An actress who expresses a conservative viewpoint in liberal Hollywood. A teacher suspended for daring to assume a boy in her class goes by the pronoun “he.” A chef accused of cultural appropriation for cooking an ethnic dish. There’s no doubt that cancel culture – the attempt to ruin someone’s personal or professional life due to a perceived insult or insensitivity – is only getting worse.

In a woke world obsessed with meaningless microaggressions, it’s amazing how many macroaggressions continue to go largely unpunished. In fact, the list is so lengthy that a sub-list could be created for animal-related offences alone. So we made one.

Here are ten items that, hopefully, will wake up the woke to focus on something more important than playing purity police online.

Top 10 Great Scientists Who Would Be #Cancelled Today

10 Polar Bear Killings

Don’t polar bears have enough to worry about without jackass trophy hunters shooting them? With the Arctic sea ice they rely upon for hunting, resting, mating and dens rapidly diminishing due to climate change, it is estimated that less than 25,000 are left in the wild. Polar bears’ plight led to the US including them on its Endangered Species List in 2008 – and things have only grown worse since then.

Considering this, the idea that people are still killing polar bears for sport and money is disturbing to say the least. Even more insane is WHERE this practice is still legal; while one might expect it of Russia – a country whose macho dictator never found a barechested photo-op he didn’t like – the country to visit to senselessly slaughter a polar bear is Canada. Ah, Canada: clean air, universal healthcare and polar bear murder.

Why hunt them? Because killing a polar bear can make one not only a sick asshole but a RICH sick asshole. Polar bear skins can fetch tens of thousands of dollars; like hunting, such sales also are somehow still legal.

Per Freedom of Information divulgences, nearly 9,000 polar bears were killed by hunters in the Arctic between 2007 and 2016. More than 50,000 polar bears have been killed since 1960 – twice as many as today’s remaining population.

9 Seal Beatings

All reputations for being polite and generous aside, those Canadians are a bloodthirsty lot.

Canada’s annual commercial seal hunt is the largest slaughter of marine mammals on the planet. The hunt’s primary target is the harp seal, which might be the most adorable animal on Earth. Even more disgustingly, some 97% of the harp seals slaughtered are pups less than three months old. Weapons of choice include wooden clubs, hakapiks (large ice-pick-like clubs) and guns.

The hunts occur predominantly on ice floes in two regions, both off Canada’s East Coast: the Gulf of St. Lawrence, west of Newfoundland and east of the Magdalen Islands; and an area called the “Front,” northeast of Newfoundland. The mass killings come in addition to the harp seal population’s increasing vulnerability to diminishing sea ice.

The perverse practice is typically undertaken by local fishermen, who sell the seals’ fur and oils to supplement their income. Approximately 6,000 fishermen participate each year. The Humane Society estimates that more than ONE MILLION seals have been clubbed, stabbed and shot to death in the last FIVE YEARS.

The understandable international backlash has prompted a widespread and well-funded disinformation campaign by the Canadian government. What’s next, Canada? Drowning baby unicorns perhaps?

8 Sea Turtle Eyeglass Frames

“Comfort and refinement go hand in hand,” the website of France-based manufacturer Maison Bonnet reads. Matching its suspect morals with even more suspect English, it continues: “They provide the harmony between the model and the individual face, the true luxury of handmade glasses. Traditional handcrafting is essential. Only a firm hand can do justice to a one-off item.”

Harmony? Justice? I’m not sure the sea turtle butchered to make the spectacles frames would think so. An alarming example of how accepted this practice still is, Maison Bonnet goes on to namedrop famous customers, including two French Presidents: Francois Mitterrand and, more recently, Jacques Chirac.

The lingering legality of making products from sea turtle shells in certain areas has, unsurprisingly, spurned illicit poaching in other places. For example, last year, it was reported that traffickers were capturing and shipping thousands of sea turtles from Florida to Asia and other markets, where some can fetch up to $10,000. Over the years, the trade has caused the deaths of millions of turtles to make such frivolities as combs, eyeglass frames, guitar picks, ornaments and cheap jewelry.

