The Biggest Morning And Talk Show Scandals To Ever Hit The Air

There is nothing that some of us love more than a good morning and talk show. After all, there is so much to enjoy about the shows, including the hosts, guests, and memorable moments they have created over the years? The best bit? They keep us entertained at all times of the day. Whether you’re enjoying your morning coffee or looking for a way to unwind after a long day at the office, there is always a morning or talk show to help us relax. Just because they are some of the best shows on the air doesn’t mean they’ve been short of a scandal or two in their times.

Billy Bush was fired from The Today Show thanks to the former President of the United States

If there’s one thing the former President of the United States knows how to do well, it’s ruffle people’s feathers. It’s no secret that plenty of stars have been linked to the businessman over the years, and plenty of people have spoken out against him in a bid to reveal what they believe to be the true side of the former President.

Billy Bush is one of the many who have been caught in the web in the last few years. Remember that famous hot mic recording of the former President saying he would grab women by certain parts of their body? That’s the one. It turns out that happened while talking with Billy – something that ruined the host’s career and saw him get fired from ‘The Today Show.’

Megyn Kelly Today was canceled after the host defended questionable moves

Things haven’t always been easy for Megyn Kelly, especially as it was reported the host quickly rubbed her fellow NBC workers the wrong way as soon after landing her own spot on ‘The Today Show.’ ‘Megyn Kelly Today’ was supposed to be nothing more than a fun-filled segment with the star at the helm. The reality?

Megyn landed herself in hot water in October 2018 when she defended people dressing up as other ethnicities for Halloween. According to Megyn, she thought it was acceptable “as long as it’s in character.” Things didn’t sit well with fans or her coworkers and instantly sparked Megyn’s exit. Although she apologized for the comments, Megyn reportedly walked away with $30 million, aka the rest of her contract’s balance.

Jane Fonda accused Megan Kelly of being “fixated” on her cosmetic surgery

If there’s one thing many of us want to avoid, it’s angering an Oscar-winning star. Sadly, that was the case for Megyn Kelly when Jane Fonda appeared on ‘Megyn Kelly Today.’ Things started badly and only got worse as the host continually asked Jane all about her cosmetic procedures during their interview in September 2017.

It seems that Megyn might need to learn how to read the room as Jane was visibly annoyed as soon as she was asked about the procedures and even asked Megyn if they “really want to talk about that now?” The actresses insisted they moved onto something else and later joked on ‘The Today Show’ that Megyn was “fixated” on her surgeries throughout their time together.

Lara Spencer’s opinions on Prince George caused a huge flash mob protest

Millions of us wake up to ‘Good Morning America’ every day. While they would normally be numbers to celebrate, they became something Lara Spencer regretted as the host made a blunder to millions of people live across the nation. The co-host announced that Prince George was about to start ballet classes, but it was her reaction that got people talking.

Lara smirked as she added, “we’ll see how long that lasts.” It wasn’t long before 300 people created a flash mob in Times Square to protest, while others shared their anger about Lara’s apparent views of male dancers. She quickly took to social media to apologize for the comments as Lara confessed she thinks everyone should “be free to pursue our passions.”

Conan O’Brien was axed from The Tonight Show after just seven months

‘The Tonight Show’ has welcomed several hosts over the years. That’s what happens when you’re the longest-running talk show of all time, but that doesn’t mean things have always been smooth. In 2009, the world learned that Conan O-Brien was set to replace Jay Leno as the show’s host in one of the biggest late-night shake-ups.

Unfortunately for Conan, things only lasted for seven months as they wanted Jay Leno back in the driver’s seat. Several late-night hosts sided with Conan, and fans were quickly divided about the decision. In 2012, Conan finally addressed the matter as he spoke about Leno and confessed they would probably both pass “without speaking to each other, which is fine.” It certainly seems no love was lost.

