Pucker up for controversy! We're diving into the world of on-screen kisses that set tongues wagging. From unexpected pairings to groundbreaking moments, these lip-locks left audiences shocked, outraged, or cheering for more. Join us as we explore the first kisses that pushed boundaries and sparked heated debates in living rooms across the nation.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00I'm really glad you're here.
00:05Me too.
00:06Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the first kisses from live-action TV shows that inspired backlash from audiences.
00:15Hey, look, I know there's people around, but who cares, right? I mean, that's the whole point. I finally have the courage to do this.
00:20Number 10. Lucas Sinclair and Max Mayfield.
00:23Stranger Things.
00:24I didn't realize it was such an honor to go trick-or-treating with you.
00:27Yeah, I mean, we know where to get the full-size candy bars.
00:29We figured you'd want in.
00:31That's presumptuous of you.
00:34Yeah, totally.
00:36Sadie Sink joined the cast of the Netflix science fiction series in its second season.
00:41Her character, Max, soon became a love interest for Lucas, played by actor Caleb McLaughlin.
00:46Um, it's nice, right?
00:48You wanna, um, you wanna, like, you know, like, just you and me?
00:55Are you trying to ask me to dance, stalker?
00:58No, of course not.
01:00Unless you want to.
01:02So smooth.
01:03The two share a kiss in the season two finale.
01:06However, fans were alarmed when during the official after-show, Sink shared some behind-the-scenes details.
01:13It was not written in the script.
01:14The kiss was not written in the script.
01:16I get there the first day of filming the snowball, I walk, me and Noah are, like, walking in, like, seeing the decorations and stuff.
01:21One of you, I forgot, I think it was you, Ross, you say, like,
01:24Oh, Sadie, you ready for the kiss?
01:25I'm like, what?
01:26Nope.
01:26No, that's not in the script.
01:28That's not happening.
01:29Apparently, the Duffer brothers wrote the kiss into the script after floating the idea to Sink and seeing her strong, anxious reaction.
01:37Sink responded to the online uproar by saying she did not object to the kiss,
01:41but many people remained skeptical of the somewhat callous attitude of the creators towards a sensitive issue.
01:48You kept timing it wrong.
01:49That's what Caleb says.
01:50You know what?
01:51What?
01:52No, we're not doing this right now.
01:58You didn't tell Craig what we did, did you?
02:01No, of course not.
02:03The 1989 murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez by their sons, Eric and Lyle,
02:07have inspired several fictional recreations and much media speculation over the years.
02:13But Ryan Murphy and Ian Bredin's Netflix series explores some uncharted territory in the relationship between the brothers.
02:20Our life was one thing, and we decided we weren't going to take that anymore, right?
02:25We wanted more out of life, so we did what we had to do.
02:27The second episode in particular drew criticism for what many thought was a disrespectful depiction of an intimate moment between the two.
02:35Critics deemed it exploitative.
02:37Murphy responded by explaining that the show aims to explore many theories and perspectives that seek to explain the Menendez's crimes.
02:45But this still left a bad taste in many viewers' mouths.
02:49I think the show is a very interesting, what we're trying to do is a Rashomon approach,
02:54where we show many, many, many, many perspectives.
02:57That's what the show does.
02:58In every episode, you are given a new theory.
03:06In its seventh season, the primetime drama about first responders made headlines.
03:11Just trying to get your attention has been kind of exhausting.
03:15My attention?
03:18Firefighter Evan Buckley, known affectionately as Buck, has an epiphany about his sexuality
03:23when he realizes he's crushing hard on fellow firefighter Tommy Kennard.
03:28The two share a passionate kiss that came as a surprise to some viewers.
03:32Fans were largely receptive, if not downright ecstatic about the development.
03:37Yeah, that works.
03:39So that was okay?
03:43That was better than fake mouth static.
03:45Actor Oliver Stark had to call out homophobic comments on his social media after the scene aired.
03:50If that weren't enough, the scene also got some heat from supportive viewers
03:54who were just mad that Buck didn't end up with another character, Eddie Diaz.
03:58Listen, you don't have to tell me how great Eddie is.
