- 4 weeks ago
The 90s gave us some of the wildest and most unforgettable moments on television. 📺✨
In this video, we’re counting down the Top 20 Most Controversial Things on 90s TV—the shocking storylines, outrageous scandals, and moments that had viewers talking (and complaining) for weeks.
From risky sitcom episodes to live TV meltdowns and news scandals, these are the unforgettable controversies that defined an entire decade of television.
👉 Don’t forget to LIKE 👍, COMMENT 💬, and SUBSCRIBE 🔔 for more 90s nostalgia, pop culture countdowns, and TV history breakdowns!
In this video, we’re counting down the Top 20 Most Controversial Things on 90s TV—the shocking storylines, outrageous scandals, and moments that had viewers talking (and complaining) for weeks.
From risky sitcom episodes to live TV meltdowns and news scandals, these are the unforgettable controversies that defined an entire decade of television.
👉 Don’t forget to LIKE 👍, COMMENT 💬, and SUBSCRIBE 🔔 for more 90s nostalgia, pop culture countdowns, and TV history breakdowns!
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TVTranscript
00:00Raise the hand, lower the head.
00:01I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
00:02The buttons are really big on the car.
00:04I don't understand it.
00:04I haven't read the manual.
00:05You get my drink.
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo.
00:08And today, we're counting down our picks for TV moments that sparked real-life outrage or media firestorms.
00:14You're a rapper.
00:15Yes.
00:16An entrepreneur.
00:17Yes.
00:18And you like fish sticks.
00:20Yes.
00:20Number 20, Violence Concerns, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
00:26Where's Tim?
00:27We're not going.
00:28Oh, yeah?
00:29Yeah!
00:30When Mighty Morphin Power Rangers first premiered in 1993, it skyrocketed to the top,
00:35becoming one of the highest-rated kid shows in the United States in just three weeks.
00:40Despite its popularity, it didn't take long for controversy to follow.
00:43You shouldn't have said that.
00:44You're going to be in big trouble.
00:46Parents and psychologists raised concerns that the show was too violent for its intended young audience.
00:51The backlash was so intense that several stations in different countries yanked it off the air entirely.
00:56The show featured frequent martial arts fights, monster battles, and explosions, all stylized and over-the-top.
01:05Over the decades, the tone noticeably changed.
01:08Some weapons were even censored to tone down the chaos.
01:11I am aware of the situation, Alpha.
01:13I have been monitoring it from my private chamber.
01:15Number 19.
01:16Ren and Stimpy's gross-out humor.
01:18The Ren and Stimpy Show.
01:19I'm not listening to this anymore.
01:22This wasn't your average children's cartoon.
01:25Sure, some saw Ren and Stimpy as edgy and hilarious, but for others, especially parents, it was seriously disturbing.
01:31With violent slapstick, adult innuendos, and body horror that made you squirm, the show constantly tested what animation could get away with.
01:39It's the funnest game in the whole wide world.
01:46Don't whiz on the electric fence.
01:50Don't whiz on the electric fence.
01:53It wasn't just weird, it was graphic.
01:56One episode took things too far as it showed Ren beating up George Licker with an oar.
02:01It even featured cigar-shaped bones and feces as dog treats.
02:10Even for Ren and Stimpy standards, it was extreme.
02:13Nickelodeon didn't just pull the episode before it even aired.
02:16The creator was eventually fired.
02:19Turns out, pushing boundaries does have its limits.
02:21Come on, Stimpy, say goodbye.
02:23Where are we going?
02:25The show's over.
02:26See you next time.
02:27Number 18.
02:28Murphy Brown's Single Motherhood Debate.
02:30Murphy Brown.
02:31See, I have this reputation, which I'm very proud of.
02:35This hit sitcom from the late 80s starred Candace Bergen as a tough investigative journalist.
02:40It was known for tackling real-world issues, all with sharp humor.
02:43Mrs. Hooley, has anyone ever accused you of being a bigot?
02:47Who, me?
02:48No, the other Mrs. Hooley.
02:50Yes, you are.
02:50But in 1992, Murphy Brown did more than stir up controversy.
02:55It ignited a full-on national debate.
02:57It all started when Murphy chose to have a baby without marrying the father.
03:01While we're on the subject of mothers, I better warn you up front, I'm not gonna be like other mothers.
03:09I don't cook or sew or make stuffed animals talk in funny voices.
03:14A bold move for primetime TV back then.
03:17The then-vice president, Dan Quayle, was not having it.
03:20He blasted the show for undermining American family values.
03:24It doesn't help matters when primetime TV has Murphy Brown,
03:28a character who supposedly epitomizes today's intelligent, highly paid, professional woman,
03:34mocking the importance of fathers by bearing a child alone.
