HOW TELEVISION NETWORKS HANDLED PREVIOUS CONTROVERSIES
Paula Deen
The Food Network dropped Paula Deen, one of its biggest stars, in 2013 after she admitted to using racial slurs — particularly the N word — in the past. Deen’s public image was further damaged in 2015 when a picture of her son in brown makeup as I Love Lucy character Ricky Ricardo was posted on her Twitter account. She claimed her social media manager was responsible for the tweet and was fired.
Bill Maher
The comedian’s ABC talk show Politically Incorrect was cancelled in 2002 after several big advertisers pulled out because of comments Maher made days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. “We have been the cowards, lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away,” Maher said. “That’s cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building. Say what you want about it. Not cowardly.” Though the network didn’t point to the segment as a reason for ending the show, many believe it was a major factor.
Phil Robertson
Duck Dynasty was a reality show about the Robertsons, a Louisiana family that struck it rich selling duck-hunting equipment. The show was a massive success. Then Phil Robertson, the show’s patriarch, gave a particularly jaw-dropping interview to GQ in 2013, near the height of his show’s popularity, in which he said homosexuality is a sin and compared it to bestiality. In the same interview, he said black people were happier in pre-civil rights Louisiana. The story caused tremendous controversy, and A&E released a statement that said Robertson was suspended from the network — only to reverse the decision nine days later. The show remained on air for another four years.
#MeToo
Allegations of sexual misconduct have generally been treated differently than blanket controversial statements. Jeffrey Tambor was fired from his Emmy-winning role on Amazon’s Transparent after accusations of inappropriate behaviour on the set; Kevin Spacey, who was accused of sexual assault, was let go from House of Cards on Netflix (it will have one final season without him). These punishments are probably harsher because they are personal incidents that have identifiable victims.