These moments were so shocking, our TiVos practically exploded. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most divisive bombshells that aired on TV between 2000 and 2010.
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00:00Surely you know this was not just some little story that was going to go away.
00:04You know that, right?
00:06Um, afterward.
00:08Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down
00:11our picks for the most divisive bombshells that aired on TV between 2000 and 2010.
00:17Check out the rats!
00:20Oh, they look like Skittles!
00:23Number 20.
00:24A befuddling finale.
00:25The Sopranos.
00:27It's never easy saying goodbye to a beloved show,
00:30but it's especially difficult when said show ends on a question mark
00:34instead of an exclamation point.
00:36What looks good tonight?
00:38I don't know.
00:39After six seasons of nail-biting mob drama,
00:42The Sopranos ends with Tony quietly sitting in a diner.
00:46And then, nothing.
00:47It's a bafflingly anticlimactic finale,
00:50and one that left more than a few viewers scratching their heads.
00:54It's an entry-level job, so buck up.
00:59Focus on the good times.
01:01Don't be sarcastic.
01:03Isn't that what you said one time?
01:04Try and remember the times that were good?
01:06While it kicked up plenty of dust when it originally aired,
01:09that contention has slightly dimmed over the years.
01:12Nowadays, it's rightfully considered one of the greatest series finales of all time.
01:17Number 19.
01:18Jennifer Hudson's Elimination.
01:20American Idol.
01:22It's a sad reality of these kinds of shows that the best singer doesn't necessarily win.
01:27Case in point, Jennifer Hudson.
01:29Randy said that was unbelievable.
01:32Barry said, just loved it.
01:34Paula said, way to go Jennifer.
01:36Simon said, you are creating the battle of the divas.
01:41Despite unanimous praise from the judges,
01:43she came up short in the nationwide vote and got knocked out in the final seven.
01:48The surprise elimination sparked a massive discussion about the role race plays in an
01:53audience-nominated competition, especially considering Hudson was in the bottom three
01:57with two other African-American females, which may have unfairly split their supporters.
02:03The outrage came too late for her American Idol prospects,
02:07but Hudson could still rest easy knowing she had plenty of fans going to bat for her.
02:12Number 18.
02:24Malice at the Palace.
02:26After a fouled layup shot,
02:28piston player Ben Wallace took his anger out on pacer forward Ron Artest.
02:33A few shoves later, and there was a full-on civil war between the teams.
02:43Keep in mind, this all happened on live TV.
02:47Later, while Artest cooled off at the scorer's table, a stray fan threw a drink at him.
02:52Furious, Artest dove into the crowd to retaliate.
02:56The issue?
02:57He grabbed the wrong fan.
02:59More chaos ensued.
03:01And in the end, police showed up and started handing out suspensions and bans like candy.
03:06Malice at the Palace is cited as the most infamous brawl in NBA history,
03:11and we understand why.
03:23Number 17.
03:24Pressuring a Woman to Strip.
03:26Rock of Love with Bret Michaels.
03:28When you have 25 different women competing to go on a date with a rock star,
03:32you're bound to get some that are willing to go further than others.
03:35Bret Michaels, however, didn't see it that way.
03:42Beverly isn't dancing around or doing much of anything.
03:46The problem started when he took his contestants to a strip club to help loosen them up.
03:50One of the women, Beverly, was visibly uncomfortable.
03:54But that didn't stop Michaels from pressuring her on stage,
03:57and later calling her a buzzkill.
03:59Listen, there is no doubt I respect Beverly being a parent.
04:02I'm a parent.
04:03But look, here's the deal.
04:04The kids, they're not with us right now,
04:06and we're out here and everyone is just having fun.
04:08I'm not asking her to do anything she doesn't want to do.
04:11Right now, I gotta be honest, she's being a little bit of a buzzkill.
04:14Michaels' demeaning treatment of Beverly didn't sit well with some viewers,
04:18many of whom disavowed the program entirely.
04:21Surprising no one, Beverly didn't end up winning.
04:24Number 16.
04:25Diversity Day.
04:27The Office.
04:28Before it became a seminal example of sitcom hilarity,
04:31The Office had to undergo a racial sensitivity seminar.