04:01I've known that since the first day I worked with him.
04:09Let's do this thing.
04:10Oh, this is so perfect.
04:12I don't even miss the pannoir, the pirate shirt of the wind.
04:15What about the banner?
04:17Jackie's first kiss with Kelso really only became controversial in hindsight.
04:22She was already the youngest of the main group of teenagers on That 70s Show.
04:26But in real life, actress Mila Kunis was even younger than people thought.
04:30Kunis lied about her age to secure the part.
04:33I said I'm gonna be 18. I never said when.
04:36Oh, that's the part.
04:38Oh, I see.
04:40That's right.
04:42I'm going to be 18.
04:43No, I never said when.
04:44Five years later.
04:45So I never lied.
04:46Right.
04:47Although she was only 14, once she came clean to the creators,
04:50they went ahead with her casting anyway.
04:53But the public coming to terms with this revelation
04:56made her first kiss with now-husband Ashton Kutcher uncomfortable for many viewers,
05:01as he is several years older than her.
05:03I was like 19, right?
05:04Right.
05:05And they're like, OK, you guys are gonna be making out in this scene.
05:08And I'm like thinking like, wait, this is like slightly illegal, right?
05:11I was gonna say, that's probably your first kiss ever, right?
05:13It was my first kiss.
05:14Number six.
05:15Laura Ingalls Wilder and Almanzo Wilder.
05:18Little House on the Prairie.
05:20Sometimes it's hard to say things.
05:23Well, do you want to write me a note?
05:28Good idea.
05:29It's hard to imagine the idealized world of Little House inspiring much in the way of controversy.
05:36But in his memoir,
05:37the actor who played opposite Melissa Gilbert's Laura
05:40wrote how their first kiss would have been handled differently today.
05:43I was scared.
05:45I didn't know.
05:46Well, yeah, like I say all the time,
05:48you didn't even shave my legs yet,
05:50and you were shaving your face.
05:52It was weird.
05:53Dean Butler was in his twenties
05:55when he and Gilbert shared their first on-screen kiss.
05:58She was still a teenager.
06:00In the season six episode Sweet 16,
06:02Laura and her future husband Almanzo steal a kiss.
06:05There was even more drama happening behind the camera.
06:09Reportedly, Gilbert's mother was distraught about her daughter having her first kiss on camera.
06:14Offset.
06:15Yeah.
06:16Wailing in the background.
06:18Sobbing out loud.
06:20Which did not help at all.
06:22Number five.
06:23Jack McPhee and Ethan.
06:25Dawson's Creek.
06:26Jack.
06:27Hey.
06:28Hey.
06:29What are you doing here?
06:31I just drove a really long way to tell you,
06:37more sort of to try and explain really.
06:39The scandal surrounding this kiss started behind the scenes.
06:43From the start,
06:44Dawson's Creek had parents up in arms over its portrayal of teen relationships.
06:49But showrunner Greg Berlanti did something truly groundbreaking.
06:53He put a romantic kiss between two gay characters on primetime TV.
06:58Okay, I want to show you that I can and that I'm not afraid to,
07:03hell, this.
07:08Bye.
07:09The network pushed back right away.
07:11The creators were hit with all sorts of limitations and rules about how to position the camera and actors in the scene.
07:18But the team didn't back down.
07:20Berlanti even threatened to leave the show.
07:23Jack and Ethan don't end up together.
07:25But it's still a romantic and historic moment for representation on television.
07:29You hurt now because you had the guts to put yourself out there.
07:33To go after what you wanted.
07:40Um, I'm sorry, I have to go home.
07:43I've got to go.
07:45Okay?
07:46The first kiss shared between lawyers CJ and Abby was controversial for several reasons.
07:53Ahead of the 1991 episode's airing, several sponsors expressed displeasure with the kiss,
07:59leading a few to actually pull their advertising.
08:02It's no big deal, Abby.
08:06Look, it happened once.
08:08It doesn't have to affect our friendship.
08:10Reviews were mixed, but it was a hot topic for months afterward.
08:14The moment was also criticized by cultural commentators.
08:18No substantive gay romance storyline ever materialized.