Utilizing certain animals for food or clothing is one thing, but do we really need to be making extraneous items from slaughtered animals? Regardless, Maison Bonnet claims that its production process “totally respects the natural cycle of the sea turtles.” A sea turtle could not be reached for comment.

7 Ivory products

Given the worldwide fervor over the ivory trade – a matter made urgent due to the severely endangered animals whose deaths fuel it, especially elephants – it’s easy to assume that underdeveloped countries with ineffective law enforcement would have the most difficult time policing the globally-banned practice.

But surprisingly, among the biggest drivers of the illegal ivory trade is… Japan, one of the most advanced, law-abiding nations on Earth. The reason is something incredibly mundane: a signature-substituting seal. Called hankos: the small stamps are used in lieu of signatures for anything from opening a bank account to signing an employment contract.

According to Hideki Arami, a third-generation hanko carver with a shop in Tokyo’s busy Shibuya district, the best hanko ivory comes from the center of the tusk, where the bone is firm and flawless. What a wonderful reason for bringing multiple species to the verge of extinction.

Selling ivory legally entails proving that it isn’t new, meaning it was “harvested” before poaching was banned in 1989. Per the African Wildlife Foundation, while Japanese law states ivory tusks must be registered before a sale, the process has remained notoriously lenient. Owners often do not need to provide verifiable proof of how, where, or when tusks were acquired – opening the door for illegal ivory to enter Japan’s legal marketplace.

6 Animal Products in Perfume

Wearing perfume? Then you’re probably spraying liquified fauna on yourself. Animal parts are still widely used as ingredients in various fragrances.

One example is civet, a catlike animal with a long tail and pointed snout native to Africa and much of Asia. Its perineal glands produce a crude, buttery-yellow paste that turns darker with age. At full strength, the tincture smells fecal and nauseating, but when diluted it has a floral scent. Civets are “farmed and harvested” (read: born imprisoned and slaughtered en masse) at facilities in Ethiopia, with their paste exported to perfumeries in Europe and North America.

Like leathery scents? Then you’re likely wearing beaver taint. Vintage leathery notes are typically achieved via castoreum, which comes from the castor sacs of beavers, who use it to mark territory. After killing the beaver, harvesters smoke or sun-dry the paste-filled castor sacs, which come to resemble dried figs (yum!). The paste’s aroma eventually mellows into the smell of sweet, clean leather.

The hyrax, an African species resembling a large guinea pig, is another furry critter with perfume-centric secretions. Often called “African stone,” hyraceum forms when the animals’ urine and feces (they live together in colonies, and typically relieve themselves in a common area) petrifies. Luckily for the hyrax, this process takes hundreds of thousands of years, meaning their contribution to the perfume industry doesn’t carry a death sentence.

These animal materials were once used in huge doses in fragrances such as Miss Dior and No 5 and they continue to be used to this day in many perfumes across the industry.

5 Bone China

Bone china is a type of porcelain made from a significant amount – at least 30%, but usually closer to 50% – of animal bone ash. Why bone? Because it makes for an especially strong ceramic that offers premium chip resistance and high levels of whiteness and translucence. Among other benefits, the sturdiness provided by bone ash allows bone china to be produced in thinner cross-sections than other porcelains.

From its initial development in the early 1800s, bone china has historically been a British product; in fact, the term “English porcelain” often refers to bone china. In most cases, the bone comes from cows, though pig bone also may be used – prompting Middle East manufacturers to make halal versions that are verified cow-only.

So, is bone china ethical? Proponents argue that it basically just uses the bones of animals already set to be slaughtered for meat. Critics counter that, while less problematic than, for example, killing polar bears for sport or sea turtles for eyeglasses, bone china is simply an unnecessary animal-derived item. In addition to doing no favors to the animals, opponents contend, bone china imposes on vegetarians and people who avoid animal products.

In addition, human bone ash has been identified on rare occasions, and no one wants to eat off of great-grandma.

4 Industrial Cattle Production

Despite their growing ranks, animal rights activists calling for completely ending meat-eating remain overwhelmingly in the minority. Among other issues, such posturing and proselytising ignores the fact that humans are naturally omnivores – eaters of both fauna and flora.