04:34Three guesses who's to blame.
04:36We're all set.
04:37Oh hey, well, diversity everybody, let's do it.
04:40Even though Michaels' blatant insensitivity is part of the joke,
04:43the sheer quantity of racial quips proved to be too much for certain viewers and networks.
04:48Particularly because, at that point, The Office was still an untested commodity.
04:53Diversity Day was only the series' second episode ever.
04:58Pam, come on.
04:59I like your food.
05:00No, come on.
05:01Stir the pot.
05:02Stir the melting pot.
05:03Bam.
05:04Let's do it.
05:04Let's get ugly.
05:05Let's get real.
05:06Retroactive viewers have been much kinder to the satiric gags.
05:10But still, it's hard to forget the installment that almost put The Office out of business
05:14before it became, well, The Office.
05:17Number 15.
05:18Tom Cruise is feeling great.
05:20The Oprah Winfrey Show.
05:22In perhaps one of the most iconic talk show moments of all time,
05:25Tom Cruise graces Oprah's stage with more than a few scripted bullet points.
05:30He giggles all over the place, and can barely keep his seat.
05:34Something happened to you.
05:36Something happened to you.
05:38I'm in love.
05:43I'm in love.
05:44I've never seen you like that.
05:46Once Cruise mentions his then-girlfriend Katie Holmes, he takes it a step further,
05:51and starts shouting from atop Oprah's couch.
05:54The news cycle couldn't get enough of it.
05:56Was he on something?
05:57Did he get good news?
05:58Or was Cruise really just that happy?
06:01I've been in the dream-making business this year.
06:03Are you in the dream-making business?
06:06I don't want to disappoint her.
06:10Viewers scanned the clip for any kind of context or justification
06:13for such an overzealous outburst, but there simply wasn't one.
06:17This one is legendary mystery that may never be solved.
06:21Number 14.
06:23Bill Maher comments on 9-11.
06:25Politically incorrect.
06:26It's fittingly ironic that Bill Maher dug his own political grave
06:30on a show literally called Politically Incorrect.
06:33Wouldn't this be a non-issue if we had any faith
06:35in our real justice system?
06:37But we don't.
06:38But isn't that really why you do?
06:39While the program never shied away from some rough and tumble debate,
06:43Maher used the platform to make some very aggressive comments
06:47about the perpetrators of 9-11.
06:49Since the episode aired just a month after the tragedy,
06:52the wounds were still way too fresh.
06:54Viewers, affiliates, and advertisers jumped ship in droves.
06:58Leaguer talk show host Bill Maher knows all too well the pain of losing sponsors.
07:03In the new cultural mindset known as post-attack America,
07:06it is no longer okay to be politically incorrect even on a show by the same name.
07:11Less than a year later, the political talk show was cancelled altogether.
07:15ABC claims the controversy had nothing to do with it, but the timeline doesn't lie.
07:21Number 13.
07:22Kanye West crashes Taylor Swift's acceptance speech.
07:252009 MTV Video Music Awards.
07:29It's only natural to be disappointed when you or someone you love doesn't win an award.
07:33But to say Kanye West took it too far would be an understatement.
07:37When Taylor Swift beat out Beyonce for Best Female Video at the 2009 VMAs,
07:42West decided to voice his displeasure by crashing the singer's acceptance speech.
07:46I'm really happy for you.
07:48I'm gonna let you finish.
07:49But Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time.
07:52The audience's boos sum up the public reaction pretty well.
07:55Thankfully, it was all water under the bridge for the female stars.
07:59After Beyonce won Video of the Year later in the night,
08:02she called Swift back on stage to finish her speech.
08:05Maybe we could try this again?
08:09At least these two know how to keep it classy.
08:12Number 12.
08:13Contestant accused of murder.
08:15Meghan wants a millionaire.
08:17In 2009, VH1 launched a new reality show following Meghan Houserman's search for a wealthy suitor.
08:24Everything seemed to be going well.
08:26Only one millionaire can win my heart.
08:28Your luck has run out and your credits have declined.
08:31Meghan was determined to improve her station and find her perfect millionaire match.
