Behind every beloved TV show lies a hidden world of controversy. Join us as we uncover the shocking dark truths that will make you see your favorite series in a completely different light. From age scandals to harassment allegations, these revelations will leave you stunned.
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00:00-"Mama was feeling very sad." -"Sad? Why?"
00:05Welcome to MissMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for beloved TV shows
00:09that had some less-than-savory behind-the-scenes drama.
00:12-"Gosh, I gotta get some black friends."
00:1410. Mila Kunis' Real Age, That 70s Show
00:18-"So have you talked to Hyde about the whole get-off-my-boyfriend disaster?"
00:22-"No. And why is everyone making such a big deal about it? It's like every time I walk
00:27into a room, people look at me funny. Donna, how do you deal with it?"
00:30This beloved period sitcom follows six high school students who spend their nights indulging
00:34in a certain herbal substance. Jackie and Kelso were one of the show's enduring pairings,
00:39and the performers behind them, Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, ended up becoming a real-life couple.
00:44-"If you worked here, you couldn't see me whenever I wanted you to."
00:48-"Lover."
00:50As Jackie was the youngest character, Kunis was also the youngest of her co-stars. In
00:54fact, she was only 14 when she landed the role. The actress actually lied about her
00:59age and didn't tell any of the show's creators until it was time to sign the contracts.
01:04-"They said, I'm gonna be 18. I never said when."
01:06-"Oh. Oh, that's the, oh, I see. Yeah. That's right. I'm going to be 18."
01:14-"Yeah, well, I never said when."
01:15-"Five years later."
01:16-"So I never lied. Exactly. So now they said I'm the age they said I was gonna be."
01:19-"That's so, yeah. That's, that's..."
01:21Some viewers have since expressed discomfort over this, as it means that Kunis was often
01:25kissing much older co-stars.
01:27-"At least they're 13 and 12 then."
01:29Number 9. Mistreatment of writers. Roseanne.
01:32Roseanne Barr's fictionalized counterpart was known for her irascible personality and
01:35withering wit. But writers who worked on the show might be the first to tell you it wasn't
01:39all an act.
01:40-"Boy, I tell ya, I wish I had never been..."
01:47-"What? Say it."
01:50-"Nothing."
01:53-"Well, that makes two of us."
01:54Even when the show was airing, horror stories from the set were rampant. One such story
01:58was that, instead of learning the writers' names, Barr and her co-star, as well as then
02:03husband Tom Arnold, had them all assigned numbered t-shirts to wear.
02:07-"I thought they were in a marathon."
02:11-"The least healthy marathon in the history of the world."
02:14-"Norm gets it."
02:15-"Norm gets it, yes. But Norm also has a name. It's Norm. It's not Four."
02:19Barr was also heavy-handed when it came to firing people, and the t-shirts made that
02:23easier. Some saw working on the show as a great challenge, while others called it a
02:27degrading experience.
02:29-"You were told the rules as you went along, you know? Again, my first script almost got
02:33me fired. She hated it. She just hated it."
02:36Number 8. Chivvy Chaser's behavior. Community.
02:39The former Saturday Night Live star played Pierce Hawthorne, the rich and bigoted member
02:43of the core study group at Greendale Community College. The actor fought with series creator
02:48Dan Harmon and his fellow actors from early on, including a reported outburst in which
02:52he used a racial slur.
02:54-"Keep me out of your stupid stories."
02:56-"I didn't say it was you. I said he was a crazy old racist doctor."
02:59-"Yeah, and I'm your crazy old racist friend. I was anyway. Now I'm not so sure."
03:04Apparently Chase had become aggravated about his character's bigotry and was using the
03:08slurs as an example. Star Joel McHale also had his own stories about Chase.
03:14-"We had a step-by-step on how to fight Chivvy Chase."
03:17-"Fist fight or verbal?"
03:19-"Fist."
03:20-"Did you fight fists?"
03:21-"Multiple times."
03:22-"You fought him?"
03:23-"There was pushing and shoving, yeah."
03:25According to McHale, the two got into physical fights on the set that were halfway between
03:29roughhousing and genuine violence, so much for community spirit.
03:33-"And he just did Marc Maron's podcast and it made all these headlines because he was
03:37like, I didn't find the show funny and didn't want to be there. And then mine was like,
03:40yeah, well, feelings mutual about your attitude and you didn't have to be there."