However, a more understandable candidate for cancellation is the way some meat is produced. For example, the American livestock stream is awash in antibiotics, used to keep cows and pigs in unhygienic, tightly-packed factory farms “healthy.” Not only is this indicative of the filthy, crowded conditions these animals experience, but also adds to the growing problem of bacterial resistance due to antibiotics overuse. A worrisome 13.6 million kilograms of antibiotics are used for US livestock each year, nearly four times the amount distributed for direct human consumption.

A legitimate case also can be made that humanity is eating too MUCH meat. More than six million animals are killed for human consumption every hour; in one lifetime, the average American will consume the equivalent of 11 cows, 27 pigs, and 2,400 chickens.

Another reasonable concern is the meat industry’s contributions to global warming: animal agriculture is responsible for an estimated 18% of global climate change. Each day, cows alone produce 150 billion gallons of methane, which is 25-100 times more heat-trapping than carbon dioxide. That’s right: cow farts are a flatulent factor in climate change.

3 Industrial Poultry Production

As concerning as some meat sector practices are, the fashion in which the United States produces poultry deserves an entry all its own.

Again, the issue here isn’t a total chicken-eating ban. The idea that we’re close to replacing real chicken with the sort of highly-processed, often high-calorie plant-based concoctions popularized as beef and pork substitutes is nonsense. Besides, faux chicken is notoriously harder to create, with most products discontinued.

Regardless, poultry often is raised in highly problematic conditions and, given its food industry track record, the US is unsurprisingly among the most blameworthy. Each year, America produces more than 44 billion pounds of chicken. That’s a lotta wings.

However, the trade off for making that much meat is truly horrific conditions for the chickens. US chickens are typically raised in crowded coops covered in droppings and devoid of sunlight. There, the birds are aggressively force fed to meet Americans’ ever-growing demand for cheap meat. Over their two-month lifespan, chickens grow so rapidly that their joints, legs, hearts and lungs are significantly compromised.

After slaughter, US factory chickens are rinsed in chlorine. And if you’re wondering whether blasting a food product with a dangerous chemical is problematic… well, join the rest of the world. Many countries ban the import of US poultry for this reason and, recently, Brits cried foul (or rather, fowl) over a backroom deal that allowed US chickens into the UK food stream in exchange for a broader post-Brexit US-UK trade deal.

2 Fur Farms

Humans have been turning furry animals into clothing for millennia. So as with the loud-but-miniscule minority who want to disallow all meat-eating, animal activists who want to cancel all dead animal-derived clothing – such as fur coats and leather – are unlikely to prevail anytime soon – though they certainly help the polluting paint manufacturers with all that red paint they buy!

However, one aspect of fur clothing is particularly problematic: fur farms, which raise foxes and minks in cramped, cruel conditions for the singular reason of fattening them up for maximum fur production. The first two sentences of an investigative report by the Humane Society are so powerful that they’re difficult to read:

“By the end of his life, the arctic fox, just 1 year old, has grown so large he barely fits in the bare wire cage on a farm in Asia. Overbred to produce a big pelt, he suffers from an eye condition made worse by obesity: His lashes grow inward and scratch constantly against his cornea.”

Estimates vary, but all available figures would place the number of foxes and minks slaughtered on fur farms in the tens of millions annually. In a developed world that has largely banned the commercial killing of dogs and cats (except for South Korea, which should be ashamed of itself because dogs aren’t food, ever, full stop), the idea that similar animals are being factory farmed for something as frivolous as fur is difficult to justify – and that’s putting it kindly.

1 Puppy Mills

The Sato Project is a nonprofit dog rescue organization headquartered in southeastern Puerto Rico. Its mission is to save as many of the 300,000 stray dogs that roam the Connecticut-sized Caribbean island. The Sato Project team manages to feed, shelter, vet and ultimately fly more than a thousand dogs per year to forever homes on the US mainland (including one lucky sato, Vector, who joined this author’s family in 2013).