03:38Some agreed with him, others didn't, slamming him for attacking a fictional character.
03:43The show fired back by weaving Quayle's speech into a future episode,
03:47turning it into a powerful satire.
03:49And in searching for the causes of our social ills,
03:51we could choose to blame the media, or the Congress,
03:55or an administration that's been in power for 12 years, or we could blame me.
04:00Who knew a sitcom could ruffle so many political feathers?
04:04Number 17.
04:05Hillary Clinton's Twofer.
04:07Way back in the 90s, during the presidential campaign,
04:10Bill Clinton was accused of having a sexual relationship with Jennifer Flowers.
04:13She's a legend and is described in some detail in a supermarket tabloid,
04:18which she calls a 12-year affair with you.
04:22That allegation is false.
04:24It was a major scandal that threatened Clinton's campaign.
04:27To defend her husband, Hillary Clinton made an insensitive remark.
04:30Trying to distance herself from the image of a helpless wife,
04:33she took a jab at the country music singer Tammy Wynette,
04:36saying she wasn't the type to stand by her man.
04:39You know, I'm not sitting here as some little woman standing by my man like Tammy Wynette.
04:43I'm sitting here because I love him, and I respect him,
04:47and I honor what he's been through and what we've been through together.
04:51The comment did not land well.
04:53Wynette was offended, and many Americans saw it as condescending.
04:57Then came her other comments about not staying home and baking cookies,
05:00which only added fuel to the fire.
05:02No wonder she became one of the most divisive women in America at the time.
05:07Number 16.
05:08Puck.
05:08The Real World.
05:09If I was going to guess who the other six people were I was going to live with,
05:12I would say that there are going to be a wide variety of people,
05:15none of which are going to be like me.
05:17MTV's The Real World was one of the first shows to follow real people living together,
05:21unscripted, with cameras rolling 24-7.
05:24During one of its seasons, Pedro Zamora joined the cast.
05:27Gay representation on 90s TV was incredibly rare at the time,
05:32and Zamora, an openly gay person with AIDS, shared his story with courage.
05:36But not everyone respected that.
05:38David Puck Rainey constantly clashed with Zamora and laughed at his relationship with his partner.
05:43Puck was so antagonistic that the housemates voted to evict him.
05:47Still, the conflict struck a nerve,
05:49sparking debates about insensitivity towards gay people and HIV awareness.
05:53This conflict ultimately helped The Real World become more than just a reality show.
05:57It became a cultural flashpoint.
06:00Number 15.
06:01One Beer.
06:02Tiny Toon Adventures.
06:03A cold one.
06:06You mean...
06:08That's beer.
06:1390s kids probably still remember this clever cartoon that managed to entertain both adults and kids.
06:18But like most shows that tried to mix humor with serious messages,
06:22Tiny Toon Adventures briefly crossed the line.
06:24The notorious episode, Elephant Issues, featured one segment about the dangers of drinking.
06:29But Buster, this isn't like you.
06:32I know.
06:33But in this episode, we're showing the evils of alcohol.
06:38To show just how bad drinking was,
06:41the segment had Buster, Plucky, and Hampton drink alcohol,
06:44act drunk, and eventually die in a car crash.
06:47It was supposed to be a cautionary tale,
06:53but it came off too heavy for its young audience.
06:56It shocked parents and networks.
06:58As a result, it was removed from reruns.
07:01Moral lesson?
07:03You don't have to go over the top to pass a message.
07:05Subtlety is key.
07:06I hope the kids got the message.
07:09Yeah, drinking's uncool.
07:11So do we get to do a funny episode tomorrow?
07:13I hope so.
07:14Number 14.
07:16Buffalo Gals.
07:17Cow and Chicken.
07:23When it comes to loud, weird, and downright chaotic cartoons,
07:29Cow and Chicken takes the cake.
07:30It follows the misadventures of the bizarre sibling duo,
07:33and was packed with edgy jokes that often flew over kids' heads.
07:37Is everything okay?
07:38No!
07:39Everything is not okay!
07:41Look at these teeth!
07:43They are an abomination!
07:45One episode definitely went too far.
07:47In Buffalo Gals,
07:48a group of biker women barges into the household of Cow and Chicken,
07:52chewing their carpets.
07:53Yeah, you know what that means.
07:55We're the Buffalo Gals!
07:57Oh, the Buffalo Gals!
08:00A motorcycle-riding gang that randomly bursts into people's homes
08:03and shoots on their carpets!
08:05Buffalo Gals?
