10 Times TV Shows Ended Up in Court Over Shocking Controversies

watchMOJO.WORLD

Behind the scenes of your favorite TV shows lies drama the cameras never showed — lawsuits, scandals, and shocking legal battles. These are the Top 10 TV shows that faced massive lawsuits for copyright, defamation, and even on-set accidents.  ⚖️ Real-life legal chaos behind famous shows 💰 Millions lost in lawsuits 📺 Scandals that changed TV forever  Watch now to uncover the craziest courtroom battles in television history!

Transcript

00:00If anyone wants to take one for the team, now is the time!

00:04Welcome to WatchMojo.

00:06And today, we're counting down our picks for the most significant lawsuits ever to occur because of a TV show.

00:12Some spoilers to come.

00:14You don't have any control of your information, so you should be paid and treated like you're an employee at that point.

00:21Number 10, Baby Reindeer.

00:23Cup of tea?

00:25No thanks.

00:26You have to buy something.

00:27Can't afford something.

00:28Right? Not even a cup of tea?

00:30No.

00:31This award-winning Netflix series about a bartender forced to deal with a stalker tread on some toes.

00:38Many fans had speculated there was a real-life inspiration behind the stalker, Martha, and they were not alone.

00:45One Scottish lawyer, Fiona Muir Harvey, even sued Netflix for defamation and negligence in a $170 million lawsuit, claiming Martha was based on her.

00:57Harvey has maintained that the allegations brought against her in the show are false, describing them as brutal lies.

01:02She denies sexually assaulting Gad and says the show falsely implies she was sent to prison for stalking him.

01:08She also claims Netflix misleadingly marketed the show as a true story, rather than simply based on one.

01:15Though the negligence charges were dismissed, the defamation ones continue, so it remains to be seen whether this autobiographical series was in the wrong.

01:24She-she's-she's stalking me.

01:26I suggest you apologize and let us go about doing our job again in the correct manner.

01:31Apologize? To her? Are you kidding me?

01:33Number 9. Wife Swap.

01:35I believe Angie is trying to do good, but I really, in my heart, don't see the purpose to take down my achievements.

01:43As soon as my father sees all my crowns have been taken down and my trophies, be prepared for a fight.

01:47This reality TV show about wives going to different families has naturally incurred a lot of controversies and even lawsuits.

01:55The case of Alicia Guastafaro, however, is a notable one.

01:59She filed a lawsuit in 2010 for her appearance in a 2008 episode.

02:04According to the suit, Guastafaro was forced by the producers to act more spoiled, even giving her scripted lines.

02:11On the show, people made me out to be this bratty, spoiled, stupid, dumb blonde, which I am nothing of the sort.

02:19This performance caused her peers to mock and taunt her, leading to severe emotional distress and panic attacks.

02:25The lawsuit was settled out of court that same year for an unknown amount.

02:29But if Guastafaro had her way, ABC could have been out of $100 million.

02:34My upcoming Sweet 16 is gonna rock.

02:37How are you looking this?

02:39I'm hot.

02:39I'm going to junior prom, and yes, I am a freshman, so props to me.

02:45Number 8. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

02:47Where were you? We were getting worried.

02:49Not me. I haven't been worried since bottomless mimosas.

02:55And cut.

02:58That was wonderful, dear. You're gonna fit right in here.

03:00This dark supernatural show about witchcraft and Satan worship got on the wrong side of the Satanists themselves.

03:07The Satanic Temple sued the series team for their use of the Statue of Baphomet,

03:12claiming copyright infringement of their own real-life statue.

03:15Copywriting the statue and trademark in the statue as something that the temple uses to distinguish its services from those of other religions and temples.

03:26The temple also took umbrage at the series portraying Satanists as evil cannibals who indulge in murder and other inaccuracies.

03:33For its part, Warner Bros. alleged the statue's real-life inspiration was already included in the credits for the episode.

03:41The lawsuit, seeking at least $50 million in damages, was settled in 2018.

03:46Do not mess with these devil's advocates.

03:49Who's there?

03:51It's me, father.