08:37And this is her journey.
08:40That is, until one of the contestants was charged with murdering his wife.
08:44Since the suspect made it extremely far into the competition,
08:48VH1 had no choice but to completely bury Meghan Wants a Millionaire after just three episodes.
08:54Not only that, they proceeded to remove all mentions of the series from their website,
08:59programming schedule, and any streaming service.
09:02Based on the intense public scrutiny,
09:04something tells us becoming a millionaire wasn't the top of anyone's priority list anyways.
09:09What did it mean to you when you found out this news about Ryan Jenkins?
09:13It was a great relief that we weren't going to spend months and months of our life
09:19trying to find this person and bringing him to justice.
09:23Number 11.
09:24Manny's Abortion.
09:25Degrassi The Next Generation.
09:27This is way more than your average very special episode of TV.
09:31Degrassi's Accidents Will Happen two-parter features high schooler Manny
09:36discovering she's pregnant and eventually deciding to go through with an abortion.
09:40The responsibility is yours.
09:42So the decision is yours.
09:44No one else's.
09:47You mean...
09:50I don't have to do this if I don't want to?
09:53That's a heavy topic for any kind of series.
09:55So as you can imagine, there was a lot of fuss over whether Manny's
09:58plight was appropriate for Degrassi's teenage audience.
10:01The hubbub of meant Accidents Will Happen didn't air in the United States until 2006,
10:07two years after its original Canadian debut.
10:10How will I feel?
10:12After.
10:14Everybody feels differently.
10:15Lots of women cry a little.
10:17Many feel relieved.
10:20As long as you're sure of your decision then.
10:22I'll be okay.
10:23Even so, reception was generally positive, with many outlets claiming the controversy
10:27reinforced why these episodes were so important.
10:31Number 10.
10:32Madonna Kisses Britney and Christina.
10:352003 MTV Video Music Awards.
10:38And you know why they cut away for it?
10:40Because of a, you know, they cut away to get Justin's reaction.
10:44The kiss between Madonna, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera is now the stuff of TV legend.
10:50The image of Madonna and Britney locking lips in particular
10:53has become an iconic piece of entertainment history,
10:56although it caused a bit of a stir at the time.
10:58I definitely saw like the newspaper the next day and it was like,
11:02Oh, well, I guess I got left out of that.
11:05Right.
11:05It was just taboo and explicit enough to get certain groups up in arms
11:09and instantly became the talking point of the 2003 MTV VMAs.
11:14Nowadays, such a kiss might barely register on Twitter.
11:17But at the time, this was television history in the making,
11:20and it generated buzz and headlines the world over.
11:23Number 9.
11:24When You Wish Upon A Weinstein.
11:26Family Guy.
11:28For a while, it was the lost episode of Family Guy.
11:30In When You Wish Upon A Weinstein,
11:32Peter tries to convert Chris to Judaism,
11:35as he considers Jews are smart and successful with money.
11:38I mean, come on, if Chris knew how to study,
11:40he wouldn't need to become Jewish in the first place, right?
11:44Right?
11:46Right?
11:47Fox did not like this particular storyline,
11:50as they thought it was anti-Semitic and refused to air the episode on television.
11:54What do you want?
11:55Financial advice.
11:56Financial advice?
11:57How the hell did you know I'm an accountant?
11:59Hello, Max Weinstein.
12:01It didn't surface until 2003,
12:03when it was included on the Season 3 DVD.
12:06It's honestly pretty tame stuff compared to modern Family Guy standards,
12:10and it just goes to show you how bold television has gotten since the early 2000s.
12:14But why would you even say that?
12:16For shock value?
12:17Jeez, Cleveland, as edgy and as offensive.
12:20Good day, sir.
12:20After the DVD release,
12:22the episode was finally broadcast on Adult Swim in 2003,
12:26with a Fox broadcast to follow the next year.
12:28I need a Jew.
12:37Set in a high school that's secretly a military experiment,
12:40Clone High is certainly a unique show.
12:49The school is populated by young clones of various historical figures,
12:52including Abraham Lincoln, Joan of Arc, JFK, and Mahatma Gandhi.
12:58Every moment we spend together makes me want to know you more.