Someone tried to blackmail David Letterman about his relationships with staff members

David Letterman was the face of ‘The Late Show’ for decades until he retired in 2015. Many people were used to unwinding after a long day with the host on their screen, but one moment sticks out more than many for several people. That’s right; we’re talking about the time someone tried to blackmail Letterman. Things got uncomfortable in 2009 when the host confessed he had several relationships with his female coworkers.

Apparently, someone learned about all these affairs and threatened to write a screenplay about it all unless Letterman handed over $2 million. The host confessed the person behind the letter knew a lot about his life. Letterman admitted he worked alongside the police department and wrote a fake check before the perpetrator was captured and arrested.

David Letterman had a pretty public feud with Jay Leno

It seems that David Letterman is no stranger to scandals. The talk show host had a pretty famous feud with none other than Jay Leno after Leno was chosen to host ‘The Tonight Show’ in favor of Letterman. It all started in 1992 when Johnny Carson announced he was retiring from the show and instantly went down in entertainment history.

In fact, it was even the plot of the HBO movie, ‘The Late Shift.’ The feud lasted for two decades and only grew worse after Leno’s drama with Conan O’Brien. Letterman quipped there are two types of talk show hosts, either “Jay Leno” or “those who have been victimized” by the host. Even so, Letterman later announced the pair had buried the hatchet and moved on.

Cancel culture almost ended Jimmy Fallon’s career after an old SNL skit resurfaced

May 2020 marked a troubled time in Jimmy Fallon’s career. In fact, things quickly got so bad that he wondered if his time as the host of ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’ was about to come to an end. Before he was a talk show host, Jimmy worked as one of the many comedians on ‘Saturday Night Live.’

Over two decades after it first hit our screens, fans uncovered footage of Jimmy dressed as Chris Rock for a skit on the show – wearing makeup to change his ethnicity and all. Cancel culture almost marked the end for the comedian. That was until Chris himself spoke to The New York Times, where he admitted: “Jimmy’s a great guy” and never hurt his feelings with the sketch.

Nick Cannon was fired in 2020 for anti-Semitic speech on his podcast

Several of us know Nick Cannon from all kinds of projects throughout his career. The former talk show host had recently been working on a podcast called ‘Cannon’s Class’ until he made some comments that didn’t sit well with most people around the world. People accused Nick of using “hateful speech” and spreading “anti-Sematic conspiracy theories.” Nick’s response?

The former host refused to apologize as he thought he was entirely in the right. That was all ViacomCBS needed to hear as they fired Nick in July 2020 and announced they were “deeply troubled” by Nick’s actions. The company was even more surprised that he refused to say sorry for his words. Even though he did finally apologize, it was too little too late to save Nick’s career.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show was investigated all thanks to the host

2020 wasn’t a good time for Ellen DeGeneres or her talk show. It all started in March when Kevin T. Porter announced he would donate $2 to a local food bank for every story he heard about Ellen being unkind. The result? He received over 2,000 responses. That was just the beginning as former employees stepped forward in the summer to talk about the alleged toxic atmosphere on the set of the show.

Many of them claim to have been discriminated against or been a target of inappropriate behavior. Ellen stated that she had no idea about what was taking place, even though most people named her the main suspect. The network launched a full investigation into Ellen’s show before the latest season.

Dakota Johnson shut Ellen DeGeneres down on her own show

It’s no secret that Ellen DeGeneres has been at the center of plenty of scandals in the last few months. Even so, she has years of experience as a TV host and is rarely caught off guard by any of her guests. That made it even more captivating when Dakota Johnson appeared on ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ and shut down the host.

Ellen asked about the actress’ recent birthday party before quipping, “I wasn’t invited.” Dakota’s response? Ellen was actually invited, but she never showed up. The audience was quick to notice the panicked look on Ellen’s face as she tried to stumble her way out of the situation. In the end, one of the people working on the show announced Ellen was “out of town.”

