Phil Robertson had a passion for duck hunting and a strong distaste for the current and widely used state of duck calls. For that reason, he started testing a kind of call that would replicate actual duck sounds and developed his very own first “Duck Commander” call in 1972. His invention would, later on, grow into a multimillion-dollar business. Phil and his family were shown live on the A&E reality television series, Duck Dynasty, which was broadcast for 15 years until 2017.
During a GQ interview, however, Phil Robertson was recorded making anti-gay comments, which forced A&E to suspend his participation in the show. His avid viewers and supporters though, rallied to Phil’s side, so he was ultimately permitted to come back on the series. Naturally, the Duck Dynasty star remained unapologetic regarding his offensive remarks.
Billy Bush, Today
Billy Bush was hired to co-host the third hour of NBC’s Today back in May of 2016, serving as a substitute for Willie Geist. He was also the first ever reporter to interview American Olympic swimmer, Ryan Lochte, following his claim that he got mugged by a gunman in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Bush’s competence as an interviewer though, was heavily questioned and doubted after critics asserted that he failed to consider the possibility that Lochte was simply making the whole story up.
His blind assumption, however, wasn’t the cause of his demise as a TV personality. Bush received a suspension and eventually a dismissal from Today after a controversial recording exploded with the TV show host offensively fooling around with Donald Trump. The scandalous “grab her by the p***y” quote came from the recording of Trump talking to none other than Billy Bush. His questionable behavior ended up getting him booted out of Today, while Donald Trump went on to become the 45th president of the US. What do you think about those quality control standards?
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men
In 2003, Charlie Sheen was chosen to play the character of Charlie Harper in the CBS sitcom, Two and a Half Men. His persona on the show was roughly centered on the actor’s own infamous bad boy figure. The role earned Sheen various accolades, including an ALMA Award along with three Emmy award nominations and a couple of Golden Globe award nominations. In his eighth and last season on Two and a Half Men, the iconic actor managed to rake in a whopping $1.8 million pay check for every episode.
On a live radio interview, he threw anti-Semitic remarks at Two and a Half Men creator, Chuck Lorre. Sheen was sacked for his comments and was immediately replaced by American actor, Ashton Kutcher. In 2012, Sheen returned to acting and enjoyed plenty of success with the show, Anger Management, which concluded in 2014. One year later, he admitted in public that he was positive with HIV after a past lover attempted to blackmail him.
Paula Deen, Several Food Network Shows
Paula Deen was introduced to The Food Network in 1999 after her friend, Erin Lewis, introduced her to Gordon Elliott, who eventually recommended her to an agent. Later on, Paula would secure a couple of notable shows from her work on The Food Network: Paula's Party and Paula's Best Dishes which was aired in 2006 and 2008 accordingly.
The American TV personality and notable cooking show host was axed from The Food Network after admitting to having used racist insults during her time with the show. She managed to get back on track with her career after the unfortunate event though, securing a performance on Dancing with the Stars, creating a personal syndicated show and constantly being featured on Evine, a home-shopping network.
Thomas Gibson, Criminal Minds
In 2005, Thomas Gibson landed a major role in the CBS series, Criminal Minds, as Supervisory Special Agent Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner, the unit chief of the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) team. Nine successful filming years later though, Thomas was temporally dismissed from the show after clashing horns with a writer/producer on-set. He later apologized for his actions. Before that incident, Gibson also had a dispute with an assistant director and went through an anger-management counseling program.
One day after the incident, ABC Studios and CBS Television Studios released a statement making it known that Thomas Gibson’s contract with the show was cut short. The proclamation featured details that the exit plot of the character, Aaron Hotchner, in the series would be determined in the near future.