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Some stars shine brightest on screen, but behind the scenes, the stories can get messy. Join us as we look at the TV actors and personalities who’ve been accused of making life difficult for cast and crew, from tense set feuds to headline-grabbing exits. Which of these names surprised you most? Let us know in the comments below!
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00:00These are deeper questions than I can answer.
00:03I'm sure you can figure it out.
00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're looking at the stars who have allegedly given crew
00:10or cast members a hard time on set or behind the scenes.
00:14It's not going to be easy for you.
00:16Why is it not going to be easy?
00:19You're not bright enough.
00:22Thomas Gibson
00:23After over a decade leading criminal minds,
00:27Gibson's run on the hit procedural came to an abrupt end in 2016.
00:31The actor was fired following an internal investigation
00:35into an alleged altercation with writer-producer Virgil Williams.
00:39The actor, who is an original cast member on the crime drama,
00:42has been fired from the CBS series following an on-set altercation
00:47where he allegedly kicked a writer.
00:49Gibson later disputed that characterization,
00:52saying that the disagreement stemmed from creative differences
00:56and that any physical contact was accidental.
00:59According to a Variety report,
01:01the studios also considered earlier workplace incidents.
01:04This included a report confrontation with an assistant director in 2010
01:09that resulted in anger management counseling.
01:12While some colleagues, like Shamar Moore,
01:14reportedly had a difficult relationship with him,
01:17others defended him as a dedicated professional.
01:20Shamar posted, then deleted that vid to Instagram over the weekend,
01:24just days after his former co-star was let go from Criminal Minds.
01:29Either way, Hotch was quickly written out of the series
01:31and as of 2026 has yet to return.
01:34It was 20 years ago, last month,
01:36that we shot the pilot of Criminal Minds
01:38and who, I think none of us would have predicted
01:41that we were still talking about it
01:42or that it would still be on the air or anything like that.
01:45So, but yes, I'm absolutely available.
01:48David Caruso
01:49Caruso's difficult reputation largely stems from his infamous NYPD Blue exit.
01:55Reporters allege the actor clashed with producers over salary and creative issues,
02:01walking away after just one season for a movie career.
02:04Tell Fancy, I'll clean out the locker later, okay?
02:09In the years since, producer Stephen Bochko and creator David Milch
02:13both publicly described Caruso as difficult to work with,
02:16with Bochko's memoir portraying him as moody and combative on set.
02:21Caruso has acknowledged he could lose his temper,
02:23but has pointed to the intense demands of TV production as the source of the conflicts.
02:28You know, he was kind of self-inflicted,
02:30so I used to always be like,
02:32what's wrong?
02:32Why are you so upset?
02:34You know, you're like,
02:34they made you the biggest star on TV.
02:36And he was like, you know,
02:38you know, I used to say he's misunderstood.
02:39His reputation followed him to CSI Miami,
02:43where anonymous reports again alleged difficult behavior.
02:47However, those claims were never publicly substantiated,
02:51allowing him 10 years of dramatic poses and painfully on-the-nose one-liners.
02:55Your offer is meaningless now, just like you.
03:01Alec Baldwin
03:02Even before Rust permanently altered his public perception,
03:07Baldwin had a reputation on 30 Rock.
03:09His Emmy-winning performance earned widespread acclaim,
03:12but several people involved with the sitcom
03:15have described him as a challenging collaborator during its early years.
03:18Is Alec really leaving 30 Rock, or is he just being dramatic?
03:23In Mike Rowe's The 30 Rock Book,
03:25director Paul Figg called Baldwin the least fun cast member to direct,
03:29while editor Doug Abel recalled the actor allegedly threatening director Adam Bernstein
03:35during a disagreement on set.
03:37Matthew Broderick, who guest starred on the series,
03:39also remembered Baldwin complaining bitterly about doing the show.
03:43I have to get back to New York, and this is my only chance.
03:46Resignation denied.
03:47You can't deny my resignation.
03:48Other contributors recalled Baldwin repeatedly considering leaving the series
03:53before eventually embracing it.
03:55Baldwin has acknowledged struggling with his temper over the years,
03:58and later called 30 Rock the best job of his career.
04:02And we were only the third show in Emmy history,
04:05other than All in the Family and the Dick Mandyke show,
04:09where the two principal leads and the show all won in the same year.
04:12We're only the third show in history where that happened.
04:15Alyssa Milano
04:15Looks like there wasn't a power of three on set after all.
04:20Alyssa Milano's behind-the-scenes image has been shaped by the long-running feud surrounding Charmed.
