- 6 months ago
When reality TV goes wrong, it goes really wrong.
Welcome to WatchMojo.WORLD, where we’re counting down the Top 10 reality TV shows destroyed by scandal, looking at series that were canceled, derailed, or forever changed due to shocking controversies.
Which reality TV scandal shocked you the most? Let us know in the comments!
Welcome to WatchMojo.WORLD, where we’re counting down the Top 10 reality TV shows destroyed by scandal, looking at series that were canceled, derailed, or forever changed due to shocking controversies.
Which reality TV scandal shocked you the most? Let us know in the comments!
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Marcia, tell me, how are you feeling right at this moment in time?
00:04I'm feeling good.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most infamous reality shows
00:09that face intense controversies, but unlike many others,
00:13couldn't handle the unscripted drama and were eventually cancelled.
00:16This is an issue that's happened right now.
00:20Number 10, Armed and Famous.
00:22As a child, I had the desire to be a cop.
00:24I've had some preparation from my days of chips, but that was make-believe.
00:29This is the real deal.
00:30For six seasons, Eric Estrada played a highway patrol officer on the NBC series Chips.
00:36Years later, TV producers sought to leverage his popularity with the reality show Armed and Famous,
00:41where Estrada and several C-list celebrities trained to become real police officers in Indiana.
00:46The show was, however, axed after just four episodes,
00:50officially because it couldn't compete with the ratings juggernaut that was American Idol.
00:53Which one will complete the final 10?
00:56Tonight on American Idol.
00:58Who will it be?
01:00To add to its troubles, during filming, police officers, alongside the cast and crew,
01:05mistakenly raided the apartment of a woman named Lindsay Clemens and handcuffed her.
01:09They later came to realize that they had the wrong address.
01:11As a result, Clemens filed a lawsuit against CBS and other defendants,
01:16seeking $1 million in compensatory damages.
01:18It'll wake you up, and I'm thinking, I better suck it up real good.
01:25Number nine, CeeLo Green's The Good Life.
01:28This reality-based series followed musician CeeLo Green and his hip-hop group, Goody Mob,
01:32as they navigated life in Atlanta.
01:34No, of course you guys get it.
01:35You guys are smart.
01:36You guys went to Kowalich.
01:40Okay.
01:40This needs to be on TV later on today.
01:42Let's do it.
01:43Okay.
01:43But just one month after the show's first season aired in 2014,
01:46Green pleaded no contest to a charge of furnishing a narcotic,
01:50and was sentenced to three of probation.
01:52This case stemmed from a 2012 incident,
01:54in which a woman accused the singer of drugging and sexually assaulting her.
01:57All right, the matter is here for an arraignment and a plea.
02:00Are we ready to proceed?
02:02Yes, Your Honor, we all are.
02:04Shortly after his sentencing,
02:05Green made matters worse by posting controversial tweets
02:08questioning the definition of sexual assault.
02:11As criticism for the tweets mounted,
02:12TBS, which aired Green's reality show,
02:15decided they had had enough.
02:16They refused to renew the good life for a second season.
02:19Larry Mostel, please help me.
02:20I'm having a heart attack.
02:24Number eight, Toddlers and Tiaras.
02:26It's not hard to see why this TLC reality series
02:29sparked so much controversy.
02:31Shake your butt a little bit.
02:33Why would you even say that?
02:34Toddlers and Tiaras offered a behind-the-scenes look
02:37into the world of child beauty pageants.
02:39Much like its subject matter,
02:40the series itself was heavily criticized
02:42for what many saw as the commodification
02:44and sexualization of its young participants.
02:47Let's be honest, it's a little unnerving.
02:50Young girls, their faces painted like grown women,
02:53desperate to be told they're the prettiest in the room.
02:55This backlash started to trickle in
02:57almost as soon as the show premiered,
02:59but it still managed to run for six seasons
03:01before producers bowed to public pressure
03:03and put the show on hold in 2013.
03:05I think it's been a long trip
03:07and everybody's real grumpy.
03:10After three years off the air,
03:11Toddlers and Tiaras was brought back for one more season,
03:14after which TLC decided to cancel it for good.
03:17Number seven, Buck Wild.
03:19In the late 2000s, MTV struck gold with Jersey Shore,
03:23a show that, despite sparking controversy
03:25for its stereotypical portrayal of Italian-Americans,
03:28became wildly successful.
03:29Vinny's mom being around definitely gives you
03:31that home feeling.
03:32She brings like one piece of clothing
03:33for herself for a week,
03:34meanwhile she's bringing Vinny t-shirts, water, saucy.
03:38After it ended in 2012,
03:40MTV scrambled to find a replacement
03:41and came up with Buck Wild.
03:43Following a young group of friends in West Virginia,
03:45Buck Wild immediately generated its own wave of backlash
03:49for promoting negative stereotypes.