13:02My abs are so firm, you can grate cheese on them!
13:05In the show, Gandhi is portrayed as a hyperactive party animal,
13:09known for his outrageous behavior and stunts.
13:12This wildly inaccurate depiction of Gandhi caused a massive uproar in India,
13:16resulting in hundreds of protesters mounting a hunger strike
13:19and threatening to withdraw MTV's broadcasting license.
13:23That sounds kind of nice.
13:25Can't talk now, Marie.
13:27Gotta go find me a prom date.
13:31The network was quick to apologize,
13:33and Clone High was cancelled soon afterwards.
13:35The show's co-creator, Christopher Miller,
13:37stated that he pitched a second season without Gandhi,
13:40but the idea was rejected.
13:42I just want someone to love, dry hump, leave, and then brag about.
13:48Is that so wrong?
13:54If they made entry, they confronted a suspect.
13:56I believe he's in the hallway,
13:57and he told them he wasn't going to hurt them, and then chugged up on them.
14:01This infamous reality show documented sting operations.
14:04One of the men caught in the web was Louis Conrad, a district attorney from Texas.
14:09Conrad was allegedly caught soliciting photographs
14:12from someone posing as a 13-year-old boy.
14:15We're the ones that are supposed to be setting the standards
14:16and making examples out of things and enforcing the law,
14:19and he's not doing that.
14:20A SWAT stormed his house, but as they entered, Conrad took his own life.
14:25This prompted a scathing indictment in Esquire,
14:27which criticized the show for shoddy detective work and legal violations,
14:31like filming on private property without a warrant and manipulating law enforcement.
14:35The show's legal and journalistic integrity were hotly debated and criticized,
14:39and Conrad's sister sued NBCUniversal for emotional distress and civil rights claims.
14:45It was a devastating tragedy,
14:47a shock to all of us when the 56-year-old,
14:50a man who has prosecuted criminals for more than two decades,
14:54shot himself.
14:55Number 6. South Park vs Scientology
14:58South Park.
14:59Trey Parker and Matt Stone's animated sitcom has always courted controversy.
15:03Just look at the episode Trapped in the Closet, a scathing attack on Scientology.
15:08Frozen alien bodies were loaded onto Xenu's galactic cruisers,
15:11which looked like DC-8s, except with rocket engines.
15:14The cruisers then took the frozen alien bodies to our planet, Earth.
15:18It's been reported that Isaac Hayes, who voiced Chef,
15:21was pressured into quitting the show by his Scientologist associates.
15:25The media also got involved,
15:26claiming that Tom Cruise prevented a rebroadcast of this episode,
15:30though both Cruise and his representatives denied this.
15:36Regardless, it generated enormous interest in the episode,
15:39and Trey Parker has attributed the Tom Cruise controversy
15:42for making South Park even more popular.
15:51A few weeks later,
15:52they aired an episode depicting a statue of the Virgin Mary bleeding on its congregation,
15:57and the whole controversy train started up again.
16:00Number 5. Ashley Simpson's SNL gaffe
16:03Saturday Night Live.
16:05Once again, Ashley Simpson.
16:07SNL has aired a few bombs in its lifetime,
16:09but nothing compares to the infamous Ashley Simpson goof of October 2004.
16:14As she was starting her song Autobiography,
16:17Paces of Me started playing instead,
16:19revealing that Simpson had been lip-syncing.
16:21Which is a big no-no for performers on Saturday Night Live.
16:30Rather than rolling with the mistake,
16:32Simpson awkwardly danced offstage.
16:34She later said she'd decided to lip-sync due to acid reflux.
16:37The debacle tarnished her career,
16:39and she was subsequently booed at the Orange Bowl the following January.
16:42Number 4. Blame It On Lisa – The Simpsons
16:55By 2002, The Simpsons had already been losing steam.
16:59But the episode Blame It On Lisa certainly didn't help its reputation.
17:03In the episode, The Simpsons travel to Rio,
17:05so Lisa can meet up with an old correspondent.
17:12The episode spawned a hostile reaction from Brazilians,
17:19who noted its many clichés, stereotypes, and misrepresentations of their culture.
