Top 10 Reality TV Shows DESTROYED by Scandal

For six seasons, Erik Estrada played a Highway Patrol officer on the NBC series CHiPs. Years later, TV producers sought to leverage his popularity with the reality show, Armed & Famous, where Estrada and several C-list celebrities trained to become real police officers in Indiana. The show was however axed after just four episodes, officially because it couldnt compete with the ratings juggernaut that was American Idol. To add to its troubles, during filming, police officers, alongside the cast and crew, mistakenly raided the apartment of a woman named Lyndsay Clements and handcuffed her. They later came to realize that they had the wrong address. As a result, Clements filed a lawsuit against CBS and other defendants, seeking $1 million in compensatory damages.

This reality-based series followed musician CeeLo Green and his hip hop group Goodie Mob as they navigated life in Atlanta. But just one month after the shows first season aired in 2014, Green pleaded no contest to a charge of furnishing a narcotic and was sentenced to three of probation. This case stemmed from a 2012 incident in which a woman accused the singer of drugging and sexually assaulting her. Shortly after his sentencing, Green made matters worse by posting controversial tweets questioning the definition of sexual assault. As criticism for the tweets mounted, TBS, which aired Greens reality show decided they had had enough. They refused to renew The Good Life for a second season.

Its not hard to see why this TLC reality series sparked so much controversy. Toddlers & Tiaras offered a behind-the-scenes look into the world of child beauty pageants. Much like its subject matter, the series itself was heavily criticized for what many saw as the commodification and sexualization of its young participants. This backlash started to trickle in almost as soon as the show premiered, but it still managed to run for six seasons before producers bowed to public pressure and put the show on hold in 2013. After three years off the air, Toddlers & Tiaras was brought back for one more season, after which TLC decided to cancel it for good.

In the late 2000s, MTV struck gold with Jersey Shore, a show that, despite sparking controversy for its stereotypical portrayal of Italian-Americans, became wildly successful. After it ended in 2012, MTV scrambled to find a replacement and came up with Buckwild. Following a young group of friends in West Virginia, Buckwild immediately generated its own wave of backlash for promoting negative stereotypes. But that wasnt even what led to the shows cancellation. About two months after the first season ended, one of the stars, Shain Gandee, went missing and was later found dead in his car due to accidental carbon monoxide poisoning. This tragedy initially halted production on the second season, but the show was later canceled altogether.

The name Paula Deen was once synonymous with the Food Network. The celebrity chef popularized Southern recipes and comfort food on her show Paula's Home Cooking. But just like many ingredients that came across her table, Deen found herself in hot water in 2013 after a former employee sued her for racial and sexual discrimination. During a deposition for the case, Deen admitted to having used racial slurs in the past. Although the suit was eventually dismissed, this deposition became public and brought with it heavy backlash. As a result, Deen lost several business partnerships, including her long-standing relationship with the Food Network, which essentially turned off the heat on Paula's Home Cooking.

The reality TV boom of the 2000s gave us some truly bizarre shows, and one of the most unusual was FXs Black. White. Co-produced by rapper Ice Cube, this short-lived series focused on one white family and one black family who, and you probably wouldnt believe it, swapped races. How, you ask? Well, each family member was put in extensive make-up to experience life from the others perspective. If this sounds like a terrible idea to you, youre not alone. The show generated a lot of controversy for merely reinforcing the same racial stereotypes and prejudices it aimed to challenge. Its no wonder it didnt last long, taking a bow after just six episodes.

Dubbed the worst reality show ever made by Entertainment Weekly, The Swan had a concept that was basically ripped from a fever dream. Each episode featured two women, who were referred to as ugly ducklings, undergoing extreme makeovers to become more conventionally attractive. One of them would then be picked as a winner, and advance to a beauty pageant in the finale. Believe us, it was as ill-conceived as it sounds. The show unsurprisingly drew a largely negative reception for promoting unhealthy beauty standards, although that didnt stop it from averaging around nine million viewers during its first season. However, by season two, the novelty wore off, the criticism only got worse, so The Swan was quietly put out of its misery.

Over five seasons, Sons of Guns took viewers deep into Louisiana, where they met Will Hayden, the owner of Red Jacket Firearms. The show revolved around Haydens business crafting and selling weapons to various organizations and private individuals as well as his relationship with his daughter and business partner, Stephanie. But in August 2014, just months after the fifth season aired, their story took a dark turn. Hayden was arrested and charged with sexual assault of a juvenile, prompting Discovery Channel to quickly cancel the show. At first, Stephanie stood by her father, but she later revealed that he had also assaulted her years earlier. In 2017, Hayden was convicted on multiple charges, and is currently serving three consecutive life sentences.

Despite the controversy surrounding Toddlers & Tiaras, it was popular enough to spawn multiple spin-offs, the most notable being Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. Focused on Alana Thompson, one of the child beauty pageant contestants, and her family, this series attracted similar criticisms as its predecessor. It was also slammed for its unflattering portrayal of the low-income family. However, none of these dented its popularity. What ultimately led to the shows downfall was the shocking revelation that Thompsons mother, Mama June, was dating a convicted sex offender, who had assaulted one of her other children years earlier. Despite having already filmed episodes for a fifth season, the show was abruptly canceled in 2017, leaving most of those episodes unaired.

The Duggars, the family at the center of this popular TLC series, built their reputation as devout independent Baptists with a commitment to religious family values. But that wholesome image crumbled in 2015 when an old police report involving the familys eldest son, Josh, came to light. This report indicated that between 2002 and 2003, Josh sexually harassed five girls, four of whom were his own sisters. Since the statute of limitations had expired, Josh faced no criminal charges, but the fallout was severe. Over 20 advertisers pulled their support, forcing TLC to cancel the series. Though it was later revived as a spin-off titled Counting On, this too was axed in 2021, following Joshs arrest for possession of inappropriate material.





Are there any controversial reality shows that managed to stay alive despite an intense scandal? Let us know in the comments below.