03:51I'm understanding they took four or five,
03:52six different takes
03:53to get them to act as outrageously as they wanted to
03:56to get it really sensational.
03:58He is steaming.
04:00What I saw is not what I see
04:01in everyday life in West Virginia.
04:03But that wasn't even what led to the show's cancellation.
04:06About two months after the first season ended,
04:08one of the stars, Shane Gandy,
04:10went missing and was later found dead in his car
04:12due to accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.
04:14You know, the West Virginia State Police Aviation Unit
04:17was prepared to actually take a helicopter over the area
04:20to assist in searching for the vehicle
04:22when they found it.
04:23Is MTV saying anything about this loss,
04:26about what happened?
04:27This tragedy initially halted production
04:29on the second season,
04:30but the show was later canceled altogether.
04:32Number six, Paula's Home Cooking.
04:34The name Paula Deen was once synonymous
04:37with the Food Network.
04:38Welcome back, y'all.
04:39For those of you that have just tuned in,
04:41today we're having a first Saturday.
04:44The celebrity chef popularized Southern recipes
04:47and comfort food on her show, Paula's Home Cooking.
04:50But just like many ingredients that came across her table,
04:53Deen found herself in hot water in 2013
04:55after a former employee sued her
04:57for racial and sexual discrimination.
04:59During a deposition for the case,
05:01Deen admitted to having used racial slurs in the past.
05:03She later said she may have also used the word
05:06when repeating something that was said to her,
05:08adding, quote,
05:10but that's just not a word that we,
05:12as time has gone on.
05:14Although the suit was eventually dismissed,
05:15this deposition became public
05:17and brought with it heavy backlash.
05:19As a result,
05:20Deen lost several business partnerships,
05:22including her longstanding relationship
05:23with the Food Network,
05:25which essentially turned off the heat
05:26on Paula's Home Cooking.
05:27New trouble for celebrity chef Paula Deen.
05:29She lost her TV show on Friday.
05:31Now, key sponsors are looking at their options.
05:34Number five,
05:35Black White.
05:36The reality TV boom of the 2000s
05:38gave us some truly bizarre shows,
05:40and one of the most unusual
05:41was FX's Black White.
05:43My name is Bruno,
05:43and I became a black person.
05:45Co-produced by rapper Ice Cube,
05:47this short-lived series focused on
05:48one white family and one black family
05:51who,
05:51and you probably wouldn't believe it,
05:53swapped races.
05:54How, you ask?
05:55Well,
05:56each family member was put in extensive makeup
05:58to experience life from the other's perspective.
06:00I've never experienced what it's like
06:02to be treated black.
06:04I don't know what that means or entails.
06:06Your transformation is definitely underway.
06:09If this sounds like a terrible idea to you,
06:11you're not alone.
06:12The show generated a lot of controversy
06:14for merely reinforcing the same racial stereotypes
06:17and prejudices it aimed to challenge.
06:19I always thought how nice it would be
06:20if they're able to jump,
06:22get off the ground,
06:23leap,
06:23and slam dunk like these guys can.
06:25It's no wonder it didn't last long,
06:27taking a bow after just six episodes.
06:28Number 4.
06:30The Swan
06:31Dubbed the worst reality show
06:33ever made by Entertainment Weekly,
06:34The Swan had a concept
06:35that was basically ripped from a fever dream.
06:37It's been a month
06:38since we've seen Marsha and Sylvia,
06:40and nearly three months
06:42since they've seen themselves in a mirror.
06:44It's hard to imagine, isn't it?
06:45Each episode featured two women,
06:47who were referred to as ugly ducklings,
06:49undergoing extreme makeovers
06:50to become more conventionally attractive.
06:53One of them would then be picked as a winner
06:54and advance to a beauty pageant in the finale.
06:57Believe us,
06:57it was as ill-conceived as it sounds.
06:59Team,
07:00Marsha came to us
07:01claiming that she wanted to be invisible.
07:04Dr. Yanni,
07:04do you think she's still gonna want to hide
07:06from the outside world?
07:06The show unsurprisingly drew
07:08a largely negative reception
07:09for promoting unhealthy beauty standards,
07:12although that didn't stop it
07:13from averaging around 9 million viewers
07:14during its first season.
07:16However,
07:16by season two,
07:17the novelty wore off.
07:19The criticism only got worse,
07:20so the swan was quietly put out of its misery.
07:23Something tells me
07:24you don't want to be invisible anymore.
07:26Number three,
07:27Sons of Guns.
07:28Over five seasons,
07:30Sons of Guns took viewers deep into Louisiana,
07:32where they met Will Hayden,
07:34the owner of Red Jacket Firearms.
07:36I want to build a special occasion gun.
07:38Something that is spectacular.
