7 Celebrities Who Were Fired from Their Own Shows ...

By Shannon

I always find it interesting to hear about celebrities who were fired from their own shows. As much teasing as I get about it, I actually like reading magazines like “People” or watching shows like “TMZ.” They're both a lot better-done than my TV-snob friends give them credit for. I enjoy stories about “celebrity feuds” and what goes on behind the scenes of TV shows, especially when the two are linked. To that end, here are a few stories about celebrities who were fired. I'll leave it to you to decide which were fair and which weren't.

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1

Paula Deen

Paula Deen No list of celebrities who were fired would be complete without Paula Deen. Food Network promptly dropped her show after instances of racism were brought to light. The list of retailers that dropped her includes Target, Walmart, Smithfield Ham and even her own publisher. She was set to go on the Today Show to talk about the incidents, but she simply didn't show up. She made several video apologies, but the jury is still out on how authentic they are. For more information and an interesting slideshow, visit huffingtonpost.com and huffingtonpost.com.

2

Charlie Sheen

Charlie Sheen Oh, where do I start? Could it be his cocaine use and refusal to enter rehab? Could it be the incoherent ramblings and verbal threats against Two and a Half Men creator and staff? Could it be simply not being able to do his job? According to People.com, he was given ample time and help with his drug problem, but things got so bad that they had no choice but to fire him. I didn't see the show, but they sealed the deal by opening the next season with his character's funeral. I have sympathy for anyone with a drug problem, but the person has to want help for anything to happen. Hopefully at some point he will.

3

Suzanne Somers

Suzanne Somers According to entertainment website ChaCha.com, the Three's Company star and Thighmaster pitchwoman responded to a request for a raise being denied by not showing up to work at all. The network execs responded in the same way they usually do - they started reducing her time on the show until they ended up ending her contract entirely.

4

Don Imus

Don Imus You may remember hearing that this “shock jock” was fired from CBS for a comment he made about the Rutgers University women's basketball team on his radio show. I'm not going to repeat what he called them, but it was a racial slur that also had sexist implications. He apologized and ended up joining his contemporary Howard Stern on satellite radio, which is probably a much better fit for people we can't listen to without taking a shower afterward.

5

Shannen Doherty

Shannen Doherty Her four-color meltdowns and general brattiness are pretty well-known in Hollywood. To her credit, she's gone through anger management classes and seems to have calmed down. This is definitely better for her blood pressure, but the reputation will always be there.

Famous Quotes

Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

George Santayana
6

Isaiah Washington

Isaiah Washington He swears to this day that he did not call cast mate T. R. Knight a [slur for gay people]. While this is technically true - he was saying it behind Knight's back rather than to his face - the fact that he used that term at all bothered the creators enough to have the character leave Cristina Yang at the altar and run off under cover of night. Oh, well. I like Yang with Hunt better anyway. At least Hunt doesn't act like a junior-high gossip. That, and he's redheaded. I love redheads.

7

Several from People from SNL

Several from People from SNL There have been several cast members of Saturday Night Live fired over the 35+ year run of the show. For instance, contrary to popular belief, Norm MacDonald wasn't fired for dropping the f-bomb on Weekend Update. That may have been the nail in the coffin, but he'd been on the show's hit list for a long time, mostly for taking the jokes about OJ Simpson and Michael Jackson a little too far. According to Cinemablend.com, Adam Sandler and Chris Farley were fired when their teenage-boy-ish comedy style began to take over the show (read: make it funny again) to the point that complaints nearly got the show cancelled. I was really surprised to hear that, especially when you consider how things like “Tommy Boy” and the “Hanukkah Song” are still mentioned years later. Oh, well. Their loss.

As you can see, being on a high-rated TV show doesn't mean you'll never be called on your bad behavior. As much as some celebrities think they're above these things, sometimes their managers and fans prove them wrong. What about you? Can you think of other celebrities who have been fired? Do you think it was fair to do so? Do you care one way or another? Discuss!

Feedback Junction

Where Thoughts and Opinions Converge

I apologize for being the bitch, but Ellen was not fired from her sitcom for coming out. In fact, the show ran for two more seasons with Ellen's sitcom character exploring her sexual orientation. Sadly, the show's popularity peaked when she came out, then steadily declined as it tried, with wit and humor, and no small amount of pathos, to address the more serious issues of being female, gay and out. And regarding Paula Deen...the Food Network did not fire her...conveniently for them her contract with the network expired just several months after the accusations were made, and they chose not to renew her. You also fail to mention that all the civil suits against her were dropped...but only after portions of her deposition were made public. Fellow native Georgian Jimmy Carter was the ONLY national figure to defend Deen from these unsubstantiated charges. Deen invited many African American cooks to be on her then-widely popular show, including Sunny Anderson and the Neeleys'. No one other than Carter made an effort to defend her. And, most importantly, she has been pilloried, not for using the so-called n-word, but for acknowledging under oath that, given her background and her age, she more than likely did use this word at some points in time, because the word, no matter how offensive, was still commonly being used in this Deep South when she WS growing up. This is a woman who was destitute trying to raise two sons on her own who forged a career from selling her home-made food from paper bags...her first restaurant is still called The Bag Lady...her charitable work on behalf of the homeless, and in particular for a local orphanage that tried to find foster parents for teenaged African American boys and girls, is quite well known. It is despicable that Deen has been so unfairly tried and convicted in the court of popular opinion. And it should also be noted that Deen DOES still appear on the Food Network, making cameo appearance on her son Bobby's show Not My Mama's Meals. I must say it irks me that you started this article with Paula Deen, when obviously, the obnoxious misogynist nitwit Charlie Sheen is the poster child for stars fired from their own shows. I am no fan of Deen's cooking, and there are many other legitimate issues for which she can be criticized for example, her deal with Novartis, maker of diabetic medications and supplies, preceding her announcement that she is suffering from Type 2 diabetes. And it is gratuitous for you to write that she was "dropped from her show after instance of racism were brought to light." That is simply NOT TRUE...and you folks at AWS who fact-check and edit these pieces are just as guilty of unfair judgement by not making certain this statement was/is true...

Ellen Degeneres. Before she had the Ellen show, she had a sitcom, and at the time she hadn't come out. She did during the time of the sitcom, and was fired for being gay.

Who ever posted this article needs to listen to themselves. How can you post an article about people being racist or prejudice when you yourself are making racial discriminatory difference between two people. You like another character better because he has red hair? How about just saying that you just like that character better. Don't depict that you like someone because of a color pigment in their hair that only certain people with those recessive traits can have. That's saying that you are prejudice towards certain people as well. I like people just because of their personality. That's it!

Charlie Sheen WAS NOT FIRED FOR HIS DRUG ABUSE! He was fired for telling his boss to F off because he made a racist joke to a staff member.

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