08:06On the surface, it might seem silly,
08:08but the dialogue was laced with not-so-subtle sexual innuendos
08:12at the expense of lesbians.
08:14After receiving backlash from parents who understood the subtext,
08:17Cartoon Network pulled the episode from reruns.
08:20Buffalo Gals, won't you come out tonight?
08:22Come out tonight?
08:23Come out tonight?
08:24Buffalo Gals, won't you come out tonight?
08:27And dance by the light of the moon!
08:29Honestly, it had no business being on a kid's show,
08:31but was Cow and Chicken really for kids?
08:34Number 13.
08:35NYPD Blue's Pilot, NYPD Blue.
08:38Come on, baby.
08:40Come to mama.
08:41Though this police procedural was praised for its gritty realism,
08:44it was also one of the most controversial shows of the 90s,
08:47especially when it first premiered.
08:49With steamy sex, nudity, and heavy swearing,
08:53NYPD Blue pushed network TV to its limits.
08:55I'm sorry, Andy.
08:57I'm sorry.
08:58I hope you got paid a lot of money.
08:59It was so bad that at least 30 affiliates refused to air the premiere.
09:04Parents and religious groups were outraged even before it debuted.
09:07One conservative writer launched a council just to call out its vulgarity.
09:11My dad's not returning my phone calls now.
09:13It's his problem.
09:14He's sulking, so now I gotta deal with that too.
09:16Episodes like Nude Awakening were so explicit, ABC got fined,
09:20which was eventually overturned.
09:22To top it off, the behind-the-scenes drama only added to the show's controversy.
09:27Still, it wouldn't be out of place to say NYPD Blue walked
09:29so that other mature shows could run.
09:32I'm sure he gave you proper thanks, but you're getting more from me.
09:35Thanks, Andy.
09:36Number 12.
09:37South Park Pushes Limits, South Park.
09:39This was an attack on us.
09:41This is exactly why we sat out the national anthem in the first place.
09:44Since it premiered in 1997,
09:47this animated show has become famous and infamous
09:49for its no-holds-barred approach to comedy.
09:52It follows four foul-mouthed boys who live in a small Colorado town
09:55where literally anything can happen.
09:57The world wants us all to feel shame
09:59just because we were all born with wieners.
10:01Butters, you need to calm down.
10:02One episode can be about aliens, poops, celebrity scandals,
10:06and even religious figures.
10:07No religion has been spared,
10:09and it appears nothing is off-limits.
10:13Mr. Cruz?
10:14Mr. Cruz, come out of the closet.
10:16No.
10:18Come on, Mr. Cruz, this is ridiculous.
10:20I'm never coming out.
10:21With strong use of profanity,
10:23pitch-black humor, and provocative themes,
10:26South Park has sparked outrage more times than we can count.
10:29Boycott campaigns?
10:30There have been plenty.
10:31The real question is who hasn't the show offended?
10:34He's right.
10:34For so long, I've considered myself God's gift to the world
10:37that I couldn't take it when people made fun of me.
10:40Through all the chaos,
10:42South Park is still here,
10:43unafraid to say what most shows wouldn't say.
10:46Number 11.
10:47Electric Soldier Porygon, Pokemon.
10:50I wanna be the very best.
10:53Like no one ever was.
10:55While South Park has offended many with its outrageous humor,
10:58Pokemon once made headlines for something far more serious.
11:00One of the show's episodes actually sent over 600 young viewers to the hospital.
11:05Not many may remember the scene.
11:07During a battle sequence,
11:09there was an explosion depicted as a rapid flashing sequence of red and blue lights,
11:13about 12 hertz,
11:14which was incredibly fast.
11:16Guess it's not my lucky day.
11:18Some viewers suffered blurred vision,
11:20dizziness,
11:21nausea,
11:21and loss of consciousness.
11:23The incident was later dubbed the Pokemon Shock,
11:25and the episode was pulled from the air.
11:27Take it easy, Pikachu.
11:29All this power may be shocking at first,
11:31but sooner or later,
11:32your body will get used to the high voltage.
11:34The show went on a brief hiatus after this,
11:36and Japan introduced stricter guidelines for animated content.
11:39Yep, it was more than a controversy.
11:41It was a health crisis.
11:43Pikachu, let's try to lose her.
11:44Wait up, Ash!
11:45Number 10.
11:46Heroes, Beavis and Butthead.
11:48Whoa, guns are cool.
11:51This MTV animated series from creator Mike Judge
11:53was known for courting controversy almost from the beginning.
11:56But this second season episode proved particularly troublesome for Judge and his crew.
12:01In Heroes,
12:01our dim-witted metalhead protagonists waltz into a gun store,
12:05easily pick up a couple of rifles,
12:07and decide to go skeet shooting.
