Top 10 Kid Show Scandals That Got Actors Fired
#10: PSA PR Problem
“The Good Night Show” (2005-17)
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“The Good Night Show” was a PBS Kids Sprout program designed to motivate young children to get ready for bedtime. The cheerful host, Melanie Martinez, read stories and turned nightly chores such as brushing your teeth into games or lessons. Unfortunately, Martinez’s past work in two satirical PSAs came back to haunt her. In a video that has since made its way to YouTube, her very straightforward advice on how to avoid pregnancy shocked viewers who knew her as a children’s nighttime TV host. PBS quickly fired and replaced her. This sparked protests from parents, who claimed the toddlers watching were very unlikely to find Martinez’s spoof videos and petitioned that she be reinstated. In the end, the network held their ground.
#9: Jason Biggs’ Tweets
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (2012-17)
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Even before the animated revival series aired, the former “American Pie” star was in hot water over a series of tweets published in 2012. The tweets in question were usually leveled at conservative politicians or the Kardashians, and were often sexually graphic in nature. While these may have been relatively tame for Twitter, much of the trouble had to do with “TMNT’s” parent network, Nickelodeon. Parents were calling the network by the thousands, demanding Biggs’ firing. Biggs’ continued with the controversial tweets and, in 2014, the network couldn’t make a case for him anymore and he was let go. If viewers thought his tweets weren’t becoming of a kid show star, they must not have been familiar with the rest of his body of work.
#8: Dana Plato’s Pregnancy
“Diff’rent Strokes” (1978-86)
The young cast of this sitcom had notoriously difficult lives both on and off the show. Actress Dana Plato spent six seasons on “Diff’rent Strokes” as the upstanding and sophisticated Kimberly Drummond. One episode featured an entire plot about Kimberly’s father thinking she might be pregnant. While played for laughs on the show, Plato’s very real pregnancy would become a headache for the family show just a few seasons later. As it was deemed inappropriate for the character to become a teen mother, she was written out. She appeared only as a guest star during the last two seasons.
#7: Kermit’s Conduct
“The Muppets” (2015-16)
Few TV characters are as wholesome as Kermit the Frog. Speculation about puppeteer and Kermit voice actor Steve Whitmire’s firing in 2016 had everyone asking: what could Kermit have done? Well, Whitmire was reportedly difficult to work with on the set of the 2015 “The Muppets” revival. He would offer notes on the show’s scripts because he felt they were unsatisfactory. His actual performance as the frog was cited as another reason for his dismissal. The show’s producers felt he had turned Kermit into a bitter and sad character, unbecoming of his status as a kids show star. Whitmire would also be replaced for all future appearances of the role, which he had performed since creator Jim Henson’s death in 1990.
#6: Public Nuisance
“Bizaardvark” (2016-19)
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After going viral on the short form video platform Vine, the Disney Channel offered Jake Paul a recurring spot on their new series, “Bizaardvark.” His role as a goofy daredevil who took any challenge put in front of him was a good fit for his rambunctious persona. But fame and fortune quickly got in the way. After purchasing a home in a wealthy neighborhood, Paul earned the ire of all his neighbors. His constant parties and adolescent antics brought loud noise, fire hazards, and unwanted fans to the neighborhood in droves. There were even reports that his neighbors were suing him. Paul took his firing in stride, just like his neighbors’ many complaints.
#5: Tommy Kirk's Behind-the-Scenes Conduct
Various Disney Projects
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Much like today, in the 1950s, Disney always had a stable of young performers they could plug into any movie or TV show as needed. Tommy Kirk was one of their biggest stars. Although primarily known for movies, his caché with Disney allowed him to take numerous parts on television as well. However, he was found in a situation with an underaged boy while the actor himself was an adult. Kirk was quickly dismissed. The studio let him make one more movie before giving him the boot from all future projects. Kirk’s career never quite recovered.
#4: Underage Drinking & a DUI
“Pair of Kings” (2010-13) & “PrankStars” (2011)
This “Hannah Montana” star’s distinctive haircut precedes him. After that classic Disney sitcom wrapped production, Mitchel Musso was given two of his own shows to headline. The first was a sitcom called “Pair of Kings,” and the second was a hidden camera prank show called “PrankStars.” All was going well for the 20-year-old star until 2011. The underage Musso was pulled over and charged with a DUI. Ever the stickler for squeaky clean images of their young stars, Disney had him written out of “Pair of Kings” and canceled “PrankStars” altogether.
#3: Wire & Mail Fraud
“Fuller House” (2016-20)
When news broke about a college admissions scandal involving Hollywood stars and their children, you could almost hear millions of millennials scream “Aunt Becky?” in unison. For years, actress Lori Loughlin was known for playing Becky Katsopolis, Uncle Jesse’s onscreen wife on “Full House.” In 2019, Loughlin and her husband pled guilty to wire and mail fraud in connection with the famous college bribery scandal. Loughlin was set to serve two months in prison so, unsurprisingly, the Hallmark Channel severed ties with her. Loughlin also lost her recurring role on Netflix’s “Full House” revival.
#2: Predator Caught
“Andi Mack” (2017-19)
The set of this acclaimed Disney Channel original was rocked by a scandal involving one of its adult actors. Stoney Westmoreland, the actor who played Andi Mack’s grandfather Ham, was arrested in 2018. He was reportedly enroute to meet someone he thought was a minor, but who turned out to be law enforcement. Considering the charges, it was disturbing to know that he was working on a children’s show with young co-stars. Westmoreland was promptly fired and his character was edited out of the remaining episodes he had filmed before his arrest.
#1: Tinky Winky Goes Tubby Bye-Bye
“The Teletubbies” (1997-2008; 2015-18)
The highly popular, if slightly irritating British kid show featured four actors in costume speaking gibberish and frolicking in a pastoral landscape. American televangelist Jerry Falwell took particular umbridge, particularly against the purple Teletubby, Tinky Winky. Falwell insisted the character was a subversive gay character with nefarious purposes. Comedian Dave Thompson, the original Tinky Winky actor, was fired not long after, leaving many to wonder if it was because of these criticisms. Thompson would go on to say he was only told that his “interpretation of the role was not accepted”. Seventy episodes into the show’s run, he was replaced by actor Simon Shelton.