Multiply Puerto Rico’s plight by thousands, and you begin to scratch the surface of the number of desperate dogs in need of good homes. Against such a backdrop, the fact that pully mills still exist is, simply, disgusting and unacceptable.

A puppy mill is a commercial dog breeding facility in which the health of dogs is disregarded to maintain a low overhead and maximize profits. There are an estimated 10,000 puppy mills in the US alone, catering to customers who, for whatever reason, simply must have a pure breed or designer dog (oh cool! It’s another f*cking Labradoodle!).

While there are laws regulating facilities that sell to pet stores and through certain online forums, nothing can be done about black market operations that sell directly to consumers. The only way to eliminate puppy mills is for people to stop being so choosy about breeds and simply give a needy dog the home it deserves.

10 Insane Decisions That Nearly Ruined Pop Culture Classics

The period between the 1980s and 2000s was considered the golden age for breakfast cereals. It was during this time that companies produced endless varieties, shapes, colors, and especially some questionable flavors. Whether you preferred something sweet, healthy, or anything in between, there was something for everyone.

We all have our favorite cereals (ahem… Peanut Butter Captain Crunch), but this category is full of cereal you purchase once and never try again. Here are ten of the grossest cereal flavors that got canceled.

10 Ice Cream Cones

In 1986, General Mills decided that if parents could serve their children cookies for breakfast, they might as well serve them ice cream. So, what did they do? They created ice cream cone cereal that was nothing short of gross. The breakfast food came in two flavors: chocolate and chocolate chip.

It’s fair to say these cereals didn’t live long enough to see the light of day. They were discontinued the same year they debuted. Parents couldn’t stand the idea of serving their children ice cream for breakfast. What seemed like a great idea from the start turned out to be a miscalculated move.

There were plans to bring the ice cream cones back in 2003, but that also failed. Today, we can only remember Ice Cream Cones as one of the grossest cereals that melted before consumers ate it.

9 Cupcake Pebbles

The classic Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles are a true staple in many homes. But, thankfully, Cupcake Pebbles bit the dust. Popular between 2010 and 2011, Cupcake Pebbles came in boxes scripted with words sweeter than the cereals themselves. “Good old wholesome sweetened rice cereal with artificial flavor.” Yikes! If you’re going to inadvertently sell artificial flavors, you don’t advertise them.

Cupcake Pebbles were so bad that even Barney and Fred weren’t touching them. Their kids, Bamm-Bamm and Pebbles, were the chosen cereal box character reps. It doesn’t matter if you loved or hated this cereal. There’s one thing we can agree on—that slogan is just poor marketing.

8 Batman Cereal

Everything about the Batman cereal was iconic. From the bat-inspired shapes to having an iconic superhero name, Batman cereal was destined for greatness… except for its awful taste.

The first few months after its release saw tremendous sales with the inclusion of a plastic Batman collectible bank. Children everywhere nagged their parents to buy them the Dark Knight’s breakfast cereal, and they did.

However, the cereal’s “greatness” started and ended with its shape. It turns out that the “natural honey nut flavor” described on the box couldn’t convince consumers. They tasted nothing like their overhyped commercial promises, which prompted a backlash that led to its cancellation in 1990.

I guess you just can’t beat the Honey Nut Cheerios invented back in the ’70s.

7 Nickelodeon Green Slime Cereal

Speaking of the ’70s, the Nickelodeon channel started late in this decade as well. Still, it wasn’t until the early ’80s that it hit the ground running. One of the shows aired on the network was You Can’t Do That on Television. Here, participants would participate in trivia, and whenever someone mentioned the word “water,” they would have water poured on their heads.

Here is where it gets interesting, whenever someone said “I don’t know,” they would have slime poured on their head. Despite being a simple gimmick, the challenge was exciting since nobody in the show was immune to it.

Following the show’s popularity, Nickelodeon decided to create and sell slime-related products, including Green Slime cereal. In a partnership with General Mills in 2003, Nickelodeon introduced the first batch of Green Slime cereal to the public to promote the upcoming Kids’ Choice Awards.