07:40This is one of those guns
07:42that I've always wanted to tackle.
07:43The show revolved around Hayden's business,
07:45crafting and selling weapons
07:47to various organizations
07:48and private individuals,
07:49as well as his relationship
07:50with his daughter
07:51and business partner, Stephanie.
07:53But in August 2014,
07:54just months after the fifth season aired,
07:56their story took a dark turn.
07:58During an interview with detectives,
07:59the alleged victim said
08:00she did not report the sexual abuse
08:02because she was afraid Hayden would hurt her.
08:04Hayden was arrested
08:05and charged with sexual assault of a juvenile,
08:08prompting Discovery Channel
08:09to quickly cancel the show.
08:10At first,
08:11Stephanie stood by her father,
08:12but she later revealed
08:13that he had also assaulted her years earlier.
08:15In 2017,
08:17Hayden was convicted on multiple charges
08:18and is currently serving
08:20three consecutive life sentences.
08:21Fox 4 and 1 reached out
08:22to Discovery Network
08:23who had no Common,
08:24and Hayden's lawyer
08:25was not able to be reached
08:26immediately for Common.
08:28Number 2.
08:28Here Comes Honey Boo Boo
08:30Despite the controversy
08:31surrounding toddlers and tiaras,
08:33it was popular enough
08:34to spawn multiple spinoffs,
08:35the most notable
08:36being Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.
08:38I am Honey Boo Boo Child,
08:39and I am a pirate friend of some time.
08:41Focused on Alana Thompson,
08:43one of the child beauty pageant
08:44contestants and her family,
08:45this series attracted
08:46similar criticisms
08:47as its predecessor.
08:49It was also slammed
08:49for its unflattering portrayal
08:51of the low-income family.
08:52Well, five girls
08:53and one bathroom,
08:54we've learned to get creative.
08:57Well, this is how we worship
08:58right here.
08:59However,
08:59none of these dented its popularity.
09:01What ultimately led
09:02to the show's downfall
09:03was the shocking revelation
09:05that Thompson's mother,
09:06Mama June,
09:07was dating a convicted sex offender
09:08who had assaulted
09:09one of her other children
09:10years earlier.
09:11In a statement obtained by ET,
09:12the Here Comes Honey Boo Boo Network TLC
09:15said they were, quote,
09:16reassessing the future
09:17of the reality series.
09:18Despite having already filmed episodes
09:20for a fifth season,
09:21the show was abruptly canceled
09:22in 2017,
09:23leaving most of those episodes unaired.
09:25Before we continue,
09:27be sure to subscribe to our channel
09:28and ring the bell
09:29to get notified
09:30about our latest videos.
09:31You have the option
09:32to be notified
09:33for occasional videos
09:34or all of them.
09:35If you're on your phone,
09:36make sure you go into your settings
09:38and switch on notifications.
09:39Number 1.
09:4219 Kids and Counting
09:44The Duggars,
09:45the family at the center
09:46of this popular TLC series,
09:48built their reputation
09:48as devout, independent Baptists
09:50with a commitment
09:51to religious family values.
09:53Budgeting for 19 people
09:54in our family
09:55is not an easy task.
09:57We get them for $1.50.
09:59We've probably been making
10:00our own laundry soap now
10:01for over a year.
10:02But that wholesome image
10:03crumbled in 2015
10:04when an old police report
10:06involving the family's eldest son,
10:08Josh,
10:08came to light.
10:09This report indicated
10:10that between 2002 and 2003,
10:13Josh sexually harassed five girls,
10:15four of whom
10:15were his own sisters.
10:16We wanted to come out
10:17and say the truth
10:18and I feel like we did that
10:20and looking back,
10:20I still would have done that.
10:23I still would have said
10:23the truth of what happened.
10:25Since the statute
10:25of limitations had expired,
10:27Josh faced no criminal charges,
10:29but the fallout was severe.
10:31Over 20 advertisers
10:32pulled their support,
10:33forcing TLC to cancel the series.
10:35Though it was later revived
10:36as a spinoff title
10:37Counting On,
10:37this too was axed in 2021,
10:40following Josh's arrest
10:41for possession
10:41of inappropriate material.
10:43Everybody makes their own decisions
10:44and everybody makes
10:45their own choices,
10:47but they're not the only ones
10:48that suffer the consequences.
10:50Everyone around them does.
10:52Are there any controversial
10:53reality shows
10:54that manage to stay alive
10:55despite an intense scandal?
10:56Let us know
10:57in the comments below.
10:58And coming up next, y'all,
11:00we're changing gears.
11:03We're gonna have some calamari.
11:05Did you enjoy this video?
11:06Check out these other clips
11:07from WatchMojo
11:08and be sure to subscribe
11:10and ring the bell
11:10to be notified
11:11about our latest videos.
Comments