In 2005, Thomas Gibson landed a major role in the CBS series, Criminal Minds, as Supervisory Special Agent Aaron “Hotch” Hotchner, the unit chief of the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) team. Nine successful filming years later though, Thomas was temporally dismissed from the show after clashing horns with a writer/producer on-set. He later apologized for his actions. Before that incident, Gibson also had a dispute with an assistant director and went through an anger-management counseling program.
One day after the incident, ABC Studios and CBS Television Studios released a statement making it known that Thomas Gibson’s contract with the show was cut short. The proclamation featured details that the exit plot of the character, Aaron Hotchner, in the series would be determined in the near future.
Phil Robertson, Duck Dynasty
Phil Robertson had a passion for duck hunting and a strong distaste for the current and widely used state of duck calls. For that reason, he started testing a kind of call that would replicate actual duck sounds and developed his very own first “Duck Commander” call in 1972. His invention would, later on, grow into a multimillion-dollar business. Phil and his family were shown live on the A&E reality television series, Duck Dynasty, which was broadcast for 15 years until 2017.
During a GQ interview, however, Phil Robertson was recorded making anti-gay comments, which forced A&E to suspend his participation in the show. His avid viewers and supporters though, rallied to Phil’s side, so he was ultimately permitted to come back on the series. Naturally, the Duck Dynasty star remained unapologetic regarding his offensive remarks.
Paula Deen, Several Food Network Shows
Paula Deen was introduced to The Food Network in 1999 after her friend, Erin Lewis, introduced her to Gordon Elliott, who eventually recommended her to an agent. Later on, Paula would secure a couple of notable shows from her work on The Food Network: Paula's Party and Paula's Best Dishes which was aired in 2006 and 2008 accordingly.
The American TV personality and notable cooking show host was axed from The Food Network after admitting to having used racist insults during her time with the show. She managed to get back on track with her career after the unfortunate event though, securing a performance on Dancing with the Stars, creating a personal syndicated show and constantly being featured on Evine, a home-shopping network.
Ann Curry, Today
Ann Curry has worked as a reporter for more than 3 decades, mainly covering human suffering related news in war torn areas, and those devastated by natural calamities. The American journalist has covered numerous different wars in countries like Syria, Darfur, Congo, the Central African Republic, Kosovo, Lebanon, Israel, Afghanistan and Iraq. When it came to disasters, she reported many of them, like the tsunamis in Southeast Asia and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, where her petition through Twitter topped Twitter's 'most powerful' list. Her social media campaign was also applauded for helping speed up the arrival of humanitarian planes.
Ann Curry was hired as both the national and international correspondent-anchor for NBC News and the co-anchor for the Today show but made a tearful good-bye in 2012. Apparently, her chemistry with co-anchor Matt Lauer wasn’t that great, and there was a rumor flying around that there was a plan to get Curry out of the show, called “Operation Bambi”. In January 13, 2015, it was officially declared that Ann Curry would be exiting NBC News following almost 25 years of service. Soon after, she developed her own multi-platform media startup. Today, Curry still performs major news interviews on networks, most recently landing an exclusive interview with Iranian Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif, regarding the Iran nuclear talks.
Star Jones, The View
Starting from 1986 towards 1991, Star Jones worked as a prosecutor for the Kings County District Attorney's Office, in Brooklyn, New York, and in 1992 was promoted to the senior assistant district attorney. Jones was then enlisted by Court TV as an analyst for the William Kennedy Smith rape trial and worked for a number of years as a legal correspondent for NBC's Today and NBC Nightly News. Two years later, she landed her personal court show, Jones & Jury, which simulated The People's Court.
Star Jones became a celebrity when she co-hosted the ABC morning talk show, The View, starting from 1997 to 2006. Supposedly, Barbara Walters became “blindsided” by Jones's declaration about her departure to the talk show, prompting Walters to advance Jone’s exit. As it appeared, Jones was accepting gifts for her wedding as a trade for a mention on the show. She stated that ABC approved her actions, but the network refuted her claim. The TV host made a comeback to The View in 2012 and has appeared various times on the show since then.