Oprah tried to clear up the controversy surrounding James Frey

Many of us loved to watch Oprah’s Book Club special on her show. Writer James Frey went from zero to hero in no time after releasing his memoir ‘A Million Little Pieces’ and was chosen to be a part of the show in 2005. James opened up about his narcotics and drink issues from the past and confessed he had to write about himself in a negative way to get his stories across.

Millions of people bought into the book, but it wasn’t to last. James was later forced to admit that he fabricated some of the stories. Oprah wasn’t ready to let James get away with it all, so she invited him onto her show to give his side of the story.

One kid’s comments landed Jimmy Kimmel in pretty hot water

They say you should never work with children or animals, and Jimmy Kimmel was about to learn the hard way why that can be true. The talk show host was working on a special segment for his show ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ where he asked children how they should overcome certain issues within the country. One on the list was how the nation should pay the money it owed back to China.

One of the kids quickly announced they should end the life of “everyone in China” before Jimmy chuckled and replied, “That’s an interesting idea.” It didn’t take long for more than 100,000 people to petition that Jimmy apologizes for his comments. The comedian merely stated he thought “it was obvious” that he disagreed with the statement.

Too many controversies saw Pat O’Brien lose his job at The Insider

Some morning and talk show scandals are nothing more than a misunderstanding. Not when it comes to Pat O’Brien. It all started in 2005 when the talk show host’s voicemails were leaked to the press. It turned out Pat had left a handful of offensive and aggressive voicemails for a woman he’d just met before she handed them to the media.

Pat quickly checked into rehab and later told Oprah that he couldn’t remember ever picking up the phone. Although it looked as though the past was behind him, Pat was ultimately fired from ‘The Insider’ three years later. This time, it was thanks to a leaked email that he’d sent to his coworkers about Lara Spencer and how her segment made viewers “want to vomit.”

Kelly Ripa was pretty hurt when Michael Strahan left Live! With Kelly and Michael

Do you remember when ‘Live! With Kelly and Michael’ was on everyone’s lips? That was until Michael’s name suddenly disappeared. The audience thought they were shocked to hear that one-half of the team was about to leave the famous show, but no one was as surprised as Kelly Ripa. That’s because she only learned about Michael’s departure moments before they went live.

Michael worked on the show for four years before he was offered a role with ‘Good Morning America.’ However, some claim that things were anything but amicable between the two hosts before he left. In the end, Kelly had to take some time away from the show and told People magazine she felt utterly “disrespected” by it all.

The Jenny Jones show caused one person to lose their life

‘The Jenny Jones Show’ was popular for more than a decade, but the most famous episode of all never even made it to air. The show featured a special that allowed people to tell their friends they actually had a crush on them. Scott appeared on the set as he wanted to tell Jonathon he was really in love with him. Things were a little awkward, but nothing much seemed to happen.

That was until three days later when Jonathon allegedly found a suggestive note from Scott and decided enough was enough. He purchased a gun, drove to Scott’s house, and ended his life before calling the police and turning himself in. ‘The Jenny Jones Show’? That was forced to pay Scott’s family $25 million.

A full brawl took place on Geraldo after two opposing groups were booked

Geraldo Rivera was once the face of his own talk show. So what was going to happen when they invited two opposing groups onto the show? One was from an extremist group, while the other was there to fight for civil rights. Of course, it didn’t take long for things to get pretty heated, especially after some questions from the audience.

One of the guests made a particularly offensive comment before the other took matters into their own hands. Things quickly escalated as everyone on the stage and in the audience started brawling in a matter of seconds. The result? Geraldo was left with a broken nose, and a failed show as the ratings nosedived and was quickly pulled from the air.

Todd Herzog accused Dr. Phil producers of enabling his behavior

Even though he’s been on our screens for many years, Dr. Phil has largely managed to stay away from scandals throughout his career. That was until 2013 when a former ‘Survivor’ contestant appeared on the show. Todd Herzog had to be carried onto the set as he had drunk too much to stand before being interviewed about his drink and narcotics habits.