04:25We were all friends, and at times we weren't.
04:28So, that's, yeah.
04:29On Shannon Doherty's Let's Be Clear podcast,
04:32Doherty and Holly Marie Combs alleged that producers told them Milano threatened legal action unless changes were made.
04:39According to reports, Alyssa finally threatened to quit unless Shannon disappeared.
04:44Where do you get the b****** with Alyssa Milano to take on Shannon Doherty?
04:47You know something's gonna go down.
04:49Doherty would exit the series after Charmed's third season.
04:53Rose McGowan also publicly criticized Milano, calling her toxic AF on Twitter.
04:58She added,
05:06Milano has consistently denied having the power to get Doherty fired, though she has acknowledged contributing to the tension.
05:14Speaking at Megacon in 2024, she apologized for whatever part she played in the conflict,
05:20saying she was heartbroken that the show's legacy continues to be overshadowed by a decades-old feud.
05:25I was in competition, rather than it being that sisterhood that the show is so much about.
05:31And I have some guilt about my part in that.
05:35Juliana Margulies
05:36Margulies has long been linked to the alleged feud that overshadowed The Good Wife.
05:41Rumors intensified after Margulies and co-star Archie Punjabi stopped sharing scenes during the show's later seasons,
05:48with their final confrontation ultimately filmed separately.
05:52It's nice not to care.
05:56It made me miss just sitting in a bar, drinking, with you.
06:02Speaking at the 2015 New Yorker Festival,
06:05Margulies attributed the unusual filming arrangement to scheduling and creative decisions.
06:10But Punjabi appeared to dispute that explanation on Twitter,
06:14saying she had been in New York and was available to shoot.
06:16I have to go.
06:19I'll never see you again?
06:21I don't think so.
06:22The mystery only fueled years of speculation,
06:25with co-star Alan Cumming later joking,
06:28good luck with that, when asked about a reunion.
06:31Margulies was later expected to reprise Alicia Florek on The Good Flight for a guest spot,
06:36but told Deadline that CBS wouldn't meet her salary request.
06:39There's no animosity, it's principle.
06:43Right.
06:43And there's a handful of us actresses,
06:46um, that have been doing this for a while,
06:48that have the ability to walk away.
06:51Terry Hatcher
06:52No one wants to damage that,
06:54and, um, you know, that'll be our job,
06:57is to come forward from this and figure out how to repair damage.
07:02Reports of friction between Terry Hatcher and her castmates have spanned multiple shows.
07:08Speaking on Michael Rosenbaum's Inside of You podcast,
07:11Lois and Clark co-star Dean Cain described working with Hatcher
07:15as sometimes the greatest thing in the world,
07:17and sometimes a lot more difficult,
07:19explaining that their different approaches to filming often created problems.
07:23There were times where I felt like,
07:25I don't think she wants to go home,
07:27because she's worried about this one little thing
07:29that has nothing to do with what we're doing,
07:31and that's slowing us down for two and a half hours.
07:34Years later, similar stories emerged during Desperate Housewives.
07:38During Mark Cherry's testimony in Nicolette Sheridan's wrongful termination lawsuit,
07:43Cherry recalled breaking up an argument between Sheridan and Hatcher,
07:47testifying that Sheridan later described Hatcher as,
07:50quote,
07:50the meanest woman in the world.
07:52Rumors of cast tensions only intensified
07:55when allegedly every principal actress except Hatcher
07:58assigned Eva Longoria's farewell gift to the crew.
08:01Another co-worker who was bullying you.
08:04Who was the co-worker,
08:06and how were you being bullied?
08:09I plead the fail!
08:11Lea Michele
08:11Drama between her and co-star Lea Michele.
08:15You felt like she was unprofessional.
08:17Definitely.
08:17On the set.
08:18Definitely.
08:18This Glee performer came under fire in 2020 after a viral Twitter incident.
08:23The controversy began after former Glee co-star Samantha Marie Ware accused Michelle
08:28of making her experience a living hell through traumatic microaggressions on set.
08:34I believe you told everyone that if you had the opportunity,
08:37you would shit in my wig,
08:39among other traumatic microaggressions that made me question a career in Hollywood.
08:44Ware's comments prompted several other former cast members to speak out,
08:48including Heather Morris and Amber Riley.
08:51Glee extras also shared stories with entertainment outlets.
08:54Michele later issued a statement on Instagram apologizing for any pain she had caused.
08:59It's a basic tenet of human behavior,
09:02to want to be loved and to want to be understood.
