You could say that development on these shows was arrested. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’ll be looking at the most notable television actors and reality stars who were charged with crimes and arrested while production of their respective TV shows was underway.
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00:00Listen, I need to talk to you about something.
00:02Yeah, sure, what's up?
00:03Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we'll be looking at the most notable television actors and
00:09reality stars who were charged with crimes and arrested while production of their respective
00:15TV shows was underway.
00:17Let's just add that to the list of sacrifices that I make for this family on a daily basis.
00:25Jussie Smollett, Empire
00:26I'm sorry, I can't do this.
00:35On Empire, Jamal Lyon, played by Jussie Smollett, was a pivotal character who had a big wedding
00:41in one of the final episodes of the fifth season.
00:43However, that episode marked Jamal's final appearance, and he was barely even mentioned
00:49afterwards until the series ended.
00:51That's because on February 21, 2019, during production of the fifth season, Smollett was
00:57arrested for filing a false police report.
01:00What do you feel people need to hear the most from this story?
01:04I think that what people need to hear is just the truth.
01:08He had claimed to be the victim of a hate crime, alleging that two men attacked him
01:12while yelling racial and homophobic slurs.
01:15It was later revealed that Smollett had masterminded the incident, paying two brothers to go along
01:21with the ruse.
01:22He was found guilty of felony disorderly conduct and sentenced to 150 days in jail.
01:28You become toxic in your own workplace.
01:32Your career future is uncertain at very best.
01:35It was really on a rocket ship to success, and now you've turned yourself into riches
01:40to rags, and it's so unfortunate.
01:43Jerry Harris, Chia
01:44The first season of the Netflix docuseries Chia gained such immense popularity that it
01:50turned its central figures into overnight stars.
01:54One standout was Jerry Harris, who became known for his exceedingly positive attitude
01:59and encouraging mattalk.
02:00Get a job!
02:01Let's go, Chia!
02:02But he don't just mattalk one person.
02:05He mattalked the entire team, and it just makes you just want to do better as just an
02:10athlete yourself.
02:11That was great.
02:12That was really good.
02:13Harris was beloved by fans, but things took a sour turn in September 2020, when he was
02:19arrested by the FBI while production of the show's second season was underway.
02:25He had apparently engaged in highly inappropriate behavior with minors and faced multiple charges
02:31in federal court.
02:32You can fall in love with somebody on TV, people defending him, he would never do this.
02:37Even his closest friends, he would never do this.
02:39You don't know.
02:41You don't know.
02:42Unless you are his victim, you don't know.
02:45After pleading guilty, Harris was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
02:49The second season of Chia addressed the fallout from this scandal and featured interviews
02:54with some of the victims involved in the case.
02:56Tell me what that was like for you.
02:59It was horrifying.
03:01Stoney Westmoreland, Andy Mack.
03:04Before we eat these dumplings, there's something I need to tell you.
03:09For two years, Stoney Westmoreland starred on the Disney Channel sitcom Andy Mack, playing
03:16the titular character's grandfather.
03:18However, he was abruptly fired just before filming wrapped on the show's third and final
03:24season.
03:25You're going to have to do them without me because I won't be here.
03:27What do you mean you won't be here?
03:29I'm going to do a little traveling.
03:32Just for a few weeks, maybe longer.
03:34The reason for Westmoreland's sudden dismissal was that in December 2018, he was arrested
03:40by police in Salt Lake City, Utah, where the series was filmed.
03:45Westmoreland had been trying to engage in unlawful contact with a person he believed
03:49to be a teenager on an app, not knowing he was actually communicating with an undercover
03:54police officer.
03:56After arranging a physical meeting with the supposed teenager, he was arrested.
04:01Westmoreland later pleaded guilty to federal charges and was sentenced to two years in
04:05prison.
04:06Yeah, that's it.
04:07Michael Lavelle, Coronation Street
04:10English actor Michael Lavelle first appeared as Kevin Webster on the long-running soap
04:14opera Coronation Street in 1983, and has played the role ever since.