However, Todd has a very different story to tell. He claims that producers working for Dr. Phil forced him to drink bottles of drink and gave him medication to make him look even more out of control. The show denied all these claims. However, that wasn’t the last of it, as a later expose revealed other people claimed to have been through the same treatment.

The Today Show fired Matt Lauer following his inappropriate behavior

There seemed to be a time when every media personality was being accused of inappropriate behavior. Many of them appeared on talk shows to rebuild their reputation, but one stood out more than many others. Matt Lauer had been a beloved face of ‘The Today Show’ for almost two decades when people accused him of inappropriate behavior.

A female NBC employee claimed the events took place three years earlier, and it wasn’t long before more and more women stepped forward to talk about their encounters with the host. One even claimed she ended up locked in an office with Matt. It didn’t take long for Matt to lose his position with ‘The Today Show’ and for many to view him in a new light.

Rumors claim Matt Lauer was behind Ann Curry’s controversial firing from The Today Show

Back in June 2012, it was tough to get away from Ann Curry’s tearful exit from ‘The Today Show.’ The talk show is no stranger to scandals, but this one seemed to take the cake. Everything came out later when reporter Brian Stelter released his book ‘Top of the Morning.’ Here, he claimed that many of the staff working on the show mistreated Ann months before she left.

Brian even went as far as to say Ann was put through “torture” before she walked away. Reporter Joe Hagan only added to the rumors as he claims a former NBC staff member opened up about it all. Joe says that “everybody understood” Ann was given the chop because “Matt [Lauer] didn’t want her there.”

Some people think Matt Lauer and Natalie Morales were romantically involved

Matt Lauer has found himself at the center of plenty of talk show scandals. One of them came in July 2016 when reports claimed that Matt was in a relationship with his co-host Natalie Morales. The problem? They were both married. As if that wasn’t enough, the rumors started circling shortly after Natalie announced she was leaving ‘Today’ in favor of ‘Access Hollywood.’

Although Natalie and Matt denied the claims, Page Six reports the relationship was one of the reasons that Natalie was leaving the show. To top it off, the report said that Matt no longer wanted to work with Natalie after their relationship took a nosedive. It seems no one will really know if anything took place behind closed doors.

Tom Cruise ruined his reputation in an interview with Matt Lauer

If there’s one thing you might want to avoid, it’s asking Tom Cruise about Scientology. Another to add to the list? Psychiatry. Oh, and Brooke Shields. It turns out that Tom has some pretty strong views on psychiatry, especially when it comes to using medication and former alternative therapies once thought to help cure people of mental illness.

Things were already going pretty bad for Matt Lauer during his interview with the actor. Still, things got even worse when he brought up Tom’s religion. Adding Brooke Shields into the equation seemed to flip another switch in Tom as he claimed to know everything there is to know about medication and psychiatry. It’s safe to say many fans didn’t take kindly to Tom’s comments and views.

Rumors claim that Barbara Walters has fallen out of love with The View

Who would have thought that the creator of a show would eventually turn against it? Sadly, that might be the case for Barbara Walters and ‘The View.’ Barbara brought it to life in 1997 and worked as a host for 17 seasons before she hung up her belt in 2014. Things seemed to be amicable between the creator and the remaining women on the show.

That was until Page Six reported that Barbara was less than impressed with the new “uninformed child actors on the show” rather than the “smart, educated women with a strong talent” she was used to seeing. Former moderator of ‘The Talk’ Julie Chen confessed she believes every word of the report and thinks Barbara is watching her show wither away.

Rosie O’Donnell and Elisabeth Hasselback’s feud on The View caused Rosie to leave

‘The View’ has seen plenty of hosts over the years. However, many of the scandals often make it feel more like a soap opera rather than a talk show. The feud between Rosie O’Donnell and Elisabeth Hasselback is one of the most famous examples to come from the series, especially thanks to the topics they discussed at the time.