There was just one problem: the cereal was nothing close to the show’s success that inspired it. Besides the awful taste, the smell and color alone were just about how you’d imagine slime. Not very appetizing. It wasn’t long before Nickelodeon’s cereal was off the shelves to pave the way for other healthier, sweeter, and less disgusting cereals.

6 Sour Patch Kids

The Sour Patch Kids cereal was so awful that there was no official announcement about its discontinuation. If you’ve been wondering where it went, now you have your answer! While many factors contributed to the rainbow sugar pellets’ cancellation, one thing was constant: they were definitely considered a “novelty” cereal.

Sour Patch Kids cereal had appetizing and alluring commercials that many people loved. But most families wouldn’t dare eat the cereal every day. Ironically, they were named “Sour” Patch Kids cereal yet contained a whopping 40% sugar. And anybody who wants to live more than 40 years would most likely avoid that kind of sugar content.

Yet, somehow, the cereal wasn’t really that sweet at all. You know a product has failed when its commercials are sweeter than the cereal.

5 Nintendo Cereal System

If you are a Super Mario super fan, you might have heard about the Nintendo Cereal System produced by Ralston Cereals in 1988. The cereal had its basis in two of the most popular video games at the time: The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros.

However, as with many other franchise-inspired kinds of cereal, the Nintendo Cereal System didn’t last long, thanks (again) to its terrible flavor.

Of course, the first few months saw tremendous sales. But it was only because Super Mario fans wanted a cereal to match their favorite game. It didn’t take long for people to discover that the cereal was essentially a red turtle shell, knocking them off track during the most important meal of the day.

The flavor was so bad that it led to its discontinuation, but that didn’t stop super fans from hunting down this lost piece of history. The cereal has been sold as memorabilia for collectors over the years. One box was sold for over $200, but there’s no way someone paid that much for the flavor.

4 Urkel-Os

The Urkel-Os was a super sweet strawberry and banana-flavored cereal that millennials loved but Gen Z found repulsive. This breakfast meal was inspired by the sitcom Family Matters, a popular show aired throughout the ’90s.

The cereal paid homage to Urkel, the quirky yet lovable nerd who often donned shirts similar in color to the cereal created in his image. Unlike the other nasty cereals we’ve covered, Urkel-Os managed to appear on many breakfast tables before being exposed as a cereal wannabe. The taste just couldn’t keep up with other circular-shaped brands like Froot Loops.

I guess Urkel can still say, “Did I do that?”

3 Banana Frosted Flakes

This pick is likely to spark a debate. But yes, many people found the Banana Frosted Flakes to be terrible. I’m not surprised that Kellogg discontinued the flavor. The idea of having actual bananas built into your breakfast was cool. But the bananas in the Banana Frosted Flakes were crunchy and extra sweet, which, if you’ve ever had a real banana, is a little disconcerting.

The cereal was introduced in 1981, and it wasn’t long before the brand canceled it in 1984. Recently, though, Kellogg introduced the Banana Crème Frosted Flakes, which, in my opinion, are better than the original ones. Who knows? Maybe this version will be around longer.

2 Mr. T

Wrestler and actor Laurence “Mr. T” Tureaud was trendy in the ’80s. He played critical roles in the TV series The A-Team<.em> (1983–1987) and the film Rocky III (1982), making him even more popular. In fact, he was so famous that Mt. T cereal was introduced to feed the ever-hungry Mr. T fraternity.

The cereal assumed the shape of the letter “T” to symbolize the great actor’s prowess. However, the cereal’s taste wasn’t as great as the person who inspired it. Since this cereal was universally considered inedible by many, it was canceled shortly after it was released.

Even the cereal’s memorable appearance in the film Pee Wee’s Big Adventure didn’t save it from discontinuation. From its creation to production and marketing, it was destined for success, but I guess they forgot to do a taste test.

Maybe this time we really can pity the fool… who purchased this awful cereal.

1 Frute Brute

Frute Brute was introduced in 1974 but was canceled in 1982. It was a frosted, cherry-flavored version of Monster Cereal with a werewolf mascot. General Mills is among the industry’s heavy hitters but with this particular cereal, they got their calculations all wrong.

