Radio*.
Phil Hartman was a shining light among the star-studded News Radio cast. The series chose to play Phil’s death off as a heart attack on the show.
It’s one of the sadder TV episodes you’re ever likely to see.
John Ritter passed away from a tragic heart attack while on the set of *8 Simple Rules*.
Can you imagine being there when this took place? What a horrible thing to have happened to such a seemingly kind and incredible human being.
John’s cause of death was incorporated into the show, but it was never the same.
Jerry Orbach had to be written out of *Law & Order: Trial By Jury* after losing a battle with prostate cancer.
Jerry Orbach was Law & Order . Not just for me, but for an entire generation of crime drama fans. His time spent wearing the badge will never be forgotten.
What are some TV scandals that we forgot? Leave a comment and let us know!
Last Updated on November 19, 2020 by Amanda Steele