Top 20 Controversial TV Moments of the 2000s

It’s never easy saying goodbye to a beloved show. But, it’s especially difficult when said show ends on a question mark instead of an exclamation point. After six seasons of nail biting mob drama, “The Sopranos” ends with Tony quietly sitting in a diner, and then… nothing. It’s a bafflingly anticlimactic finale, and one that left more than a few viewers scratching their heads. While it kicked up plenty of dust when it originally aired, that contention has slightly dimmed over the years. Nowadays, it’s rightfully considered one of the greatest series finales of all time.

It’s a sad reality of these kinds of shows that the best singer doesn’t necessarily win. Case-in-point, Jennifer Hudson. Despite unanimous praise from the judges, she came up short in the nationwide vote and got knocked out in the final seven. The surprise elimination sparked a massive discussion about the role race plays in an audience-nominated competition. Especially considering Hudson was in the bottom three with two other African American females, which may have unfairly split their supporters. The outrage came too late for her “American Idol” prospects, but Hudson could still rest easy knowing she had plenty of fans going to bat for her.

After a fouled layup shot, Piston player Ben Wallace took his anger out on Pacer forward Ron Artest. A few shoves later, and there was a full-on civil war between the teams. Keep in mind - this all happened live on TV. Later, While Artest cooled off at the scorer’s table, a stray fan threw a drink at him. Furious, Artest dove into the crowd to retaliate. The issue? He grabbed the wrong fan. More chaos ensued, and in the end, police showed up and started handing out suspensions and bans like candy. Malice at the palace is cited as the most infamous brawl in NBA history, and we understand why.

When you have twenty five different women competing to go on a date with a rock star, you’re bound to get some that are willing to go further than others. Bret Michaels, however, didn’t see it that way. The problem started when he took his contestants to a strip club to help loosen them up. One of the women, Beverly, was visibly uncomfortable. But, that didn’t stop Michaels from pressuring her onstage, and later calling her a buzzkill. Michaels’ demeaning treatment of Beverly didn’t sit well with some viewers, many of whom disavowed the program entirely. Surprising no one, Beverly didn’t end up winning.

Before it became a seminal example of sitcom hilarity, “The Office” had to undergo a racial sensitivity seminar. Three guesses who’s to blame. Even though Michael’s blatant insensitivity is part of the joke, the sheer quantity of racial quips proved to be too much for certain viewers and networks. Particularly because, at that point, “The Office” was still an untested commodity. “Diversity Day” was only the series’ second episode ever. Retroactive reviews have been much kinder to the satiric gags. But still, it’s hard to forget the installment that almost put “The Office” out of business before it became, well, “The Office.”

In perhaps one of the most iconic talk show moments of all time, Tom Cruise graces Oprah’s stage with more than a few scripted bullet points. He giggles all over the place, and can barely keep his seat. Once Cruise mentions his then-girlfriend, Katie Holmes, he takes it a step further, and starts shouting from atop Oprah’s couch. The news cycle couldn’t get enough of it. Was he on something? Did he get good news? Or was Cruise really just that happy? Viewers scanned the clip for any kind of context or justification for such an overzealous outburst, but there simply wasn’t one. This is one legendary mystery that may never be solved.

It’s fittingly ironic that Bill Maher dug his own political grave on a show literally called “Politically Incorrect.” While the program never shied away from some rough-and-tumble debate, Maher used the platform to make some very aggressive comments about the perpetrators of 9/11. Since the episode aired just a month after the tragedy, the wounds were still way too fresh. Viewers, affiliates, and advertisers jumped ship in droves. Less than a year later, the political talk show was canceled altogether. ABC claims the controversy had nothing to do with it, but the timeline doesn’t lie.