08:22Afterward, L.A. Law was partially blamed for popularizing the lesbian kiss episode trend,
08:27a critique of shows that interjected a one-time encounter between female characters as a ratings stunt.
08:33Why did you kiss me back?
08:35I don't know.
08:36I don't know.
08:37I was probably a little curious.
08:39I don't know.
08:40Why did you kiss me?
08:42You don't have to answer that.
08:443. Jadzia Dax and Lenara Khan
08:47Star Trek Deep Space Nine
08:49Maybe we shouldn't see each other.
08:52Just give people the wrong idea.
08:55Or give them the right idea.
08:56Science officer Dax and Lenara Khan's 1995 kiss wasn't exactly typical.
09:02Dax is a member of the Trill, an alien species capable of transferring to and from symbiotic host bodies.
09:09The attraction between Dax and Khan comes about due to Khan's previous romance with one of Dax's former hosts.
09:16I thought I'd gotten over you.
09:20It's been so long and so much has happened.
09:27And now I know I haven't.
09:29Many praised the storyline, although there was some negative pushback.
09:33Phone calls from angry viewers poured in.
09:36A local broadcaster even removed the kiss from the episode entirely.
09:40But others remember the storyline fondly for its use of allegory to condemn homophobia.
09:46The two of us together, you know what that would mean.
09:49I know exactly what that would mean.
09:53But I think it's worth the price.
09:552. Roseanne Conner and Sharon
09:58Roseanne
09:59Oh, now just relax, Jackie. There's nothing to be nervous about.
10:02No, what's to be nervous about?
10:04Roseanne Conner may have been the know-it-all,
10:06but even she was in over her head a little when she went out to a gay bar with Jackie, Nancy, and Nancy's new girlfriend Sharon.
10:14Played by Mariel Hemingway, Sharon takes to Roseanne immediately.
10:18You know, Roseanne, we ought to hang out more often.
10:20I was thinking that too, but next time, let's leave the wives at home.
10:26You read my mind.
10:27She plants a kiss right on Roseanne's lips to the excited hollering of the studio audience.
10:33It was a brazen moment that flew right in the face of the conservative criticisms of primetime TV at the time.
10:39ABC was reluctant to air the episode, fearing for its advertising dollars.
10:44Roseanne was one of its biggest shows.
10:47I told you there might be a chance you might freak out.
10:49I'm not freaking out. Why would I freak out?
10:52Well, you know, maybe you like the kiss just a little.
10:55When it finally aired in March 1994, the reception was relatively positive.
11:00Hemingway would later joke about the moment when she hosted SNL.
11:07See you in a bit.
11:09Come this way.
11:11Hey, Lauren.
11:12Oh, Lauren, don't forget to introduce me to your wife at the party tonight.
11:15Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
11:21You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
11:25If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
11:30Number 1
11:32James T. Kirk and Nyota Ohura
11:35Star Trek The Original Series
11:37In this landmark 1968 episode, a group of sadistic extraterrestrials use their psychic powers to force Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Ohura into a passionate embrace.
11:48I'm so frightened, Captain. I'm so very frightened.
11:53That's the way they want you to feel. Makes them think that they're alive.
11:58It may not be romantic, but the now iconic moment between William Shatner and Nichelle Nichols turned out to be one of the first interracial kisses on American television.
12:08However, it wasn't the viewers who were most agitated. It was the network.
12:13NBC execs monitored it intensely the entire time.
12:17You're half crazy because there's nothing inside, nothing.
12:21And you have to torture us to convince yourselves you're superior.
12:26Worried about offending viewers, they suggested an alternate version of the scene without the kiss.
12:31Shatner forced their hand by ruining every single alternate take, forcing them to use the original.
12:37And then he comes and you see him cross his eyes.
12:41And the room goes...
12:46And the two suits are over there.
12:49And Jean goes... No, Jean hasn't seen it. Jean goes...
12:53Well, that was interesting.
12:55The kiss went to air and became a landmark TV moment.
12:59Were you surprised by these choices? Tell us in the comments.
13:03Yeah.
13:05Please stop touching each other.
13:07Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
13:11And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
13:15And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.