12:14Pull.
12:19Unfortunately,
12:20their target practice ends with the duo accidentally shooting down an airplane
12:24that crash lands in a field not far off.
12:26And we'll be getting up to about 50,000 feet.
12:30If you look off to your left right now,
12:31you'll see a shimmering sea of trailer homes.
12:34Like the fact that you're lying.
12:37This little stunt naturally resulted in Beavis and Butthead
12:40receiving complaints not only from anti-gun activists,
12:43but also from concerned parents and got the episode banned.
12:46You bagged a jumbo jet.
12:49Do I get to keep it?
12:51Number 9.
12:51The WWF during the Attitude Era.
12:54Through some 50 years,
12:55the World Wrestling Federation has been an entertainment mainstay here in North America
12:59and all over the world.
13:00One of the reasons for that longevity
13:01is as the times have changed,
13:04so have we.
13:05Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation,
13:07now known as World Wrestling Entertainment,
13:09underwent a sharp creative makeover back in the late 90s,
13:12shocking those who grew up in the more innocent times of cartoonish 80s wrestling.
13:17WWF during the Attitude Era,
13:19as it eventually grew to be known,
13:20was a playground of realistically bloody violence,
13:23adult imagery,
13:24and bizarre storylines,
13:25all of which fans ate up like candy.
13:27Parents weren't as amused
13:33and often complained to McMahon
13:35about the program's drastic shift
13:36to maturely themed content.
13:38Time and a lack of serious competition
13:40would eventually soften the WWE's creative stance, however,
13:44with today's programming coming across
13:46as decidedly more PG than extreme.
13:52Number 8.
13:53The Puppy Episode.
13:54Ellen.
13:54I'm sensing a little tension.
13:56That's right.
13:57Tense. Tension. I have tension.
13:58Yes, you can read vibes.
14:00Where do we start with this one?
14:01Perhaps with the humorously misleading title of The Puppy Episode?
14:05Or maybe we can discuss how bold it was
14:08for comedian Ellen DeGeneres to use her ABC sitcom
14:10as a vehicle for her and her character's coming out party.
14:13It wasn't quite as easy back in 1997
14:15for a situation comedy to have a lesbian leading character,
14:18but that is exactly the trail DeGeneres was blazing with this episode.
14:21You thought I was gay?
14:25Why would you...
14:26Why would you think I was gay?
14:29Oh, wow.
14:30I'm sorry.
14:32I just kind of got that vibe.
14:34ABC faced criticism and backlash
14:36from both religious groups and advertisers concerning the episode,
14:39but the two-part Puppy nevertheless aired unedited,
14:42and in the process,
14:43gained DeGeneres a whole new audience of appreciative fans.
14:46Susan, I'm gay.
14:49Of course, she would become controversial for different reasons years later.
14:57All right, then. Goodbye.
14:58Bye.
14:59Nope, not awkward at all.
15:02Number seven.
15:03Home.
15:03The X-Files.
15:05Incest is never an easy subject to broach,
15:07even on the most serious of dramas.
15:10Never mind a science fiction juggernaut like Chris Carter's The X-Files.
15:13Raise and breed their own stock, if you get my beanie.
15:18The controversial fan-favorite episode Home shocked viewers back in 96 with its portrayal
15:23of the Peacock family and what they buried in the backyard of their property.
15:27This plot point alone would be enough to earn the show its parental discretion advisory,
15:31but Home pushed the boundaries that much further by adding in the fact
15:34that the Peacock's matriarch had been inbreeding for years,
15:37disturbing not only Mulder and Scully, but audiences around the world.
15:41We're gonna make sure that you stay.
15:43We're gonna make sure that you get home.
15:51Mulder, she already is home.
15:55It's Mrs. Peacock.
15:57She's their mother.
15:58Number six.
15:59Homer's Phobia.
16:00The Simpsons.
16:02Ding dong.
16:03Classic.
16:04I mean, that says it all, doesn't it?
16:06The Simpsons has always been known for clever bits of social commentary,
16:09but this season eight episode stands as one of the strongest of the entire series.
16:13Noted exploitation filmmaker John Waters voices the Simpson family's new friend,
16:17John, who comes across as a threat to the homophobic Homer.
16:21It wasn't too often that we saw the lovably dim-witted Homer offering up some sincere,
16:25troubled pathos,
16:26but the writers here did a great job at juggling a father's love for his family,
16:30balanced against his own recently discovered prejudices.
16:33Huh?
16:33He thinks you're gay.
16:35He thinks I'm gay?
16:39Everybody dance now!
16:41Number five.
