30 most shocking late night scandals

12. Queer Nation heckles Arsenio Hall during the show

Arsenio Hall would have an interesting exchange with some hecklers during a 1991 episode of The Arsenio Hall Show. This would be the occasion when Queer Nation, an LGBTQ activist organization, attended as part of the audience. They would make their presence known soon enough into the show by shouting directly at Arsenio himself.

In the back row of the studio audience, three or four members of Queer Nation were sitting in different spots. While Hall was delivering his opening monologue, the Queer Nation members shouted out some questions for him. They wanted to know why Hall wasn’t booking any homosexual guests for his show.

At first, Hall would reply that since most homosexuals are in the closet, it’s hard for him to know who’s gay and who isn’t. But the group would press him further, asking why he hadn’t booked filmmaker Gus Van Sant or actor Harvey Fierstein. Hall continued to defend himself, pointing out Elton John had been on the show, and that he’ll put anyone on the show if they’re doing something interesting. Still, the exchange was pretty darn heated, lasting for several minutes.

For what it’s worth, Fierstein did appear on the show as a guest some time later.