That's one way to get your show canned. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re looking at shows that went down in flames over behind-the-scenes controversy.
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00:00Paula Deen trying to put out the fire, threatening to burn down her nearly $16 million
00:05business empire.
00:07Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're looking at shows that went down in flames
00:11over behind-the-scenes controversy.
00:14Oh yeah, I got kicked out of show business.
00:18Number 10. The Real Housewives of D.C.
00:21After the success of the flagship Orange County franchise, Bravo was pumping out more
00:26Housewives shows with every television season.
00:29People have a hard time saying no to me, and that's just been my blessing.
00:33The first stumble came with the D.C. installment.
00:36During the filming of its inaugural season, cast member Michaela Salahi and her husband,
00:41Tarek, made national headlines when it was revealed they gate-crashed the White House
00:46state dinner.
00:47The couple even met President Barack Obama, despite their names being absent from the
00:51official guest list.
00:53These people should not have gotten through the gate.
00:56A mistake was made at the checkpoint to let them through.
01:00That mistake was not corrected through the process.
01:03It caused a massive controversy that not even Bravo was eager to milk for ratings.
01:08The show did end up airing a year later, but was cancelled after one season.
01:13You crashed the state dinner, you say you didn't.
01:16I just have to say, we talked about it.
01:18I think you going there and getting that close to the president, you guys should be in jail.
01:22Number 9. The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
01:25The TV landscape was very, very different in the 60s.
01:28While civil rights and anti-war movements gripped America's youth, TV was still stuck
01:33in the past.
01:34Dick and Tom Smothers stood out for their hilarious but censor-unfriendly political
01:39satire that aimed at everything from the Vietnam War to religion.
01:43You welcome the people and I really want you to sell it, okay?
01:47Really sell it.
01:48Welcome to the Smothers Comedy Brothers Hour.
01:52Appealing to the increasingly disillusioned American youth came back to bite the show's
01:57creators.
01:58Local networks took it upon themselves to edit out whole segments of the show when it
02:02aired in their area.
02:15In 1969, CBS orchestrated the show's cancellation for breach of contract.
02:21The two brothers filed a lawsuit and after a lengthy court case, won a hefty sum from
02:26the network.
02:27And got fired in 69.
02:29Yeah, now you want to explain that?
02:31You were not cancelled as has become the trend.
02:33No, we were fired.
02:34Yeah.
02:35I mean, we left under duress.
02:37Number 8. Louis
02:39When it aired, Louis C.K.'s satire of his own life and career was hailed as a watershed
02:44moment.
02:45It was praised for its innovative approach, redefining what a comedy series could be in
02:50the golden age of television.
02:52I saw a Rocky Horror Picture Show.
02:54You were in that movie a lot.
02:56I was, yeah.
02:57And you were in your underwear for part of it.
02:59And I had never seen a lady in her underwear.
03:02The show was on an indefinite hiatus in 2017 when the New York Times reported multiple
03:07accounts of C.K.'s sexual misconduct.
03:09C.K. confirmed this story soon after.
03:12I want to address the stories told to the New York Times by five women.
03:16These stories are true.
03:17The fallout was swift.
03:19FX officially canceled what had been one of its most critically acclaimed shows, and
03:23the stink of it had overshadowed much of the show's influence.
03:27Okay, that is way out of line, Mr. C.K., this young lady.
03:30That's all right.
03:32I know you're a comedian, so this is probably so funny to you.
03:35Yeah, it's pretty funny.
03:37Number 7. Luck
03:38With a stellar cast, prestige TV production values, and good reviews, HBO's horse-racing
03:44drama seemed destined for a successful run.
03:47Production was already underway on its second season when it was suddenly canceled.
03:56Concerns were raised by PETA and other animal rights activists after reports that two horses
04:02had died while shooting the first season.
04:04A third horse died while the second season was being produced, prompting a halt to the
04:09shoot, and an investigation took place.
04:11Three horses have now died on the set of HBO's new series Luck, and therefore the network
04:16has decided to give the show the axe.
04:18Though it was determined the horses were not injured during filming or racing scenes, HBO
04:24pulled the plug on the show.
04:25The network cited concern for animal safety as its reason.
04:28The second season was permanently shelved.
04:36Number 6. Roseanne
04:38Twenty years after its controversial finale, the working-class sitcom and its star returned
04:43to show us what had happened to the Corner family since we last saw them.
04:54The Roseanne revival, which mirrored its star's shift into the political right, was successful
04:59enough to get a second season.
05:01However, Roseanne Barr's careless and racist tweet about President Obama's advisor, Valerie
05:06Jarrett, got her axed from her own show.
05:13Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant, and inconsistent with our values,
05:18and we've decided to cancel her show.
05:20The show continued in another form, a spin-off called The Corners, which killed off Roseanne's
05:25fictional counterpart, and continued for seven seasons on its own.
05:29I'm sad for the people who lost their jobs in the process.
05:35However, I do stand behind the decision that ABC made.
05:40Number 5. House of Cards
05:43Netflix exploded into its prestige era with this Emmy-winning political thriller.
05:48There are two kinds of pain. The sort of pain that makes you strong, or useless pain.
05:54The sort of pain that's only suffering.
05:57I have no patience for useless things.
