- 5 months ago
When fiction meets reality in the courtroom! Join us as we explore controversial television moments that sparked serious legal battles. From defamation claims to copyright disputes, these scenes didn't just shock viewers—they resulted in multi-million dollar lawsuits that changed how we think about creative freedom and responsibility in media.
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00:00Sing soft, kitty, to me.
00:02Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 TV scenes that led to legal troubles.
00:07Beware of spoilers.
00:08So good to see you, we've missed you.
00:10You have?
00:12Number 10. Prank Gone Wrong, Punk'd.
00:15Honestly, this MTV hidden camera gag by Ashton Kutcher was downright cruel.
00:18Okay, here's what's gonna happen.
00:20We're gonna do something, a celebrity's gonna get pissed, and then we're gonna laugh at them.
00:24It became famous for staging fake emergencies, celebrity scandals, or accidents to catch stars off guard, then revealing it was all a prank.
00:31But before that format, the show was originally called Harassment, and it targeted regular people.
00:35In 2002, however, one prank crossed the line.
00:38If you're telling me you can't be punked, you're begging me to do it.
00:41Producers staged a dead body in a one-room suite at Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, shocking real guests who found it.
00:47To make matters worse, hotel security allegedly wouldn't let the terrified couple leave.
00:51Even after the stunt was revealed, the traumatized couple filed for a $10 million lawsuit.
00:55The episode never aired, and how it all ended remains a bit murky.
00:58Is this from the lawyers?
01:00Number 9. The Final Game, The Queen's Gambit.
01:03This hit miniseries follows Beth Harmon, a fictional chess prodigy who rises from an orphanage to conquer the male-dominated world of chess.
01:09I'm afraid.
01:11Then don't go.
01:12I have to go.
01:14If I don't, there's nothing for me to do.
01:15While the show received accolades, it also sparked a real-life controversy.
01:19In order to elevate Beth's legacy, the show took a jab at real-life female chess legend Nona Goprindashvili.
01:25In the show's last episode, the commentator claims that Goprindashvili never faced men, which is simply not true.
01:30There's Nona Goprindashvili, but she's the female world champion and has never faced men.
01:35Not only does she compete with men, she's also Georgian, not Russian.
01:38Offended by this, Goprindashvili filed a $5 million defamation lawsuit against Netflix, claiming the show undermined her achievements.
01:45The case was later settled privately in 2022.
01:47I may have just played the best chess player of my life.
01:55You will get used to it.
02:03Number 8.
02:04The Dark Path
02:04Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
02:06Netflix's version of Sabrina's adventures is downright dark.
02:09I'm not an evil person, father.
02:11I'm glad to hear it.
02:18Neither am I.
02:19Neither are your aunts.
02:20Instead of the bubbly teenage magic, the show dives into witchcraft, satanic lore, and occult rituals.
02:24Back in 2018, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina landed in hot water with a real-life satanic organization, the Satanic Temple.
02:31What was the issue?
02:31The academy was built according to the principles of sacred geometry.
02:36Each room is a perfectly proportioned pentagon that locks with the one next to it.
02:41No one knows how many pentagons there are exactly.
02:44Some say an infinite number.
02:45The show prominently features a statue of Baphomet, which the organization claimed looked eerily similar to their own copyrighted version.
02:52They also took issue with how the show portrayed the statue in a sinister and evil context, which they claimed to feign their value.
02:58So they filed a $50 million lawsuit against Netflix and Warner Brothers.
03:01The case ended up not going to trial as the parties reached a settlement, which was not disclosed to the public.
03:06Thank you, Nicholas.
03:08Really?
03:09Number 7, Soft Kitty, The Big Bang Theory.
03:12For a character as eccentric as Sheldon Cooper, it comes as no surprise that he needs a specific song to soothe him when he's sick or stressed.
03:19Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur.
03:28Keep rubbing.
03:31Little ball of fur.
03:34Avid fans of Sheldon probably know we're talking about the Soft Kitty song.
03:37While it was popularized by Amy, Penny, Sheldon, and Mary, the lyrics are actually based off of the poem Warm Kitty by Edith Newland.
03:44These lyrics had been published decades earlier in a school songbook.
03:47That's nice.
03:50Now in German.
03:51However, in 2015, Newland's daughters sued the creators of the show and CBS for using it without permission.
03:56Unfortunately, the case was dismissed since Newland's children couldn't prove they had valid copyright of their mother's content.
04:02Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur.
04:07Number 6, Nude Backside, NYPD Blue.
04:09Back in the 90s, network TV had stricter standards around adult content.
04:13You gotta know this is a big step, Martinez.
04:16Yeah, I mean...
04:17But shows like NYPD Blue broke the rules by airing scenes with strong language and even nudity on a major network.
04:22Naturally, it stirred a lot of controversy.
04:24One scene in particular pushed the boundaries even further.
04:27It's probably an unforgettable one for those who have seen it.
04:30Is everything alright?
04:31Yeah, I'm just checking to see if there's any long-term effects to walking in and seeing me naked this morning.
04:38No.
04:39Yes.
04:40It shows a woman's bare backside as she prepares to shower.
04:42After viewers complained, the Federal Communications Commission got involved and fined ABC $1.4 million.
04:48After years of legal battles, a court finally threw out the fine in 2011, ruling that the FCC's indecency policy was too vague.