03:54Here to make sure that you never cause trouble for me or the cabin ever again.

03:59Number 7. The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip

04:03A Real Housewives spinoff, this show is legally fraught.

04:18In this series, several Real Housewives women vacation together in different locales, with a lot of drama along the way.

04:25Caroline Manzo, by all accounts, had the worst time on the show,

04:38claiming the network had allowed co-star Brandi Glanville to sexually harass and assault her.

04:44Glanville apparently had a record of sexual misconduct before her time on the show.

04:48Manzo filed a lawsuit against the network Bravo for negligence.

04:52Glanville has denied these allegations, claiming emotional distress, financial hardship, and even thoughts of self-harm as a result of the lawsuit.

05:01Talk about a reality check.

05:02I can't even be around that. It's so disgusting.

05:06And I get it. Like, some people's tactics in life are,

05:09if you hit me, I'm gonna hit you harder.

05:11But you can't respond in that way. It doesn't matter how mad you are.

05:15Number 6. Ray Donovan

05:16You don't talk a lot. I like that.

05:20I'm gonna start doing that. It makes you very mysterious.

05:25Shows can also get in trouble if their premise is too similar to another treatment.

05:29This award-winning crime drama follows a fixer,

05:32who uses illegal means to help his celebrity clients solve their problems.

05:36Call TMZ and leak the news that Tommy Wheeler's at the caveat with a dead girl.

05:40Then get over there and represent him.

05:42You're his publicist.

05:43Now you work for the studio. I just try to control the story.

05:45Per Brian Lawson, however, this is the exact same premise as his own 2009 concept,

05:51The Swissman, which also included a storyline with a pro basketball player involved in a sex scandal.

05:57While allegedly getting enthusiastic response from a Showtime exec,

06:01Larson's proposal was eventually rejected in 2010.

06:04Larson sued Showtime for breach of implied contract,

06:08claiming the network passed his idea onto Mark Gordon's production company.

06:12The show was unexpectedly canceled in 2020, so this is one problem Ray Donovan can't fix.

06:18Can you get him into your office now?

06:20Ten minutes or so?

06:21Yeah, I'll teleport him.

06:22Get him there as soon as he can.

06:24I got an idea. We can kill two birds with one stone.

06:27Number 5. Better Call Saul.

06:29This is trademark infringement.

06:30Mr. McGill's new logo is an absolute copy of ours.

06:34I think it falls firmly under fair use.

06:36Fair use? You're clearly profiting, so fair use doesn't apply.

06:39Of course, a Breaking Bad prequel about a bad lawyer would get into some bad legal trouble.

06:44Acclaimed by both critics and audiences,

06:47the show nevertheless got hit with a lawsuit for a pretty benign reason.

06:51Trademark infringement.

06:53Liberty Tax Service took offense over the similarly named Sweet Liberty Tax Services,

06:58a fictional tax firm involved in shady business practices.

07:01He wants me to change my name because he claims it's some kind of threat to his business.

07:07Your Honor.

07:07This is restraint of trade, okay? Whatever happened to the free market, huh?

07:11No, Hamlin here wants you to tell me.

07:13Okay, okay, enough.

07:14The show's use of an inflatable Statue of Liberty and American flag motif

07:18was also flagged as trademark violations used to disparage the company.

07:23The lawsuit was dismissed in 2023,

07:26with a Manhattan District judge ruling in favor of the Better Call Saul creators.

07:30Perhaps they did call Saul after all.

07:32We want our lives back, the way they were before.

07:37Before.

07:40We lost everything.

07:43Number 4. Abbott Elementary.

07:46Make a playlist, starting with some oldies.

07:49Ooh, how about 50 Cent in the club?

07:52Okay, no, that's not an oldie and you shouldn't be listening to that.

07:55Plenty of series have been accused of copyright infringement and stealing a similar premise,

07:59and this one is no different.

08:02Writer and former school teacher Christine Davis claimed the hit ABC series Abbott Elementary

08:07was a knockoff of her own proposed TV series, This School Year, conceived in 2018.

08:14This School Year was also a mockumentary about an idealistic teacher,

08:17but this one worked in a New York City public school.