03:467. Gross Misconduct – The Ren and Stimpy Show
03:49-"His work was so wrapped up in his life that was his life, so it was my life too.
03:54So it was just like you lived in the kingdom of John. And, you know, I still have nightmares
04:01about him."
04:02Given that it aired on both Nickelodeon and MTV, it's hard to always place who this trippy
04:06and eccentric animated show's audience really was, but the show's weirdness captivated 90s
04:11kids everywhere.
04:12-"Look at you, man. You're a full-grown cat, still watching cartoons. Why, you're three
04:18years old. Do you know what that is in human years?"
04:21John Crisfalusi, also known as John K., was not just the show's creator. He wore many
04:26hats, fulfilling roles as the show's main voice actor, theme music composer, and showrunner.
04:31In 2018, fans of Ren and Stimpy were horrified to learn of multiple allegations against John
04:36K. of inappropriate relationships with young fans, many of which happened around the time
04:40that he was making the show.
04:42-"It hurt. It hurt that he used Ren and Stimpy that way to lure girls into his fold. It was
04:58upsetting."
04:59Harassment allegations ended the show. Martin.
05:03-"It's just been three days and I keep waiting on the phone to ring."
05:06-"And when it does, did it just be Martin saying, oh, I was just playing?"
05:10-"Now you come over here and you give me my sugar girl, and then you go run."
05:15Martin Lawrence's self-titled sitcom followed his fictional alter-ego Martin Payne, a Detroit
05:20DJ. His on-screen love interest, Gina, was played by Tisha Campbell. The show was wildly
05:25popular in the early to mid-90s, but a sexual harassment lawsuit made it all come crushing
05:30down.
05:31-"Don't talk to me like that!"
05:32-"Don't talk to me like that!"
05:33-"You know what, you need to check yourself!"
05:34-"Check yourself, Gina!"
05:35-"My eyes are open and you always put me down!"
05:36-"I don't want to hear it, shut up!"
05:41-"Wait, wait one minute."
05:43Campbell filed the suit against Lawrence, who vehemently denied the harassment, and
05:47the show ended amidst the chaos. Campbell only returned to the show under the condition
05:51that she wouldn't share scenes with Lawrence. Fan speculation has surrounded the drama ever
05:55since. They've since patched things up, but it's hard to go back and watch, knowing how
05:59their off-screen relationship would play out.
06:01-"It's like, you're silk and he's polyester. And when you mix the two, all you get is a
06:08bad rash."
06:095. Casual racism on the set
06:12Boy Meets World
06:13In the show's fifth season, Trina McGee joined the cast of ABC's cherished sitcom about a
06:17group of adolescents and their teacher, Mr. Feeney. She played Angela Moore, the girlfriend
06:22of Sean Hunter.
06:23-"Are we still on for tonight?"
06:24-"Yeah. In fact, I'm gonna take you to someplace nice, and I'm gonna surprise you with candy
06:28and flowers."
06:29During her time on Boy Meets World, McGee recalls moments where she was subject to prejudiced
06:33comments and microaggressions from her castmates. One instance included co-star Will Friedle
06:38comparing her to Aunt Jemima, an American breakfast brand based on the Jim Crow-era
06:43mammy stereotype.
06:44-"He thought it was a real funny joke to say, you know, and it just wasn't funny. And it
06:50really is because the more and more that I talk to Will as an adult, because we're actually
06:55cool, very cool now, I realize even now the things that come out of his mouth are due
07:00to just such a lack of education on Black America."
07:03Even her guest spot years later on the show's revival, Girl Meets World, was an uncomfortable
07:08experience. Her tweets on the subject were picked up by the news media, but she has since
07:12made amends with many former castmates.
07:15-"You made me a better person, Trina, all the way through. It's absolutely true."
07:18-"I like trusting you guys. I like trusting you. It feels really good."
07:224. Stephen Collins Past – 7th Heaven
07:25This WB series about a Protestant minister and his wife raising a family, and learning
07:29moral lessons along the way, was sometimes criticized for a heavy-handed and preachy
07:34approach.
07:35-"Just know that there's always going to be somebody around. Try to take your dignity,
07:38your self-esteem. Don't let them take your voice."
07:41-"I'll try."