09:05Will there ever be a Naya and Lea season of feud?
09:08I mean, Naya has confirmed that there was some tension on set.
09:12The actress claimed she didn't remember the specific incidents,
09:15but accepted responsibility for how her behavior had affected others.
09:19The backlash hasn't stemmed down in the ensuing years either,
09:22with Michelle frequently on the receiving end of further scrutiny and intense rumors.
09:27The actress added,
09:29I apologize for my behavior and for any pain which I have caused.
09:33James Corden
09:33James Corden's friendly on-screen persona has constantly been challenged
09:38by his supposedly not-so-nice behavior behind the scenes.
09:42Speaking on his YouTube channel,
09:44TV director Craig Duncan alleged that Corden threw a tantrum on set
09:48while filming A League of Their Own,
09:50calling him the most difficult and obnoxious presenter I have ever worked with.
09:54So, cheers James, you got your way, well done.
09:58Well done for treading all over my toes.
10:00I don't care, I'll get paid at the end of the day,
10:02and I hope I never ever work with you again.
10:04On the Narstie Show, Mel B had some colorful words for Corden,
10:09saying he hasn't been very nice with how he treats others.
10:12Whether it be production, camera guys, sound, lighting,
10:17we all work for the same thing, so you should always be nice.
10:20In a since-deleted Twitter post,
10:22writer Jack Allison alleged Corden attended a Writers Guild meeting
10:26without his own writing staff
10:28to advocate for a lower-paid entry-level writing position.
10:31However, Corden refuted Allison's claims in a tweet of his own,
10:35calling them untrue.
10:37Can't you get a letter from CBS saying that you were not fired,
10:41that you left on your own free will?
10:44They don't know what CBS is.
10:46Charlie Sheen.
10:48There's never a dull day when it comes to Charlie.
10:50His public feud with Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre
10:54spiraled through a string of winning interviews and online rants,
10:57both before and after he was fired from the show.
11:00I expose people to magic.
11:02I expose them to something they're never otherwise going to see
11:04in their boring, normal lives, and I gave that to them.
11:07I may forget about them tomorrow,
11:08but they'll live with that memory for the rest of their lives,
11:10and that's a gift, man.
11:11On Anchor Management,
11:12Deadline reported that co-star Selma Blair exited the sitcom
11:16after Sheen complained she had criticized his work ethic.
11:19However, Sheen has denied having her fired.
11:22It took a couple days.
11:22He said he wasn't going to show up,
11:24and next thing you know,
11:25the big people over there are putting out a statement saying
11:29Selma Blair is no longer with anger management.
11:32She has been let go.
11:34Sheen also engaged in a public war of words
11:37with former Two and a Half Men guest star Jenny McCarthy,
11:40with a pair exchanging insults in separate interviews.
11:43The actor has since been vocal about regretting his past behavior,
11:47but it'll be a while before tales of his chaotic days truly subside.
11:51Jenny and Selma you have.
11:53Oh, uh, I would, I would, I would, yeah,
11:57I would like to kind of mash those two up together
11:59and just kind of just do that,
12:01just kick them to the curb, you know?
12:02They, they, they, they deserve each other.
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12:39Chevy Chase.
12:40Incidents surrounding the comedian have gone on for as long as his career.
12:44His backstage confrontation with Bill Murray
12:47remains one of the SNL's most infamous feuds.
12:50And I immediately got into a fight stance,
12:52which is, I boxed a lot and, you know, I didn't,
12:55so I had no problem with fights.
12:57Um, I was ready to level him
12:59and he was probably ready to, uh, to scratch me up.
13:01Other former SNL cast members
13:03don't exactly have the most glowing words for Chase either.
13:07Will Ferrell called him the worst host in history.
13:09Pete Davidson claimed he hates Chase,
13:12calling him a genuinely bad person on the Howard Stern show.
13:16Tensions also arose on Community.
13:18On his Harmontown podcast,
13:20creator Dan Harmon detailed his clashes with Chase,
13:24while Joe McHale and Yvette Nicole Brown
13:26describes the difficult atmosphere surrounding the actor.
13:29Did you ever talk to him?
13:30Like, uh, like...
13:31I wish, when I would try, he would just try to fight me.
13:33Even Marina Zinovich,
13:35director of the documentary exploring his life,
13:37singled Chase out as the rudest person
13:39she's ever interviewed in a Variety interview.
13:49Can you think of any other TV stars
13:51with a difficult reputation?
13:53Let us know in the comments.
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