It’s only natural to be disappointed when you or someone you love doesn’t win an award. But, to say Kanye West took it too far would be an understatement. When Taylor Swift beat out Beyoncé for Best Female Video at the 2009 VMA’s, West decided to voice his displeasure by crashing the singer’s acceptance speech. The audience’s boos sum up the public reaction pretty well. Thankfully, it was all water under the bridge for the female stars. After Beyoncé won Video of the Year later in the night, she called Swift back onstage to finish her speech. At least these two know how to keep it classy.

In 2009, VH1 launched a new reality show following Megan Hauserman’s search for a wealthy suitor. Everything seemed to be going well. That is, until one of the contestants was charged with murdering his wife. Since the suspect made it extremely far into the competition, VH1 had no choice but to completely bury “Megan Wants a Millionaire” after just three episodes. Not only that, they proceeded to remove all mentions of the series from their website, programming schedule, and any streaming service. Based on the intense public scrutiny, something tells us becoming a millionaire wasn’t the top of anyone’s priority list, anyways.

This is way more than your average “very special episode” of TV. “Degrassi’s” “Accidents Will Happen” two-parter features high-schooler Manny discovering she’s pregnant, and eventually deciding to go through with an abortion. That’s a heavy topic for any kind of series. So, as you can imagine, there was a lot of fuss over whether Manny’s plight was appropriate for “Degrassi’s” teenage audience. The hubbub meant “Accidents Will Happen” didn’t air in the United States until 2006, two years after its original Canadian debut. Even so, reception was generally positive, with many outlets claiming the controversy reinforced why these episodes were so important.

The kiss between Madonna, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera is now the stuff of TV legend. The image of Madonna and Britney locking lips in particular has become an iconic piece of entertainment history, although it caused a bit of a stir at the time. It was just taboo and explicit enough to get certain groups up in arms, and instantly became the talking point of the 2003 MTV VMAs. Nowadays, such a kiss might barely register on Twitter. But at the time, this was television history in the making, and it generated buzz and headlines the world over.

For a while, it was the lost episode of “Family Guy.” In “When You Wish Upon a Weinstein”, Peter tries to convert Chris to Judaism, as he considers Jews are smart and successful with money. Fox did not like this particular storyline, as they thought it was anti-Semitic, and refused to air the episode on television. It didn’t surface until 2003, when it was included on the season three DVD. It’s honestly pretty tame stuff compared to modern “Family Guy” standards, and it just goes to show you how bold television has gotten since the early 2000s. After the DVD release, the episode was finally broadcast on Adult Swim in 2003, with a Fox broadcast to follow the next year.

Set in a high school that’s secretly a military experiment, “Clone High” is certainly a . . . unique show. The school is populated by young clones of various historical figures, including Abraham Lincoln, Joan of Arc, JFK and Mahatma Gandhi. In the show, Gandhi is portrayed as a hyperactive party animal known for his outrageous behavior and stunts. This wildly inaccurate depiction of Gandhi caused a massive uproar in India, resulting in hundreds of protesters mounting a hunger strike and threatening to withdraw MTV’s broadcasting license. The network was quick to apologize, and “Clone High” was cancelled soon afterwards. The show’s co-creator, Christopher Miller, stated that he pitched a second season without Gandhi, but the idea was rejected.

This infamous reality show documented sting operations to apprehend pedophiles. One of the men caught in the web was Louis Conradt, a district attorney from Texas. Conradt was allegedly caught soliciting nude photographs from someone posing as a 13-year-old boy. A SWAT stormed his house, but as they entered, Conradt committed suicide via gunshot. This prompted a scathing indictment in Esquire, which criticized the show for shoddy detective work and legal violations, like filming on private property without a warrant and manipulating law enforcement. The show’s legal and journalistic integrity were hotly debated and criticized, and Conradt’s sister sued NBC Universal for emotional distress and civil rights claims.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s animated sitcom has always courted controversy. Just look at the episode “Trapped in the Closet”, a scathing attack on Scientology. It’s been reported that Isaac Hayes, who voiced Chef, was pressured into quitting the show by his Scientologist associates. The media also got involved, claiming that Tom Cruise prevented a rebroadcast of the episode - though both Cruise and his representatives denied this. Regardless, it generated enormous interest in the episode, and Trey Parker has attributed the Tom Cruise controversy for making “South Park” even more popular. A few weeks later, they aired an episode depicting a statue of the Virgin Mary bleeding on its congregation, and the whole controversy train started up again.