07:42For 11 seasons, actor Stephen Collins played Reverend Camden, the moral center of 7th Heaven.
07:47But in 2014, a recording of Collins' marriage counseling session made it to the news media,
07:52and in it, he confessed to several instances of sexual abuse.
07:56-"It was a combination of poor impulse control, arrogance, 25-year-old arrogance."
08:06In an instant, his image was shattered. He hasn't worked since, and even fans who watched
08:117th Heaven, ironically, were never really able to view the show the same way.
08:15-"I should ground you, but you're already grounded. Just don't go to that part of town,
08:19ever again."
08:20-"Okay."
08:213. The Man Behind Elmo – Sesame Street
08:24-"Uh, Elmo? You didn't laugh, and I tickled you."
08:28-"Oh, Elmo, telly. Elmo, see you later, telly. Okay?"
08:33The jovial red puppet has been a family favorite for years. Since his introduction in the 1980s,
08:38Sesame Street's Elmo has been one of the show's breakout stars.
08:41So, to think that the man behind Elmo left the role due to a huge scandal is a pretty hard pill to swallow.
08:47-"Kevin has really dedicated his life to Sesame Street. He's Elmo, he is also a puppet company,
08:54he's also a producer, he's also a director, he's also an executive producer at Sesame Street,
08:58and he's essential to that show."
09:02Voice actor and puppeteer Kevin Clash resigned from the role in 2012 after several men came forward
09:07accusing him of an inappropriate relationship with them.
09:10Due to the statute of limitations being up on all of these alleged crimes, their cases were dismissed.
09:15Clash has since moved on to other puppeteering gigs, while Elmo has been voiced and puppeteered
09:20by Ryan Dillon since Clash vacated the role.
09:23-"I know that I was on a short list of people that Kevin wanted to make sure were seen,
09:27but it wasn't necessarily going to be the case that I, no one was looking at Ryan to do this."
09:322. Something's Afoot at Nickelodeon – Varius
09:36-"I said a lot of things, a lot of uncomfortable truths that are, I think, difficult things to say.
09:42The more uncomfortable something was for me to put on the page, the more important it felt for me to put it on the page."
09:47In 2022, former iCarly star Jeanette McCurdy's explosive memoir detailed much of her traumatic years
09:53as a child actor at Nickelodeon.
09:55Next came the 2024 docuseries Quiet on Set, which blew the lid off what happened behind the scenes
10:00at the kid-friendly network.
10:02-"The set on All That was dysfunctional. You could just kind of get away with more."
10:09Internet gossip had circulated surrounding Dan Schneider's actions for a while before that.
10:14The showrunner and Big Wig producer's alleged abuse of power behind the scenes
10:18was felt both by the performers and staff on shows like All That and The Amanda Show.
10:23But that was just the start of the parade of horrors some of the young actors endured at the network.
10:29-"It just got worse and worse and worse. And, um, and worse. And, uh, I was just trapped."
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11:021. The Real Bill Cosby – The Cosby Show
11:05-"Why are you drinking coffee?"
11:07-"I'm afraid to go back to sleep. I had a bad dream."
11:12He was America's dad. Bill Cosby's character, the lovable Cliff Huxtable,
11:17was the patriarch of an affluent African-American family, something that was seldom seen on TV at the time.
11:22The wholesome illusion was torn apart when Cosby was accused of sexual assault by multiple women spanning back decades.
11:28-"People did not want to believe our story."
11:34-"And I finally said, I can't live in fear for the rest of my life."
11:38Stand-up comedian Hannibal Buress jump-started renewed interest in old gossip when his jokes about Cosby went viral.
11:44It wasn't long after that, multiple victims came forward to share their stories.
11:48Cosby was later convicted, but that conviction was overturned in 2021 over questions of due process.
11:54However, as former Cosby Show actor Malcolm Jamal Warner says, it forever tarnished the legacy of the show.
12:00-"Of course it's been tarnished, because they've taken it off the show.
12:03And whenever we talk about stereotypical black images on television,
12:09we've always had The Cosby Show to hold juxtaposed against that. But we no longer have that."
12:14Did these dark truths that make you think differently about your favorite show? Let us know in the comments.
12:19-"Get mad! Come on!"
12:21-"If it helps, think of me as somebody who annoys you."
12:24-"That's it. That's good."
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