16:42Oz.
16:43The landscape of violence on cable television has always been one of peaks and valleys,
16:48but Oz managed to push the creative envelope for what would be displayed on the small screen.
16:52This original HBO series was set in a maximum security prison and displayed in shocking detail
16:58all of the daily bits of violence and intrigue that go on behind bars.
17:02Is that why you killed Kareem Saeed?
17:06No.
17:08That was revenge.
17:10Inmates and guards alike indulged in the carnage,
17:12which ranged from sexual assault and murder to scatological humiliation,
17:16making Oz a program that can still manage to disturb even today.
17:20I'm the chief of this tribe.
17:23I would teach you the right way to behave.
17:26Number four.
17:27Politically incorrect.
17:28There may not have been any rampant sex or violence on politically incorrect with Bill Maher,
17:33but this late-night talk show was never without its fireworks.
17:38Politically incorrect thrived on conversation and in-depth discussions
17:42with people who possessed diverse and passionate opinions
17:44about everything from social culture to politics.
17:47What you're telling horny teenagers is the only thing that you can do is be abstinent.
17:52And condoms don't work.
17:53So kids are not going to use condoms because they're going to listen to you
17:55and figure, well, why should we even use condoms?
17:57And that, to me, is irresponsible.
17:59As a result, Marsho consistently provided a forum
18:02for those whose positions didn't always make for easy listening,
18:06ensuring that heated arguments would become the norm.
18:08Some of these things, you have to admit, are controversial.
18:11Absolutely.
18:12I mean, they're designed to make people think,
18:14but the point with the Bible or flags is to say
18:16it's only as valid as you make it in your heart.
18:20A piece of paper...
18:20It's all about perception, isn't it, Marilyn?
18:22A piece of paper or a piece of cloth doesn't mean anything.
18:26It's what you believe.
18:28Marr would even land in political hot water himself
18:30due to some controversial statements the comedian made on his program
18:33shortly after 9-11, resulting in calls for his cancellation.
18:37We have been the cowards.
18:38Lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away, that's cowardly.
18:43That is a cowardly.
18:44Staying in the airplane when it hits the building.
18:47Say what you want about it, not coward.
18:49Number 3, Earshot, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
18:52This time tomorrow, I'll kill you all.
18:55This episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer falls on our list thanks to its timing,
18:59with Earshot having the unfortunate distinction of being scheduled to air
19:02one week after the Columbine High School massacre.
19:05The episode doesn't actually deal with gun violence in reference to homicide,
19:09instead telling a sad tale of one student's depression in a clock tower.
19:12I wouldn't ever hurt anybody.
19:14Still, the fact that Earshot contained a scene of a young teen assembling a rifle
19:18caused the WB to air a rerun episode instead,
19:21pre-empting Earshot until later in the season.
19:24Number 2, The Puerto Rican Day, Seinfeld.
19:27No, it's the Puerto Rican Day Parade.
19:31It may seem difficult to believe that an episode of that show about nothing
19:34could be banned for content,
19:35but that's exactly what happened to the Puerto Rican Day episode of Seinfeld.
19:38In this episode, an unfortunate series of events leads to Kramer's accidental burning
19:43of the Puerto Rican flag.
19:45The resulting heat was not only focused on Cosmo, however,
20:01but also on the show itself,
20:03with NBC being forced to issue an apology and ban the episode altogether.
20:06It wasn't until 2002 that the episode began airing unedited in syndication.
20:12Maybe we should have stumped you like you have stumped the flag.
20:17What do you think of that?
20:18Look, I just have one thing to say to you boys.
20:23Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel
20:26and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
20:30You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
20:33If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
20:39Number 1. The Jerry Springer Show
20:42I don't hate you. I feel sorry for you.
20:44I only hate what you have done to your children.
20:50Come on, you know you love it.
20:51You're not alone either,
20:52as it seemed that just about everyone was tuning into The Jerry Springer Show
20:56back in the 90s for their daily dose of talk show chaos.
20:58This former mayor of Cincinnati translated his natural ease in front of the camera
21:02into a career as ringmaster for his own circus of allegedly choreographed fistfights,
21:07outrageous storylines, and salacious material,
21:10the likes of which would make just about anyone blush.
21:13The Jerry Springer Show quickly became known as the most controversial tabloid talk show around,
21:17consistently upping the ante in terms of guests,
21:20actors posing as guests, and general all-around lunacy.
21:24It is only the grown-ups such as you that teach our children
21:27to not like that person because of color this thing.
21:30What is the most controversial TV show ever?
21:33Let us know in the comments section.
21:34All right.
21:37Bottoms up.
21:40Now you.
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