17:24For example, the citizens have Spanish accents and love the conga and macarena,
17:29none of which is associated with Brazil.
17:37The episode also portrayed Rio as a violent, rat-infested slum.
17:41The perception was so bad that the tourist board of Rio considered suing Fox,
17:46but were eventually discouraged due to the First Amendment's protection of parody.
17:55Number 3. Balloon Boy
18:04On October 15, 2009, a giant helium balloon was released by Richard and Mayumi Hine,
18:10who subsequently claimed that their son Falcon was trapped inside it.
18:17The balloon reached 7,000 feet, rescue operations were launched,
18:21and Falcon became a media sensation. However, things took a fishy turn when
18:26authorities found Falcon hiding in the attic of the Hine house.
18:29Wolf Blitzer then interviewed the family,
18:31and Falcon indirectly admitted that the entire thing was a hoax,
18:34perpetuated for media attention.
18:41Following an official investigation, the county sheriff concluded that it was indeed a hoax,
18:45and both Richard and Mayumi were given jail time.
18:52Kanye West has always been a lightning rod of controversy,
18:55a character trait that's been going strong since at least 2005.
19:02Everyone knows about the infamous Taylor Swift debacle,
19:04but perhaps even more polarizing were his comments about the show's
19:08even more polarizing were his comments about George Bush during a concert for hurricane relief.
19:23Held on September 2, 2005, the benefit concert was to raise money for the victims of Hurricane
19:28Katrina. Going off script, West proclaimed that then-President George Bush, quote,
19:33doesn't care about Black people, causing an immediate camera cut and awkward glances
19:38from both Mike Myers and Chris Tucker. The public reaction was decidedly mixed.
19:45Bush later called it one of the, quote,
19:47most disgusting moments of his presidency.
19:50Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
19:54Tyra Banks asks models to portray other races, America's next top model.
20:00No one liked this modeling assignment.
20:03We are actually going to switch your ethnicities.
20:08The challenge here really is taking on the persona of that other ethnicity
20:15while in the photograph.
20:16Letting kids run amok.
20:18Kid Nation.
20:19Who thought a reality competition about kids was a good idea?
20:2240 kids with no parents, no teachers anywhere.
20:27And their leaders, they're kids too. It's the first ever Kid Nation.
20:33Laser pointer panic.
20:35Are you hot?
20:36The search for America's sexiest people.
20:38Lorenzo Lamas pointed out a contestant's flaws with a laser pointer.
20:43Really?
20:43I got a tip for you.
20:44Squeeze those thighs really tight.
20:46No, listen guys, okay?
20:48That is just really gnarly.
20:51The slap heard round the world.
20:54The real world.
20:55This franchise hasn't been the same since.
20:57I slapped the hell out of her because she deserved it.
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21:15Number 1.
21:16The Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction.
21:19First of all, I have to ask you this.
21:20Was it planned, Janet?
21:22No.
21:22When it comes to controversies, nothing beats nipple gate.
21:25During the Super Bowl 38 halftime show in 2004,
21:29Justin Timberlake tore away a part of Janet's costume,
21:32revealing for a brief instant her breast and nipple shield.
21:36It was later blamed on a wardrobe malfunction.
21:38The media went absolutely nuts.
21:41Viacom blacklisted Jackson's music.
21:43The FCC fined CBS over half a million dollars.
21:47And there was a broad crackdown on sexual content on TV.
21:50And then the NFL was asked to refund the 10 million dollars
21:54that they had been given to the halftime show sponsor.
21:57Some argued that the incident represented America's declining morality,
22:00while others countered that the public reaction was overblown and puritanical
22:05and demonstrated sexual double standards.
22:07It was an epic controversy that raged across the nation,
22:10all over a less than one second shot of a nipple.
22:13Do you think people were too hard on you?
22:19I think they were.
22:20What's the craziest thing you saw on TV in the 2000s?
22:24Let us know if we missed it in the comments below.
22:26I don't care what you say, and I don't care what dad says, okay?
22:29Manuela!
22:30I am not a little girl anymore.
22:32Do you agree with our picks?
22:34Check out this other recent clip from MsMojo,
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