“SNL” has aired a few bombs in its lifetime, but nothing compares to the infamous Ashlee Simpson goof of October 2004. As she was starting her song “Autobiography”, “Pieces of Me” started playing instead, revealing that Simpson had been lip-synching . . . which is a big no-no for performers on “Saturday Night Live.” Rather than rolling with the mistake, Simpson awkwardly danced off stage. She later said she’d decided to lip-sync due to acid reflux. The debacle tarnished her career, and she was subsequently booed at the Orange Bowl the following January.

By 2002, “The Simpsons” had already been losing steam, but the episode “Blame It on Lisa” certainly didn’t help its reputation. In the episode, the Simpsons travel to Rio so Lisa can meet up with an old correspondent. The episode spawned a hostile reaction from Brazilians, who noted its many clichés, stereotypes, and misrepresentations of their culture. For example, the citizens have Spanish accents and love the conga and macarena, none of which is associated with Brazil. The episode also portrayed the Rio as a violent, rat-infested slum. The perception was so bad that the tourist board of Rio considering suing Fox but were eventually discouraged due to the First Amendment’s protection of parody..

On October 15, 2009, a giant helium balloon was released by Richard and Mayumi Heene, who subsequently claimed that their son Falcon was trapped inside it. The balloon reached 7,000 feet, rescue operations were launched, and Falcon became a media sensation. However, things took a fishy turn when authorities found Falcon hiding in the attic of the Heene house. Wolf Blitzer then interviewed the family, and Falcon indirectly admitted that the entire thing was a hoax perpetrated for media attention. Following an official investigation, the county sheriff concluded that it was indeed a hoax, and both Richard and Mayumi were given jail time.

Kanye West has always been a lightning rod of controversy, a character trait that’s been going strong since at least 2005. Everyone knows about the infamous Taylor Swift debacle, but perhaps even more polarizing were his comments about George Bush during “A Concert for Hurricane Relief”. Held on September 2, 2005, the benefit concert was held to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Going off script, West proclaimed that then-president George Bush “doesn’t care about black people,” causing an immediate camera cut and awkward glances from both Mike Myers and Chris Tucker. The public reaction was decidedly mixed. Bush later called it the “one of the most disgusting moments [of his] presidency.”

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Tyra Banks Asks Models to Portray Other Races, “America's Next Top Model” (2003-18)
No One Liked This Modeling Assignment

Letting Kids Run Amok, “Kid Nation” (2007)
Who Thought a Reality Competition About Kids Was a Good Idea?

Laser Pointer Panic, “Are You Hot?: The Search for America's Sexiest People” (2003)
Lorenzo Lamas Pointed Out a Contestant’s Flaws With a Laser Pointer. Really.

The Slap Heard ‘Round the World, “The Real World” (1992-2017; 2019)
This Franchise Hasn’t Been the Same Since

When it comes to TV controversies, nothing beats Nipplegate! During the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show in 2004, Justin Timberlake tore away part of Janet’s costume, revealing for a brief instant her breast and nipple-shield. It was later blamed on a “wardrobe malfunction”. The media went absolutely nuts. Viacom blacklisted Jackson’s music, the FCC fined CBS over half a million dollars, and there was a broad crackdown on sexual content on TV. Some argued that the incident represented America’s declining morality, while others countered that the public reaction was overblown and puritanical, and demonstrated sexual double standards. It was an epic controversy that raged across the nation. All over a less-than-one-second shot of a nipple.

What’s the craziest thing you saw on TV in the 2000s? Let us know if we missed it in the comments below!