04:20In 2011, his job was threatened when he was arrested on multiple charges, including indecent
04:26assault of a minor.
04:27You think we're quits after what you did?
04:28After what you did!
04:30Just stop it and leave him alone!
04:32Go away, Kevin!
04:33Although the case was initially dropped, it was later reviewed, and Lavelle was charged
04:37again two years later.
04:40In light of this, the actor was dropped by the show, and the scenes he had already filmed
04:44were cut from future broadcasts.
04:46The set and studios for Coronation Street, just behind me here, are only a couple of
04:51minutes' walk away from Manchester Crown Court, but the jury were instructed to put the program
04:57right out of their minds.
04:58Lavelle pleaded not guilty and was tried on 19 charges, but he was ultimately acquitted
05:04of all counts.
05:06Following the resolution of the case, Lavelle returned to his role on the series.
05:11Nice one.
05:12You know what I'm saying.
05:13Do I?
05:14Do I, Kevin?
05:15Do I ever know what you're really saying?
05:17Kevin?
05:18You do not call me that!
05:19Portia Williams, The Real Housewives of Atlanta
05:22In 2012, Portia Williams joined the cast of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, alongside
05:27former Miss USA Kenya Moore, but their relationship was hardly ever friendly.
05:32I'm saying what you say that you want to laugh.
05:33She's playing the victim.
05:34She wants everyone to be sorry for her.
05:35Now she wants to make us feel like we're not supposed to laugh.
05:36Excuse me, I'm talking.
05:37Please be quiet.
05:38That's right.
05:39You will not talk over me.
05:40In 2014, tensions peaked during the show's reunion, when Williams and Moore got involved
05:47in a now-infamous physical altercation.
05:50As a result, Moore called the police on Williams, which led to a warrant being issued for her
05:56arrest on a misdemeanor battery charge.
05:58I am not going to sit here and get hit by somebody on TV.
06:02I'm done.
06:03She goes or I go.
06:05Days later, Williams turned herself in, but she was ultimately released a few hours later
06:11on a $2,000 bond.
06:13Williams wasn't the only Real Housewives star to face legal issues during filming.
06:18Michael Darby, Jen Shah, and Joe and Teresa Giudice have all found themselves in the same
06:24predicament.
06:25According to court documents obtained by ABC News, the Giudices allegedly submitted false
06:30and fraudulent mortgage and other loan applications from 2001 to 2008.
06:35The documents also say Joe failed to submit tax returns and did not tell the truth in
06:40bankruptcy court.
06:42Columba Short scandal.
06:43I don't ask you for favors, hack me out of speeding tickets, or anything like that.
06:49No.
06:50Well, now I need one.
06:53A favor.
06:54Actor Columba Short was notoriously fired from the hit ABC series Scandal in April 2014,
07:02following the end of the show's third season.
07:05This decision was influenced by several legal troubles, including an incident of domestic
07:09violence against his then-wife.
07:12But during filming of that season, Short had already been arrested in Los Angeles on a
07:17felony assault charge.
07:19I wish he had a real-life Olivia Pope to guide him through this mess, but I gotta tell ya,
07:24this is not a joking matter.
07:26These are serious charges.
07:27Now, he has a rap sheet as long as my arm.
07:29This arrest stemmed from a physical altercation with his in-law at a family gathering, where
07:33he threw a punch that knocked the man out.
07:36Although Short pleaded no contest to the felony charge and was spared jail time, the issue
07:42ultimately contributed to his eventual dismissal from the series.
07:46It's a shame.
07:48Really.
07:49A waste of such a great talent.
07:53Todd and Julie Chrisley, Chrisley Knows Best
07:56On their reality show, Chrisley Knows Best, Todd and Julie Chrisley portrayed themselves
08:01as successful real estate moguls living a luxurious life.
08:05But it seems that was all a facade.
08:07Are you feeling good, Daddy?
08:09Because you look good.
08:10Yes, and I appreciate y'all doing this for me.