The two boiled over in 2007 after Elisabeth started talking about the war at the time. Rosie then started talking about how the media would twist things to make it look as though she was the bad person, and it seems that was enough for the comedian. It wasn’t long before Rosie walked away from the show once and for all.

Elisabeth Hasselback was eventually booted from The View after the audience spoke

Even though she managed to hang on for a few more seasons, it seemed that Elisabeth Hasselback’s time was always numbered on ‘The View.’ Elisabeth spent most of the seasons arguing with every one of her co-hosts. Sure, it made for some good viewing at home, but it also caused a lot of tension on set. To top it off, it seems that not everyone was thrilled to see Elisabeth on the show.

Producers of ‘The View’ eventually decided to end Elisabeth’s contract in 2013. An insider told Us Magazine that producers had run a secret poll among the audience and learned many thought Elisabeth was “too extreme” and political. As if that wasn’t enough, the insider also claimed people would avoid the show because of Elisabeth.

Whoopi Goldberg walked off the set of The View when Bill O’Reilly caused huge tensions

Religion, world events, and politics are usually all that’s needed to start a heated debate in most walks of life. ‘The View’ is no exception. Bill O’Reilly was invited onto the show as a guest in 2010, but things got off to a bad start as he instantly started to pick on Whoopi Goldberg.

He accused the co-host of always looking miserable whenever they met, and things only went downhill from there. Bill began to tell the women they needed to listen to him to learn. However, some of his comments were enough to flip something in Whoopi as she launched into a verbal attack to defend herself and others on the show. In the end, Whoopi walked off the set with another co-host.

Star Jones upset Barbara Walters when she suddenly announced she was leaving The View

There comes a time in many of our lives when we need to move onto our next big project. It seemed that moment had come for Star Jones in 2006 when she decided to leave ‘The View,’ but things didn’t go to plan. Reports claim that Star was supposed to go along with a pre-planned reveal that Barbara Walters had approved.

That was until Star suddenly announced she was leaving without any prompts. It’s claimed that the move didn’t sit well with any of her co-hosts on the show and still haunts many of them to this day. Star also later claimed that Barbara spoke about her affairs to create publicity and did it all “for the sake of selling a book.”

Sharon Osbourne had some pretty strong views about the rival show The View

Of course, it’s pretty standard for talk shows to go against one another. That was the case for ‘The View’ and ‘The Talk’ when Sharon Osbourne opened up about her feelings toward the hosts of the rival show. Sharon appeared on ‘The Arsenio Hall Show’ where she confessed that even though she “idolized” Barbara Walters, she had no love for the other members of ‘The View.’

The comments didn’t sit well with many fans and led Sharon to apologize a few days after the episode. She confessed that she was “trying to be funny” and actually respected the women from ‘The View.’ Sharon also tried to blame her outburst on the fact she’s “really just a loose cannon” and how she’s not a “responsible” person.

Leah Remini blames Sharon Osbourne for getting her fired from The Talk

It looked as though Leah Remini had a smooth exit from ‘The Talk.’ However, everything changed a few months after the host left the show as she took to social media to dish the dirt on what really happened when she left the show. Leah claims that Sharon was responsible for her and Holly Robinson Peete getting the boot from the series.

She wrote that her former co-host thought they were both “ghetto” and “were not funny, awkward, and didn’t know ourselves.” Leah believed that Sharon had too much power, but Sharon disagreed. She also told social media that she had “absolutely nothing to do” with either of them getting fired and doesn’t know why Leah continues to “spread this false gossip.”

Alec Baldwin was suspended from his talk show following an apparent offensive argument

Did you know that Alec Baldwin used to have his own show? That’s right; ‘Up Late with Alec Baldwin’ premiered in 2013 and looked to be a new start for the star. However, there was a problem: Alec is known for being outspoken and never hiding his feelings. That was about to become a huge problem for the host.

member of the paparazzi accused Alec of making an offensive comment toward them and caused Alec to get suspended from his own show for two weeks while the network decided what to do. Although he initially denied saying anything of the such, Alec later apologized and said it was unacceptable. Sadly for him, the damage was done as the show was canceled after just five episodes.

