The Shocking Reasons that Led to These 11 Celebrities Getting Fired

Peter Hunziker

Below Deck Mediterranean star Hunziker was fired by Bravo for making alleged racially insensitive social media posts, a Bravo spokesperson told PEOPLE on June 17, 2020.

The star first joined as a deckhand in season 5, which premiered in early June and has aired three episodes so far.

"Bravo and 51 Minds are editing the show to minimize his appearance for subsequent episodes," the network said.

The show's official social media pages shared the same statement. PEOPLE has not been able to reach Hunziker for comment.

Stassi Schroeder & Kristen Doute

The two Vanderpump Rules stars were let go in response to a past incident with former castmate Faith Stowers.

During an Instagram Live chat with Floribama Shore star Candace Rice, Stowers — who appeared on seasons 4 and 6 of the Bravo series — recalled a time when Schroeder and Doute spotted a tabloid article about a Black woman wanted for theft, and called the police to pin the crimes on her.

Following the Instagram Live, Schroeder and Doute both posted lengthy statements to their respective Instagram accounts, apologizing to Stowers. Then on June 9, 2020, Bravo announced that the two— both original cast members of the series, which debuted in 2013 — will not be returning for future seasons. The network also announced that newcomers Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni — whose years-old racist tweets resurfaced last winter — will also not be coming back.

"Bravo and Evolution Media confirmed today that Stassi Schroeder, Kristen Doute, Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni will not be returning to Vanderpump Rules," Bravo said in a statement. The following day, Lisa Vanderpump posted a statement to Instagram addressing the firings and to make it clear that she condemns "all forms of cruelty, racism, homophobia, bigotry and unequal treatment."

Taylor Selfridge

MTV cut ties with the Teen Mom star over past racist tweets, PEOPLE exclusively reported on June 9, 2020. The network confirmed that Selfridge's special with boyfriend Cory Wharton, Teen Mom OG At Home: Cory & Taylor's Baby Special, was pulled off the air, ending its working relationship with Selfridge after some of her old tweets resurfaced, containing comments such as, "We have to greet everyone at work but sometimes I won't greet the Black people because they scare me," and "My uncle is dating an Asian. Aunt Ping please make me sushi," The Blast reported.

"MTV pulled Teen Mom OG At Home: Cory & Taylor's Baby Special from its Tuesday schedule and is ending our relationship with Taylor Selfridge in light of her past racist statements on social media," an MTV spokesperson told PEOPLE. "MTV strongly condemns systemic racism and stands with those raising their voices against injustice."

Selfridge addressed her sudden departure in an Instagram post, saying she would like to "move on and continue to be the best version of myself."

Dee Nguyen

MTV terminated Nguyen, one of the current stars of The Challenge, following her controversial comments about the Black Lives Matter movement.

Nguyen came under fire for a tweet she wrote and shared in early June 2020, in which she tried to defend her support of Black Lives Matter. "IDK why some of you think I'm anti-BLM. I've been saying that since the day I lost my virginity," she said in the since-deleted tweet.

The network made a statement regarding the star's remarks, announcing, "As a result of Dee Nguyen's offensive comments on the Black Lives Matter movement, we have severed ties with her. Out of respect for our Challengers, we'll air our season as planned. We strongly condemn systemic racism and stand with those raising their voices against injustice."

Nguyen has since apologized on social media, writing. "I would like to offer my sincerest apology to my colleagues to whom I have hurt directly and indirectly due to my insensitive remarks. Let me be clear I am a POC that cares about BLM."

"I believe in this movement and I'm stepping away from social media to focus on my wellbeing and mental health," she continued. "This is not a goodbye, it's a I will see you again."

Hartley Sawyer

Sawyer was removed from The Flash after past tweets with racist and misogynist comments circulated online.

"Hartley Sawyer will not be returning for season seven of The Flash," The CW, producers Warner Bros. TV and Berlanti Productions and executive producer Eric Wallace said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on June 8, 2020. "In regards to Mr. Sawyer's posts on social media, we do not tolerate derogatory remarks that target any race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, or sexual orientation. Such remarks are antithetical to our values and polices, which strive and evolve to promote a safe, inclusive and productive environment for our workforce."

PEOPLE is out to the CW and Sawyer's rep for comment.

On June 5, 2020, actress Skai Jackson tweeted screenshots of the actor allegedly sharing multiple racist and misogynist messages years ago. (Sawyer's Twitter account has since been deleted.)

While Sawyer has yet to comment on his firing, he issued an apology statement about his past social media posts on May 30, 2020.

Shane Gillis

Just hours after it had been announced that Gillis would be joining the cast of Saturday Night Live in 2019, the comedian was fired after an online video resurfaced depicting Gillis using racial slurs.

The 2018 clip posted to a YouTube channel called Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast featured Gillis spewing out insults while talking about eating at Chinese restaurants.

"Chinatown's f—— nuts," Gillis says to Matt McCusker in the clip. "Let the f—— ch— live there."

"After talking with Shane Gillis, we have decided that he will not be joining SNL," a spokesperson for the show said in a statement on behalf of show creator Lorne Michaels.

"We want SNL to have a variety of voices and points of view within the show, and we hired Shane on the strength of his talent as comedian and his impressive audition for SNL," the statement continued.

"We were not aware of his prior remarks that have surfaced over the past few days. The language he used is offensive, hurtful and unacceptable," the statement read. "We are sorry that we did not see these clips earlier, and that our vetting process was not up to our standard."

After SNL announced that Gillis was no longer a part of the cast, the comedian released a statement of his own on Twitter, in which he said that he respected the show's decision.

James Gunn

In July 2018, Walt Disney Studios announced that it had parted ways from the director of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise after years-old insensitive tweets resurfaced. Gunn was set to direct the third film, after having written and directed the first two, which made more than $1.6 billion worldwide.

"The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James' Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studio's values, and we have severed our business relationship with him," Disney chairman Alan Horn said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE in July 2018.

Conservative personality Jack Posobiec was one of the people who first surfaced the tweets, which included jokes about pedophilia and rape. Gunn later addressed the tweets, explaining that he has since grown as a person and in his work since posting them.

On March 15, 2019, Deadline reported that Gunn had been reinstated as director of Guardians of the Galaxy 3, in part because of support from the film's cast, including Chris Pratt, Zoë Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Karen Gillan, Dave Bautista, Sean Gunn, Pom Klementieff and Michael Rooker. The actors signed and posted an open letter in which they publicly called for him to be rehired. The collaborative effort worked and Gunn is back in the director's chair for the third film.

Roseanne Barr

Shortly after Wanda Sykes announced that she would no longer be a part of ABC's hit Roseanne revival following Barr's racist tweet about former Barack Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett, the network canceled the show.

"Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show," president of ABC Entertainment Channing Dungey announced in a statement on May 29, 2018. The Wrap reported that Paramount Network, TV Land and CMT had pulled all reruns, too.

The backlash was fierce after the star, who has been outspoken in her support of President Donald Trump, tweeted a since-deleted attack on Jarrett, who is black, during a racist Twitter rant.

"Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby = vj," she wrote, using Jarrett's initials in response to a tweeted conspiracy theory about the Obama administration.

Barr later apologized and announced she was "leaving Twitter."

"I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans," she wrote. "I am truly sorry for making a bad joke about her politics and her looks. I should have known better. Forgive me — my joke was in bad taste."

ABC later brought back the spin-off without Barr, keeping the rest of the cast intact and titling it The Conners.