08:12We spare no expense.
08:14You heard that, Ashley.
08:15So that means you give me the works.
08:17While filming the show's seventh season, the Chrisleys were indicted on multiple criminal
08:23charges, including tax evasion and bank fraud, and subsequently arrested.
08:29The government accused them of defrauding several banks of over $30 million in fraudulent
08:35loans obtained with falsified documents.
08:38These loans were allegedly used to fund the lavish lifestyle they displayed on the show.
08:42I am trying to do something that this family will have to hold on to and pass down from
08:48generation to generation.
08:50Despite these charges, Chrisley Knows Best was renewed for additional seasons.
08:55It ultimately ended in 2023, after Todd and Julie were convicted, were sentenced to 12
09:01and 7 years in prison, respectively.
09:04That is less than prosecutors were seeking, but considerably more than the defense had
09:08hoped for.
09:09Abby Lee Miller, Dance Moms
09:11Bingo.
09:12She's making a lot of money that we're not seeing.
09:14In 2010, before gaining fame as the star of Lifetime's Dance Moms, Abby Lee Miller filed
09:20for bankruptcy due to owing over $400,000 in back taxes.
09:26After the show began airing the following year, Miller's earnings increased significantly,
09:31but despite her improved financial situation, she apparently continued to evade paying taxes.
09:37There's a difference between a mistake and a crime.
09:39I feel I took bad advice.
09:41I can't blame others.
09:42I have to take the blame.
09:43In October 2015, just a few months before the show's sixth season premiered, the Department
09:49of Justice charged her with fraud for trying to conceal about $750,000 in income by creating
09:56a secret bank account.
09:58She initially intended to fight the charges in court, but later agreed to a deal with
10:03the IRS, and was sentenced to one year and a day in federal prison.
10:08What is your greatest fear?
10:10The fear of the unknown is great.
10:14Robert Downey Jr., Ally McBeal
10:17Today he's one of the most celebrated Hollywood actors, but back in the 90s and early 2000s,
10:22Robert Downey Jr. faced a turbulent period marked by several personal and legal troubles.
10:29After a string of arrests in the late 90s, Downey joined the cast of Ally McBeal in 2000
10:34for its fourth season, hoping to revive his career.
10:37Well, you seem smart, and since you're a solo practitioner, I figure that you must
10:41be a decent litigator.
10:42Now, if you don't want to do the case…
10:44I want it.
10:45Oh.
10:46Well, good.
10:47Excellent.
10:48Great.
10:49His presence on the show helped boost their ratings.
10:51However, during filming, Downey was arrested twice for being under the influence of a controlled
10:56substance.
10:57So I'm…
10:58You're still me.
10:59I think it's time for you to cry.
11:08The second arrest was the final straw for the show's producers, who fired him and rewrote
11:13the rest of the season without his character.
11:15Remarkably, Downey made a full recovery from substance use and successfully revived his
11:21career.
11:22Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men
11:50Oh, this is not gonna end well.
11:55In December 2009, during production of the seventh season of Two and a Half Men, Charlie
12:01Sheen was arrested for a domestic violence incident involving his then-wife, Brooke Mueller.
12:07Sheen faced charges of felony menacing, third-degree assault, and criminal mischief, but was released
12:13on bond the same day.
12:15Oh, gee, Charlie, that may not be the best idea.
12:18I don't recall asking for your opinion.
12:19He ultimately pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault in exchange for the charges being
12:24dismissed and was sentenced to probation.
12:27This incident jeopardized Sheen's future on the show, but despite the legal issues
12:31and a subsequent stint in rehab, he was allowed to return to work.
12:36However, ongoing tensions between him and creator Chuck Lorre eventually led to his
12:41dismissal in 2011.
12:43Ashton Kutcher replaced Sheen and remained on the series until its conclusion in 2015.
12:48I'm hoping someday he and I can be buddies.
12:58Which of your favorite shows have been impacted by the arrest of a pivotal star?
13:03Let us know in the comments below.