Frute Brute was nothing short of a total disaster, and it’s only by chance that it managed to stay on the shelves for as long as it did. If anything, the cereal was only popular because of its numerous film appearances that became memorable. This cereal had cameos in classic films like Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction.

But its sales were a work of pulp fiction too. Cherry cereal? I don’t know about you, but I prefer not to eat breakfast that tastes like cough syrup.

It is just the worst when a show you really love gets canceled too soon, and you are left with no finale, no resolution, and no hope for your beloved characters. Well, look on the bright side: at least you probably were not a fan of one of these shows. Each show on this list was canceled after just one episode—not a common feat, understandably. Some of the shows were pulled for low ratings, others for far more scandalous reasons, but regardless, these shows are considered some of the worst.

10 Dot Comedy

Trying to use internet humor on TV almost never works out. For one, the internet moves fast. TV production usually takes so long that by the time the show airs, the jokes tend to be outdated. On top of that, internet-savvy people know when they are being pandered to, and they will not buy into TV bigwigs shoving “hip” comedy in their faces. Surprisingly, though, the idea of moving internet comedy to TV is not as new as you would think.

Dot Comedy was a show that aired in 2000, far before most other shows tried to cash in on online jokes. The series featured Jason and Randy Solar, Annabelle Gurwitch, and Katie Puckrick, taking on a somewhat similar format to America’s Funniest Home Videos, which is interesting since they ended up being polar opposites. While AFV has been running since the ’80s, Dot Comedy was pulled off the air right after its premiere. Aside from the mediocre reviews it received, the show was only watched by 4.1 million people, less than the show it replaced. As a result, the show was canceled before it could air any more episodes.^[1]

9 You’re in the Picture

This is one of the oldest cases of a series getting canceled after one episode, dating back to 1961. It was a game show starring the legendary Jackie Gleason. Sounds promising enough, right?

The premise was that four celebrities would stick their heads into an image and then ask yes or no questions to try and guess what scene they were a part of. It is a very simple premise that is similar to many games played around the coffee table to this day. Also, you can think about one of the scenarios from Who’s Line Is It Anyway? that uses a green screen and questions and answers to determine what video is playing behind the unsuspecting comedian.

However, the first episode’s panelists (Pat Carroll, Arthur Treacher, Jan Sterling, and Pat Harrington Jr.) on You’re in the Picture were its downfall. Aside from being terrible at the game, they just were not funny enough to carry a game show, even alongside a comedic powerhouse like Gleason. It was no wonder that Time Magazine called the 1960-61 TV season the worst one ever at the time. The next week, Gleason used the time slot to issue a public apology for how awful the show was, and it never aired again.^[2]

8 The Melting Pot

This was another case of a big-name comedian—in this case, Spike Milligan of The Goon Show and Q—having a show that bombed, only this one was outright offensive as opposed to just unfunny. It is one thing to host a game show with confused contestants, but creating a show where you star in brown-face is just awful.

Comedy Playhouse: The Melting Pot aired once in 1975 and never again after that, for a good reason. The show involved Milligan playing a Pakistani immigrant arriving illegally in Britain with his son and living in a racially diverse London home. This was, unsurprisingly, extremely controversial, even at the time. The BBC knew after just one episode that they had made a horrible mistake. The show was pulled, and the remaining episodes were never seen.^[3]

7 Co-Ed Fever

In early 1979, ABC aired Delta House, which was a spinoff of the legendary comedy film Animal House. While the show was not awful, the raunchy content of the film was not allowed on TV. Ultimately, it was canceled after one season. It is still a bit impressive, as TV adaptations of films are extremely difficult to get right. All in all, it was an alright show.

That same year, CBS tried to get in on the action with Co-Ed Fever. The show’s “unique” plot twist was that it was about a women’s college starting to admit men for the first time. Antics ensued, or at least they would have. This show, like Delta House, faced problems with what kind of stories they could air, and on top of that, the ratings were terrible. The remaining episodes never aired in America.^[4]

6 Videos After Dark

America’s Funniest Home Videos is a beloved show that everybody has seen at least once. It has been going for decades with no signs of stopping. That does not mean that every one of its ventures has been a big success, though.

