5 talk show hosts who were fired for controversial reasons

These celebrities didn't get a chance to leave on good terms.
The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson
The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson / Frederick M. Brown/GettyImages
facebooktwitterreddit

Talk shows are a fickle business. There have been hundreds of talk shows throughout the history of television, and only a select few connect on such a profound level that they stick around. It's almost unheard of to go more than a few years on the air, let alone pull a Johnny Carson or David Letterman and stick around for decades.

The longevity guys will be saved for another list, though. This list is for the celebrities who didn't get a chance to get settled in their talk show gigs, or even leave on their own terms. We're talking about the controversial ones, the ones who were undone by personal scandals and off-screen antics. Let's begin, shall we?

Alec Baldwin (Up Late with Alec Baldwin)

Alec Baldwin, David Letterman, Ed Sullivan
Celebrities Visit "Late Show With David Letterman" - April 11, 2011 / Jeffrey Ufberg/GettyImages

Alec Baldwin has become so mired in controversy in recent years that it's bizarre to conceive of a time when he was considered a viable talk show host. That's exactly what happened, though, when the Emmy winner was given the MSNBC show Up Late with Alec Baldwin in 2013.

The show was canceled after only two weeks, due to a TMZ video in which Baldwin was heard using a homophobic slur. A terrible look by any measure, but somehow quaint in comparison to the issues that the actor has become embroiled in since.

Read More: All 4 late night shows ranked from worst to best

George Lopez (Lopez Tonight)

George Lopez
George Lopez / Frazer Harrison/GettyImages

This one is interesting because the controversy didn't stem from anything in George Lopez's personal life. Instead, it was the time slot changes that TBS decided to implement when Conan O'Brien joined the network with his own show.

Lopez felt as though he was squeezed out of his time slot, and was informed that Lopez Tonight was being canceled two days before it was officially announced in 2011. He told The Huffington Post that he felt the network was essentially putting their eggs in the Conan basket, and were disinterested in the "demographic" that Lopez catered to.

Phil Donahue (Donahue)

Phil Donahue
Portrait Of Phil Donahue / Michel Delsol/GettyImages

Phil Donahue is talk show legend. He was the first host to implement audience interaction, and it proved to be effective, as it ran from 1967 to 1996. Donahue followed his impressive tenure with another self-titled show for MSNBC in the early 2000s.

That show, however, was cancelled after less than a year. No reason was given at the time, but an internal memo at MSNBC leaked online, and reportedly voiced concern over Donahue's opposition to the Iraq War. If the memo is to believed (and most believe it), then the host's politics ultimately cost him a job.

Read More: All 4 Late Late Show hosts, ranked from worst to best

Leah Remini (The Talk)

Leah Remini
International Documentary Association's 35th Annual IDA Documentary Awards / Michael Tran/GettyImages

We could have gone one of two directions here. Sharon Osborne was fired from The Talk for defending controversial comments made by her friend Piers Morgan. Leah Remini's firing was a bit more speculative. She was let go from the show in 2012, but later claimed that it was at the urging of veteran panelist, Sharon Osborne (funny the way things work).

Remini went on a Twitter want accusing Osborne of elitist behavior on The Talk. She alleged that the wife of famous rock star Ozzy Osborne considered both her and Holly Robinson-Peete to be "ghetto" in comparison to the rest of The Talk panel. If true, karma obviously came back around for Osborne.

Matt Lauer (The Today Show)

Matt Lauer
Selena Gomez Performs On NBC's "Today" / James Devaney/GettyImages

Arguably the most infamous talk show firing of the 21st century. Matt Lauer was the face of The Today Show for two decades, but his legacy was undone in an instant when he was accused of misconduct by a company employee. Dozens more came forward with similar accusations.

NBC quickly fired Lauer in 2017, in an effort to distance themselves from the controversy. It was later speculated that the network was aware of Lauer's misbehavior behind the scenes, but there has not been evidence to support this.

Next. Tonight Show hosts, ranked. Every Tonight Show host, ranked. dark