04:56Number 5, Shaving the Truth, Inventing Anna.
04:58Inspired by a true story, Inventing Anna chronicles the rise and fall of Anna Sorokin,
05:02a con artist who scammed friends, hotels, and banks.
05:06Anything wrong.
05:07I didn't do what the prosecutor is saying I did.
05:11But how accurate is the series really?
05:13Well, it appears some details were totally made up and the portrayal of Rachel Williams may be one of them.
05:18She's depicted as shallow, greedy, and opportunistic, and the real Williams wasn't having it.
05:22If there is a way that true crime stories can be told, seen, discussed, even dramatized responsibly, this just isn't it.
05:30In 2022, she filed a defamation suit against Netflix for casting her in such a negative light.
05:34Williams' decision to sell her story rights to HBO instead of Netflix may have played a role in this, or so she believes.
05:40Imagine using someone's real name and details without doing the work to portray them truthfully.
05:44That isn't fair.
05:45She is someone who doesn't deserve our celebration.
05:49She's someone who has committed crimes, and I do think it's important to have a moral compass.
05:52Number 4, The Hannah Baker Inspiration, 13 Reasons Why.
05:56Sometimes what we put out into the world through powerful platforms like films and television can have serious consequences.
06:01Hey, it's Hannah.
06:04Hannah Baker.
06:05There's not a simple explanation for the things that I feel.
06:10That's right.
06:11Don't adjust your whatever device you're hearing this on.
06:14There's no one word to tell you why I do the things that I do.
06:18It's me, live and in stereo.
06:21The depiction of Hannah Baker taking her own life on this show is one prominent example.
06:25While the show opened up discussions about mental health, it soon became a magnet for controversy.
06:29In 2017, the young girl took her own life after watching the show, and she wasn't the only one.
06:34And for a minute, just a minute, I felt like maybe I could beat this.
06:41The bereaved father filed a class action lawsuit against Netflix the following year.
06:45However, the judge later ruled in favor of Netflix.
06:48Still, this is a powerful reminder that content doesn't only entertain, sometimes it influences actions and thoughts.
06:53Well, how are you a problem to them?
06:59I don't know.
07:02Number 3. Framing a Killer. Making a Murderer.
07:04We all know documentaries don't always present the full truth, even if they claim to be a true story.
07:09It's just a little bit more waiting.
07:12I waited long enough.
07:13A little bit more even to bother me.
07:16That's precisely the issue Andrew Colburn raised in his lawsuit against Netflix over the hit docuseries Making a Murderer.
07:22Who is Colburn?
07:22He was a Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department officer featured in the Stephen Avery case.
07:27Gone over Exhibit 138.
07:29Yes, sir.
07:30According to him, the docuseries made it look like he was involved in framing Avery.
07:33So Colburn filed a lawsuit against Netflix for omitting key facts and portraying him in a dishonest manner.
07:39However, the court dismissed the case, saying that although the show took a clear narrative stance, it didn't amount to defamation.
07:44The truth is, the entire case is a tricky one.
07:47That's a significant event.
07:48Right, that's what stood out in my mind.
07:50Number 2. Negative Portrayal – When They See Us
07:53This powerful Netflix series tells the true story of the Central Park Five, a group of boys who were wrongfully convicted.
07:59What were you doing in the park last night?
08:03Uh, nothing. I wasn't doing anything.
08:05Did you see some bad guys out there?
08:07Felicity Huffman plays Linda Fairstein, then head of Manhattan's sex crime unit.
08:11She's depicted as a driving force behind the prosecution, often aggressively pushing for conviction even with no evidence.
08:16After the show shook the world, Fairstein's image took a serious hit.
08:20Now the hashtag CancelLinda is trending on social media, and a Change.org petition has gotten thousands of signatures calling for bookstores to remove Fairstein's mystery books from store shelves.
08:33She was dropped by her publishers and even removed from several boards.
08:36In response, she filed a defamation lawsuit against Netflix for how she was portrayed in the series.
08:40While parts of the lawsuits were allowed to proceed, Fairstein ultimately reached an agreement.
08:44With Netflix a week before the case could go to trial, but the damage had already been done.
08:49They were in the park beating people up the same night that she's getting beat up and you're telling me they had nothing to do with it?
08:57Bullshit.
08:59They said it themselves.
09:00They told us what happened.
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09:19Number 1.
09:20The Mistress.
09:20The Jerry Springer Show.
09:22Messi doesn't even begin to describe this 90s trash TV show.
09:25It thrived on shock values, surprise reveals, and all-out brawls.
09:29Sometimes the drama spilled into real life with tragic consequences.
09:31In 2000, Nancy Campbell Panitz appeared on an episode titled Secret Mistresses Confronted, alongside her ex-husband Ralph Panitz and his girlfriend Eleanor.
09:40Nancy had been allegedly misled by the producers into thinking she was there for reconciliation, only for her to be humiliated.
09:46But the worst came after.
09:47Hours after the episode aired, Nancy was found dead and Ralph would be convicted of her murder.
09:52Nancy's sons filed a civil lawsuit against the show, claiming it created a volatile environment that led to her death.
09:57The case was eventually dropped without a financial settlement.
10:00What other TV scenes have led to huge lawsuits?
10:02Let us know in the comments.
10:03What did these animals do between here and here?
10:10Hmm?
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