06:00Frank Underwood's unfeeling direct addresses to the camera were always creepy, but as the
06:06series entered its sixth season, it was rocked by a major career-ending scandal.
06:11Once allegations against Kevin Spacey surfaced, House of Cards' sixth season was underway.
06:16I came forward with my story, standing on the shoulders of the many courageous women
06:21and men who have been speaking out to shine a light and hopefully make a difference, as
06:25they have done for me.
06:27Netflix fired Spacey, and co-star Robin Wright was promoted to the show's sole leading role.
06:32The show continued without its original star, but only for a season.
06:36Instead of ending things with a bang, House of Cards went out with a whimper.
06:41I couldn't let him destroy everything we'd built.
06:45I had to protect the legacy from the man.
06:48He got weak, Doug.
06:53The dance-loving host is no stranger to controversy. Her 90s sitcom was cancelled a season after
06:59she and her fictional counterpart came out, inspiring a complete media firestorm.
07:04I loved that show. I loved everything about that show. It was a family to me.
07:09Here's something sweet. 16 people who worked there started out straight and by the time
07:13they left were gay.
07:14The way her long-time talk show ended was less noble.
07:17During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, DeGeneres and her fellow executives were accused
07:23of creating a hostile work environment.
07:25As you may have heard, this summer there were allegations of a toxic work environment at
07:29our show. And then there was an investigation. I learned that things happened here that never
07:34should have happened.
07:36DeGeneres' effervescent persona was called into question. DeGeneres tearfully addressed
07:42these allegations on the air when it returned for the 18th season. But the show and its
07:47host's reputation had already been tarnished. The Ellen DeGeneres Show ended the next season.
07:52My whole life was wrapped up in that show. And my mother's whole identity was being Ellen's
07:57mom. And now I don't have a show and she doesn't know she's my mom.
08:013. Here Comes Honey Boo Boo
08:04Spun off from a truly unhinged Toddlers and Tiara storyline, the TLC series following
08:09Alana Honey Boo Boo, Thompson, and her family was never far from controversy.
08:14There's people who love you guys and there's people who are very critical of the show.
08:19How do you deal with that, June?
08:22In life, there's gonna be criticism. You know, you can't make everybody happy all the time.
08:27After a while, though, even some of its harshest critics could find humor in their strange
08:32lives. However, things stopped being funny when it was reported that the matriarch of
08:36the family, Mama June, was dating a registered sex offender. It was the final nail in the
08:41show's coffin.
08:42How do you feel about him being around Alana and June allowing that?
08:47It's something that never should have happened. And when I found out about it, it hurt me.
08:52As more details about Shannon's past were unearthed, TLC distanced themselves from the
08:56family and canceled the show in 2014. The family would eventually launch another spin-off
09:01on another network.
09:03You seem kind of sad.
09:05I am a little bit.
09:06Why are you sad?
09:07Well, to be honest, all I want to work on is getting June and my girls back.
09:122. Paula's Home Cooking
09:14Paula Deen was marketed as everyone's southern granny. Her rich, butter-filled recipes and
09:21strong Georgia accent were like honey on viewers' ears as she walked us through her classic
09:26country dishes.
09:27Hey y'all, welcome back. I'm so glad y'all have joined me in the kitchen today and I
09:32hope that you're enjoying the recipes that I'm preparing for y'all.
09:37Unfortunately, the fantasy came crashing down in 2013. A former employee filed a lawsuit
09:43against Deen for sexual and racial discrimination. While the lawsuit itself was one thing, it
09:48was Deen's deposition that created a huge scandal.
09:51What went wrong happened during her deposition for a lawsuit where she admitted to using
09:56racist language, leading Walmart, Smithfield Foods, Caesars Casinos, and the Food Network
10:02to end their deals.
10:03Under oath, she admitted to using racial slurs in the past. The public outrage was swift.
10:08The Food Network quickly canceled Paula's Home Cooking after 12 seasons, joining dozens
10:13of others in dropping business ties with Deen.
10:16Hot butter in our salve? Which n-word is she talking about? There's a whole bunch of n-words.
10:23Well, the bad one.
10:25Like nutrition.
10:26No.
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10:421. Megan Wants a Millionaire
10:46This is my chance to shine. I've got the voice down, I'm ready to do this. I was going down.
10:51In the latter half of the 2000s, VH1 was churning out hit after hit with its celebrity-themed
10:57reality shows. Surreal Life, Flavor of Love, and I Love New York were just some of the
11:02shows under their Celeb Reality brand. Most of these programs were brought to a screeching
11:08halt in 2009. Megan Wants a Millionaire was a spinoff rock of love starring Megan Hauserman.
11:15It was wrong that you requested that the contestants on your dating show be millionaires.
11:19One of the contestants, Ryan Jenkins, had already filmed a second VH1 competition show
11:25when he was named as a suspect in his wife's murder. His own body was found days later.
11:30The gruesome crime led to the show being pulled from the schedule, and several other shows
11:35in the Celeb Reality lineup never came back.
11:38It was devastating, I think, for everyone in the industry when that happened because
11:43I think a lot of companies had to look at how they were doing business when it came to these shows.
11:47Which one of these TV scandals shocked you the most? Let us know in the comments.
11:52We begin with those explosive allegations against Charlie Rose, the news anchor suspended
11:57by CBS and PBS after more than eight women accused him of making crude sexual advances.
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