Reality TV Stars Who Were Fired After Crazy Controversies

Published on June 10, 2019.

Reality TV is dramatic and controversial and often the more dramatic and controversial a particular star is — the more screen time they get. Unfortunately, quite a few reality TV stars have taken it all a little too far and had to be removed from popular series or sometimes the series had to be cancelled entirely. It is always shocking to fans when those in the public eye make controversial statements or decisions that would jeopardize their fame, and consequently paycheck, but it has happened time and time again. Check out some reality TV stars who were fired after some truly crazy controversy:

12. Chad Johnson

Chad Johnson has gone down in Bachelor Nation history as one of the most notorious villains the reality dating franchise has ever seen. After his time on JoJo Fletcher’s season of The Bachelorette in which he was rude and offensive, he made his way to Bachelor in Paradise where it seems instead of getting better, his attitude got even worse. After only one night on Bachelor in Paradise, Chris Harrison removed Chad from the season after he became belligerently intoxicated and threatened Lace and then said, “I’ll murder everyone here. I’ll kill your children and murder your family. Dolla, dolla bills, yo.” He went on to harass and yell obscenities at many others and even after he sobered up and Chris Harrison had to tell him he had been removed from the show because of his actions he yelled at Harrison too: “You don’t even watch this. You went to sleep last night with a mimosa and a robe on. F— you, dude. Go drink your mimosas. You think this is all fun and games? This is my life. You’re going to sit here and try and make me look like a bitch? F— you, Chris Harrison. Come at me.”

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11. Farrah Abraham

Farrah Abraham was one of the original 16 and Pregnant stars and then one of the very first Teen Mom stars. Over the course of nearly a decade, fans of MTV’s Teen Mom OG watched Farrah grow from a teen mom to a young mom, to almost a completely different person. Her personality and behavior was soon often criticized by fans and viewers, but Teen Mom producers kept her on. Eventually Farrah was fired from Teen Mom because of her involvement in the adult entertainment industry which is probably something MTV didn’t think they would ever have to be dealing with. In October 2017, MTV producers terminated their relationship with Farrah after telling her she couldn’t continue starring on the show if she continued her work in the adult entertainment industry. After she was fired, Farrah filed a lawsuit claiming that Teen Mom executive producer Morgan J. Freeman and the Teen Mom OG production crew “harassed, humiliated and discriminated against, disrespected, ridiculed and sex shamed” during a meeting on October 30, 2017 — the day before she was officially fired from the show. Farrah and MTV ended up reaching a settlement and she dropped her lawsuit.

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10. Phaedra Parks

From seasons three to nine, Phaedra Parks was one of the most popular cast members of Real Housewives of Atlanta until she was fired for some serious things that were said. Parks spread a rumor that her costar Kandi Burrus and her husband Todd Tucker were planning to drug and rape their other costar Porsha Williams. Although the conversation between Parks and Williams where Parks told Williams about the rumor didn’t air, it all came out during the reunion and it was soon discovered that Parks was the one behind the terrifying and threatening rumor. Bravo quickly fired Parks due to the severe nature of the rumor and because none of her co-stars wanted to work with her anymore. Despite all the drama the Real Housewives franchises had seen over the years even this one caused Andy Cohen to claim, “I’m shocked.”

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9. Jon Gosselin

Jon & Kate Plus Eight was a ratings juggernaut for TLC for six seasons, but by the sixth season it was awkward to watch the strain and tension that had developed between Jon and Kate Gosselin in their marriage. Reality TV fame had obviously impacted both of the stars and it wasn’t exactly surprising when a week before their 10th wedding anniversary it was clear the pair were separating when Kate was spotted on vacation without her husband. In the months leading up to the split and immediately afterward rumors flew that Jon Gosselin had been having an affair with someone close to their family and it took no time for TLC to cut Jon out. Within months of their divorce announcement TLC confirmed they had reworked the series to be simply Kate Plus Eight, and Jon fell sharply from the spotlight.

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8. Danielle Staub

Danielle Staub remains one of the most notorious Real Housewives ever and it only took two seasons for her to cement her place in reality TV history. Staub was a cast member for the first two seasons of The Real Housewives of New Jersey and she definitely made her mark on everyone involved in the series in those two seasons. In only two seasons she had vicious fights with other cast members, a sex tape scandal, faced allegations of prostitution and was linked to drugs, just to name a bit of the drama she drummed up. While it certainly made for good reality television, it seems all of this was even too crazy for Bravo who reportedly completely “shocked” Staub by firing her before the show’s third season.

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7. Thomas Ravenel

Thomas Ravenel was a main part of the cast of Bravo’s Southern Charm before some very serious allegations against him led to his arrest. In May 2018 an investigation into Ravenel by police began after a real estate agent claimed that Ravenel had sexually assaulted her mother in 2015. A week later more allegations came in as a woman who once worked as a nanny for the reality star claimed that she was also sexually assaulted by him. In September of 2018 Ravenel was arrested and charged with assault and battery, and it surprised no one when Bravo confirmed they had cut ties with him ahead of Southern Charm‘s sixth season.

