Sometimes television provides the ultimate example of when keeping it real goes wrong.
When the suspense and drama that keep viewers glued to sets turns into the controversy that scares sponsors, the checks will likely stop. The stars of these 13 TV shows pulled amid controversy found out quickly when the networks literally and figuratively turned the lights off.
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All My Babies’ Mamas
The Oxygen Network nixed the proposed show chronicling Shawty Lo’s interactions with the 10 women who gave birth to his 11 children before the first episode even aired saving us all many face-palm moments.
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Paula’s Home Cooking
Paula Deen’s racially insensitive views seriously stopped her cash flow. After making several cringe-worthy comments about the good old Antebellum days, The Food Network gave Paula’s Home Cooking the axe.
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Bill Cosby 77
Netflix’s partnership with Bill Cosby for his special with the content provider went from 100 to 0 real quick when upwards of two dozen women accused the actor and comedian of sexual assault.
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Politically Incorrect
It turns out 9/11 jokes don’t go over so well. Before landing on the cash-infused shores of HBO, Bill Maher was let go in 2002 as the show was cancelled for what many believed were Maher’s comments about the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Luck
Rarely has a title for a television show been so spot on. After three horses died in separate incidents during the filming of HBO’s racetrack drama, the network cancelled Luck in 2012 due to what they called “unfortunate accidents.”
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Ev And Ocho
Head-butting his wife of two months not only cost Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson his main job with the Miami Dolphins, but the domestic abuse case gave VH1 a very good reason to cancel the Ev And Ocho reality series starring the former lovebirds.
Here Comes Honey Boo Boo
Mama June displayed the lack of judgment one would expect from a person who pimps out their daughter when she began dating a convicted pedophile who sexually assaulted one of her relatives. In turn, TLC dropped the show in October of 2014.
Ford Nation
It took a good bit of shaming, but eventually crack-smoking Toronto Mayor Rob Ford had his Ford Nation show cancelled by Sun News after one episode.
Cee Lo Green’s The Good Life
The heat from Cee Lo’s alleged sexual assault was already threatening to derail his TBS show before he posted a series of tone-deaf tweets about rape. Despite being cleared of all charges except furnishing Ecstasy to the woman in question and apologizing for the tweets, TBS quickly pulled the plug on Cee Lo’s show.
Buckwild
Shain Gandee’s 2013 death prompted the cancellation of the MTV series Buckwild, as he was one of several cast members keeping it too real both on and off camera.
Hot Ghetto Mess
In 2007, BET adapted Jam Donaldson’s Hot Ghetto Mess DVD and website into a television show. Paltry ratings and the intended humor being lost in translation were also partially to blame, but the outrage sparked by what eventually became We Got To Do Better surely didn’t help.
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Paula’s Party
In total, Paula Deen’s Harriet Beecher Stowe moments cost her three different television shows, including the aforementioned Paula’s Home Cooking, Paula’s Party, and Paula’s Best Dishes. Unless you’re a member of the police, racism in America has consequences.
19 Kids And Counting
Sensing the outrage from viewers and sponsors, TLC dropped 19 Kids And Counting after Josh Duggar’s shocking admission that he molested several underage girls (including his sisters) 12 years ago.