Videos After Dark is a more recent example of a show canceled after one episode. Airing in 2019, the show was meant to be like AFV for an older audience, with edgier videos than the main show. Original AFV host Bob Saget was set to star. The show premiered as planned, and more episodes were promised, but strangely, nothing seems to have materialized. The show’s Twitter stopped posting the next month, and everyone seemed to act like the show never existed at all, despite the show’s webpage still saying “coming soon.”^[5]

5 Emily’s Reasons Why Not

Emily’s Reasons Why Not seemed innocent enough. It aired in 2006 and was just a simple sitcom about a woman named Emily trying to navigate the dating world. She decides that she will break up with a guy if she can think of five reasons to. The show was heavily compared to Sex and the City, and it was advertised like crazy.

Unfortunately, the show itself did not live up to the ads. Everybody in the world seemed to find it extraordinarily dull and not worth the watch. The network got the message, and the remaining episodes have never been seen on American TV, although they did get a DVD release years later.^[6]

4 Who’s Your Daddy?

Reality TV is not exactly known for being high-class. It is often considered trashy, mind-numbing ridiculousness that is only watched as a guilty pleasure. Obviously, not every reality show is that way. Some are actually very well received. Who’s Your Daddy? is not one of them.

From 2002, Who’s Your Daddy? centered around a tough subject: adoption. It puts an adopted woman in a room with several men, and if she picks out which one is her biological father, she wins a cash prize. If she picks the wrong man, that man will get the cash prize. Surely it is easy to understand why this would be considered a bit cringe-worthy. After its first episode, a 90-minute special, hit the airwaves, the response was furious. Adoption organizations and adoptive parents hated this show that added money and cameras into an extremely personal process. The show was canceled immediately in the wake of the backlash.^[7]

3 Heil Honey, I’m Home!

Just from the title, it is probably easy to guess why this was canceled. While many people believe anything can be joked about, some things just should not be a sitcom premise. Alongside The Melting Pot, this 1990 flop is certainly one of the most controversial sitcoms of all time.

The format of the show was akin to sitcoms of the ’50s, only it was about Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun trying to get along with their Jewish neighbors. This obviously drew a huge amount of criticism. The Board of Deputies of British Jews spoke out against it wholeheartedly, while nobody on the planet seemed to find it very funny. Luckily, the BSB got the message. It was swiftly canceled, but out of all the shows on this list, Heil Honey, I’m Home! remains one of the best-remembered.^[8]

2 Turn-On

Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In is a very fondly remembered show. The brightly colored sets, the witty one-liners, the innovative joke wall… what’s not to love? ABC was pretty jealous of all the attention Laugh-In was getting, so they decided to create their own version: Turn-On. Unfortunately, whereas Laugh-In soared, Turn-On was one of TV’s biggest failures.

The show was much different than anything anybody had seen before. It was not just raunchier than Laugh-In; it was also so fast-paced that most people could not keep up. The soundtrack consisted of a Moog synthesizer, which was very new in 1969, and computers played a big role in the premise of the show. Audiences absolutely could not stand this show. The station was flooded with complaints, more so about the sexual content than the strange format. The show was canceled before the first episode even ended. It was never seen again. Who knows—maybe if this show was made today, things would be different.^[9]

1 Australia’s Naughtiest Home Videos

This may be the most famous item on the list. It’s essentially Australia’s answer to Videos After Dark, only this show is from 1992! It is also unique because it only aired half an episode before being canceled.

Like Videos After Dark, the show was meant to be a raunchier version of America’s Funniest Home Videos. While the reception for Videos After Dark was lukewarm, Australia’s Naughtiest Home Videos was just plain disgusting. Clips included a boy eating maggots and a man spinning a basketball on his penis. Seemingly, absolutely nobody wanted to see any of that. After 34 minutes, the show was demanded to be pulled off the air, and it was. A Cheers rerun took its place, and presumably, audiences rejoiced. Eventually, the episode did air in full in 2008, and now it is free to watch online. Beware, though: it is gross and, otherwise, not very funny. Watch if you dare!^[10]