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6. Derick Dillard

There is no denying that the Duggar family has seen some controversy, and even after the scandal that effectively ended TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting, the drama and controversy surrounding the family continued. In late 2017, some of the Duggar family had moved on with the spinoff series Counting On and it didn’t take long for Jill Duggar’s husband Derick Dillard to get himself fired by the network. It all began when Dillard tweeted transphobic remarks about fellow TLC star Jazz Jennings who stars in their own show I Am Jazz. “I pity Jazz 4 those who take advantage of him in order 2 promote their agenda, including the parents who allow these kinds of decisions 2 be made by a child. It’s sad that ppl would use a juvenile this way. Again, nothing about him, just unfortunate what’s on tv these days,” he wrote as many criticized Dillard for purposely using the male pronoun for the transgender teen. He had also previously shared,  “What an oxymoron… a “reality” show which follows a non-reality. “Transgender” is a myth. Gender is not fluid; it’s ordained by God.” Eventually, TLC confirmed they had cut ties with the Counting On star after his many offensive remarks, stating, “We want to let our viewers know that Derick Dillard has not participated in Counting On for months and the network has no plans to feature him in the future. We want to reiterate that Derick’s personal statements do not reflect the views of the network. TLC is proud to share the story of Jazz Jennings and her family and will continue to do so.”

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5. Paula Deen

The name Paula Deen was synonymous with Food Network and celebrity chef fame for quite some time before serious controversy brought an abrupt halt to her success. Deen ended up with three of her own Food Network shows, but in 2013 it all came to an end after she admitted in a legal deposition that she had used the “n-word” and other discriminatory and racist remarks including that she wanted to plan a “plantation” style wedding for her brother and have black servers act as slaves. Everything came crashing down for Deen after the deposition and the Food Network cancelled her shows and cut all ties with her even after she offered an apology.

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4. Jeremy Clarkson

Jeremy Clarkson had a long history of troubling behavior which included multiple complaints of the Top Gear host repeatedly using offensive language including racial and homophobic slurs. After many incidents, Clarkson was finally fired for an over-the-top incident in March 2015 involving a Top Gear producer. Apparently Clarkson and a producer got in a dispute over the catering while they were filming in North Yorkshire. Clarkson had reportedly become upset after he was served soup and cold meat instead of a steak because the hotel’s chef had gone home. The dispute escalated until Clarkson eventually punched the producer in the face! Needless to say the drama led to Clarkson first being suspended but after a tirade slamming BBC a week later the network announced they were cutting ties and did not renew his contract.

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3. June Shannon

TLC star “Mama June” Shannon was catapulted into unexpected fame thanks to Here Comes Honey Boo Boo which was focused on her young daughter Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson’s life as a child beauty pageant competitor. The series was a surprise hit but things came crashing down after reports that Mama June was dating a convicted child molester.  Not only was the man a convicted felon who’d just served a 10-year sentence, but June’s eldest daughter, Anna Marie Cardwell, claimed she was one of his victims back when her mother first dated him. This was enough for not only TLC to fire Mama June but to ax the series entirely after four seasons. Despite the seriousness of the situation, WE TV actually picked Mama June up for her every own show afterwards called Mama June: From Not to Hot.

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2. David Eason

Teen Mom 2‘s Jenelle Eason has made headlines again and again for her volatile relationships, but many are still most concerned over her marriage to David Eason. While 2019 saw a new level to David’s seemingly aggressive, violent and dangerous behavior, he was fired by MTV back in February of 2018. David enraged fans and social media users when he took to his social media to share his homophobic and racist opinions and many soon petitioned for him to be fired. In a post that started out as a discussion on gun control as David and Jenelle own several guns, David responded, “And just what makes you think you have the right to tell me how to be a parent. Because you think you know me? LMAO, why don’t you tell the homo and transgender parents to start teaching their kids better morals. Oh, I forgot, that’s supposed to be normal.” When asked if he was going to teach his children to hate transgender or gay people, he added, “No. I’m going to teach them not to associate with them, or be that way…If you lay down with dogs you get up with fleas.” His incredibly offensive and unbelievable remarks led to his immediate removal from Teen Mom 2. “David Eason’s personal comments do not reflect the views of MTV. With six weeks left of production on ‘Teen Mom 2,’ effective immediately, we are ending our relationship with him,” the statement read.

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1. Jenelle Eason

After nine seasons and eight years as one of the original stars of Teen Mom 2, MTV cut ties with Jenelle Eason in early May 2019. Producers had been having a difficult time with Jenelle’s storyline ever since her husband’s firing which restricted them from filming at her house and with her children. Things got worse when David continuously threatened the production team, but it all came to a head after reports stated that David had shot and killed Jenelle’s dog Nugget in early May. If the situation wasn’t bad enough, David then took to his Instagram to seemingly defend his actions in shooting the small dog after it snapped at his 2-year-old daughter Ensley. Although Jenelle said she was “considering divorce” she returned to David only a day later and MTV decided they couldn’t work with either one of them. “MTV ended its relationship with David Eason over a year ago in February 2018 and has not filmed any new episodes of Teen Mom 2 with him since,” an MTV spokesperson said in a statement. “Additionally, we have stopped filming with Jenelle Eason as of April 6, 2019 and have no plans to cover her story in the upcoming season.”