Tucker Carlson and Jon Stewart held a pretty heated debate on Crossfire

What happens when you create a show that’s designed to see people debate politics? The chances are there will be a few fireworks, but nothing prepared this talk show for the scandal that was about to erupt. In 2004, Jon Stewart and Tucker Carlson both appeared on ‘Crossfire.’ Here, Jon accused the other of “hurting America” and started calling Tucker and his co-host all kinds of names.

Tucker wasn’t about to take it all lying down, so he started criticizing Jon’s ‘The Daily Show’ before Jon retaliated with yet more insults and accusations. Even though Jon later spoke about the fight on his own show, he never apologized and merely stated that people didn’t want him to really express his opinion.

Leaked memos painted Steve Harvey in a new light for many

Even though many people know Steve Harvey as the face of ‘Family Feud,’ the star actually made a name for himself as a talk show host. It turns out that Steve’s career has been plagued with scandals from the very beginning. In 2015, a leaked memo painted the star in a new light.

It turns out that Steve isn’t a fan of people bothering him on the set, as he wrote that no one is allowed in his dressing room unless they are invited. Steve also told everyone they aren’t allowed to talk to him in the makeup chair “unless I ask to speak with you directly.” Things got even worse in 2017 after Steve poked fun at males from Asia on his show.

Stephen Colbert’s questionable monologue actually boosted his show’s ratings

It’s normal for talk show hosts to get invited to pretty prominent events. Stephen Colbert is one on the list as he was asked to be the featured entertainer at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner back in 2006. Just because he is used to making people laugh didn’t mean that Stephen was in for an easy night.

Most of his monologue focused on former President George W. Bush, and most of the people in the audience were less than impressed with the jokes. Apparently, Stephen was trying to channel his inner character from ‘The Colbert Report’ but failed to get everyone on his side. Amazingly, the video from the night went viral and actually caused the ratings for Stephen’s show to skyrocket.

Bob Costas grilled Vince McMahon on his show until the latter finally snapped

There are plenty of people we don’t want to take on. Vince McMahon is one of the ones on the list. After all, he is the CEO of WWE and knows how to handle himself in a fight. Although most interviews start gently before getting into the hard-hitting stuff, Bob Costas jumped right in on his talk show.

The host wanted to talk about the failure of the XFL – a then-new football league that wasn’t doing so well – in what seemed to be more of an interrogation than an interview. The league went bust just one year later. Vince quickly lost patience with the host as he accused Bob of talking over him and not letting him answer any of the questions he was asked.

A former producer tried to sue Maury for inappropriate behavior

Thousands of us tune in to ‘Maury’ to watch some drama every now and then. However, that doesn’t mean the show has been short of some drama over the years, as several have accused the host and his team of exploiting sensitive subjects. That quickly became nothing when Maury was faced with a $100 million lawsuit.

Maury and other members of his staff were accused of behaving inappropriately. A former female member of staff accused people on the show of making her watch adult material, wearing tight clothing while on set, and that Maury was having an affair with one of his producers. Even though he was accused of a lot in just a short time, Maury remained on the air throughout and still hosts his show today.

Piers Morgan stormed off Good Morning Britain over a Meghan Markle row

It’s one thing to share your opinion; it’s another to storm off the show. Piers Morgan has always been open about his feelings toward Meghan Markle, and it seemed all too much for the ‘Good Morning Britain’ star to bear following her interview with Oprah Winfrey. Meghan opened up about how she felt while living inside the Royal Family.

Piers was so angered by it all that he got into a fight with one of his co-hosts on the show as Piers announced he didn’t believe a word Meghan said and didn’t like being asked about why he continues to bother the couple. As if that wasn’t enough, Piers walked off the show and left his role on ‘Good Morning Britain’ with immediate effect.