08:20Finally, in 2024, the case was dismissed by New York,

08:31claiming that the similarities between the two were surface level at best,

08:35with the show's differing in plot, structure, and overall feel.

08:39It's not just elementary.

08:40When you first started, I found that some of your ways of teaching were a bit unorthodox.

08:46Uh, no, because that belief interferes with my perception of reality, so.

08:51Number 3. Love is Blind.

08:53Show came out, filming after the altar, divorce, fired, all of this stuff,

08:59and then, yeah, it was just like, okay, now I have time to sit back and reflect,

09:02and that's when I was like, this is messed up.

09:05Perhaps the most lawsuit-ridden reality TV show yet,

09:08this Netflix series about literal blind dating is a doozy.

09:12Love is Blind has been accused of being a toxic workplace,

09:15with no less than three former castmates filing lawsuits.

09:18She was expressly forbidden from interacting not only with other participants,

09:23but also with random hotel guests and staff.

09:26Season 2 contestant Jeremy Hartwell alleged being denied food and water,

09:31encouraged to drink alcohol instead, and being paid below the Los Angeles minimum wage.

09:37Another lawsuit by contestant Tran Dang claims Dang was sexually assaulted

09:41by a fellow participant, Thomas Smith, and even falsely imprisoned.

09:46Neither Dang nor Smith appeared in Season 5 of the show,

09:49and only one lawsuit has been settled.

09:52If Love is Blind, justice is a little less so.

09:54My advice to them would be, you know, get your mental health in gear,

10:00understand that what you see on there is going to feel like gaslighting,

10:05and just be confident enough to speak your truth.

10:08Number two, when they see us.

10:10I'm walking through this with you.

10:14You cry, I cry.

10:16You mad, I'm mad.

10:19This critically acclaimed miniseries based on the Central Park Jogger case

10:23naturally got into controversial waters.

10:26Linda Fairstein, the real-life New York prosecutor on the Central Park 5 case,

10:31objected to the series' portrayal of both her and the case.

10:34She claimed the series villainized her as racist and out to get these innocent youths.

10:39Former prosecutor argues that people have only ever focused on the five accused teenagers

10:43known as the Central Park 5, and missed the larger picture,

10:46which was a riot in the dark that resulted in the apprehension of more than 15 teenagers

10:51who set upon multiple victims.

10:53Moreover, the series itself was allegedly full of outright fabrications.

10:57In 2020, Fairstein sued Netflix and the show's creators for defamation.

11:02The lawsuit was settled in 2024, with Netflix agreeing to add a disclaimer

11:07and donating $1 million to the Innocence Project.

11:10Fairstein, however, would get nothing.

11:12What a mess.

11:13And there was certainly more than enough evidence to support those convictions.

11:16of first-degree assault, robbery, riot, and other charges.

11:21She continues saying,

11:21When They See Us is so full of distortions and falsehoods as to be an outright fabrication.

11:26Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel

11:29and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.

11:33You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.

11:37If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.

11:41Number 1. Beast Games

11:44The many controversies of famed YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson, better known as Mr. Beast, continue.

12:00Clearly inspired by Squid Game, Donaldson's reality TV show, Beast Games, follows 1,000 people competing for a $5 million prize.

12:10I just want to say you should all be proud of yourselves for making it this far.

12:14We started with 1,000 contestants.

12:17You have made it to the top 500.

12:20But it wasn't long before allegations of mistreatment arose, leading to a class-action lawsuit in 2024.

12:26This mistreatment involved unpaid wages and compensation, as well as the contestants being misclassified as volunteers to avoid paying taxes.

12:36Contestants also claimed to have received inadequate food and medical care.

12:40Their personal belongings, including their phones, were confiscated.

12:43Penning contestants into enclosed spaces, underfed, overtired contestants, stressful, exhausting.

12:50More egregiously, some participants claimed to have suffered sexual harassment.

12:55Donaldson denied the allegations, and the lawsuit is still ongoing.

12:59These are beastly games indeed.

13:01Were all of these lawsuits justified?

13:03Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended