Though they keep countless viewers entertained with the gift of gab, there are many talk show
hosts who have skeletons in their closets. Who is the worst among them? Keep watching to find out.
James Corden is adept at playing the role of the affable Brit out of water, and his tenure on
"The Late Late Show" has delighted audiences with iconic segments like "Carpool Karaoke." After all,
who can forget former first lady Michelle Obama bopping with Missy Elliott? But beneath that
cheeky veneer, revelations regarding Corden's supposed arrogance have left some fans astounded.
Rumors of his attitude reached the point where fans even called him out during a 2019
Reddit AMA, with several users roasting him for his many alleged indiscretions. That same year,
a late-night writer took to Twitter to accuse Corden of attempting to undermine
union writers by recommending lower pay. Corden denied this, however,
claiming he was advocating for younger talent.
Regardless, his more controversial behavior had been on full display
years before. When accepting the audience award for "Gavin & Stacey" at the 2008
BAFTAs, Corden came across as wholly ungracious, grumbling,
"Just out of interest, how can the best comedy performance and programme of the year
not be eligible for best sitcom?"
And at the 2010 Glamour Awards,
Sir Patrick Stewart castigated Corden for his seemingly rude manner at the event, saying,
"Don't stand at the back of the stage with your hands in your
pockets looking around as though you wished you were anywhere but here."
As The Guardian wrote in 2008,
"Corden says he had a confidence problem — too much of it."
With his old-school brand of stand-up comedy, Jay Leno regularly pulled in record viewing figures
in the '90s. Legend has it, however, that the longtime late-night host remained at the top
via unscrupulous means. When his time on "The Tonight Show" ended in 2009, he moved on to his
eponymous primetime series, which resulted in a long feud with successor Conan O'Brien.
The latter was seemingly furious when NBC offered Leno his old 11:30 pm timeslot amid dwindling
ratings, while O'Brien was given an ultimatum of either taking the unsociable midnight slot or
getting axed, as reported by TMZ. This meant that O'Brien was effectively robbed of the dream job
he'd been promised by the network for years — one for which he had moved his family and his entire
production company from New York to California. As he joked during one episode of "The Tonight Show,"
"I just want to say to the kids out there watching, you can do anything you want in life.
Yeah. Yeah. Unless Jay Leno wants to do it, too."
While Leno later expressed zero regrets on "Watch What Happens Live," communications professor
Jeffrey McCall told the Los Angeles Times that the ensuing controversy resulted in Leno's reputation,
”getting warped in public [...] from that of a fun-loving comedian to a
guy who ends up looking like he has a more dark, selfish side."
Rosie O'Donnell helped lead the charge against Leno, calling him, quote, "the bully on the
playground who doesn't want to let go." And fellow late-night hosts David Letterman and
Jimmy Kimmel piled on, routinely crushing Leno in their monologues — and sometimes, to his face.
"Never order anything off the TV." "Like NBC ordered your show off the TV?"
Ultimately, Team Coco had the last laugh, as Conan became a cause celebre and got a new show that
lasted more than a decade, while Leno disappeared into his garage and faded into obscurity.
As former host of "The Late Show," David Letterman was once synonymous with the talk show circuit —
an iconic figure in late-night entertainment. However, the post-MeToo era has led to his
reputation being sullied by numerous unsavory revelations. In 2019, the extent of his alleged
abuse of power — particularly in his admitted interactions with women — was eye-opening.
According to the New York Daily News, Letterman allegedly bullied and yelled at both his
colleagues and guests. Executive Producer Rob Burnett alleged that he was perpetually moody,
and writer Eric Stangel claimed that he behaved, quote, "like a pervy old man at
times." In fact, he was blackmailed for having a sexual relationship with
one of his employees — something he revealed himself on the air in 2009.
"The creepy stuff was that I have had sex with women who work for me on this show."
In a 2019 Vanity Fair interview, Letterman also apologized to former writer
Nell Scovell for creating an unwelcome workplace environment for women, saying,
"I'm sorry I was that way. [...] I felt horrible because who wants to be the
guy that makes people unhappy to work where they're working?
I don't want to be that guy. I'm not that guy now. I was that guy then."
So are these apologies enough? That's for each individual to decide for themselves.
There's seemingly no end to Wendy Williams' controversial shenanigans on her eponymous show,
as the host is known to frequently make light of highly sensitive subjects.
For instance, when a woman accused Drake of rape in 2018,
Williams joked about the accuser's body shape rather than address the serious
allegations at hand. Three years later, she went viral for going on what BuzzFeed called
a "bizarre" rant about TikTok star Swavy, noting that he had more social media followers than her,
only to nonchalantly drop the bombshell that he was murdered at the age of 19. The mystifying
segment resulted in major backlash; many viewers accused her of trivializing his tragic death.
In addition to being called out for alleged homophobia and ableism, Williams has also been
condemned for appearing rude to her guests and for ridiculing people's appearances. For instance,
she had to apologize after mocking Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix for being born with a cleft lip.
She doesn't seem to actually be that apologetic for anything, though, telling TV Line,
"People [have always been] looking to pick and poke. [...] And all of a sudden,
social media came up and people,
they get together and they want to think what they think. All I am is Wendy. That's it."
Williams has been absent from her show battling the effects of Graves disease
since the fall of 2021, so here's hoping she has a full recovery soon.
Throughout the years, Bill Maher has perhaps become less known for comedy and better known
for his somewhat fearless willingness to embrace opinions that are neither popular
nor politically correct. Jacobin Mag said that the controversial talk show host is,
"bound together by a distinctly metropolitan smugness that revels in causing offense then
[greets] the inevitable blowback with caustic superiority."
For instance, Maher's first show, the aptly titled "Politically Incorrect," was canceled by ABC
due to comments he made in the weeks following 9/11. As reported by The New York Times,
he went against the consensus of the time by claiming that Americans, as opposed to the
terrorists who hijacked the planes, were, quote, "cowardly." The show got canceled.
Maher continued with this approach on HBO's "Real Time," often being accused of expressing
anti-Muslim sentiments. Famously, he was called out by Ben Affleck for jokingly dismissing
Islamophobia in 2014, with the actor branding his views as, quote, "gross and racist." Amid
allegations of racism, sexism, homophobia, and so on, Maher has perhaps unsurprisingly joined
a long line of middle-aged comedians taking aim at so-called "wokeness" and "cancel culture."
2021, for example, saw Maher defend Dave Chappelle's transphobic jokes.
He also got in hot water in 2022 for dismissive
comments about the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought widespread condemnation.
"I think he's forgetting that there are people who are still at risk who cannot get vaccinated!"
We all love those cute little skits on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show,"
particularly the comedian's scaring celebs stunts. But who knew that beneath her funny
pranks and "be kind to one another" brand was an allegedly nightmarish reality behind the scenes?
When Kate McKinnon parodied DeGeneres on "Saturday Night Live," the running gag was that the host
could do pretty much anything and brush it off with the mantra, "I'm Ellen!" Whether this was
a prophecy or not, one thing's for certain: DeGeneres sure annoyed tons of her employees.
As reported by BuzzFeed, numerous people levied troubling accusations
toward DeGeneres and show execs in 2020, including claims of racist microaggressions,
belittling staff, and contributing to a toxic work environment. One employee said,
"That 'be kind' bulls— only happens when the cameras are on. It's all for show."
The allegations led to an investigation and swift backlash against DeGeneres,
prompting a number of her uncomfortable interviews with celebs to resurface. "The
Ellen DeGeneres Show" announced it would end its 19-season run in 2022.
But those aren't the only troubling claims against the titular host.
According to the Daily Mail, a waitress alleged that DeGeneres
once tried to get her fired because her nail polish was chipped, saying,
"She really went out of her way to try to hurt someone who was beneath her and serving her."
Forbes argued that people overlooked DeGeneres' alleged mean girl behavior due to her typical,
quote, "passive-aggressive demeanor" while on-air.
As host of "Piers Morgan Live" and "Good Morning Britain," Piers Morgan seemingly
made a career out of being disliked by much of the public — and most of his
peers. In a 2014 column for The Times, fellow TV host Jeremy Clarkson lambasted Morgan for,
"his stupid Twitter boasts about his huge fame and lavish lifestyle.”
He went on to add that his CNN show,
"failed because the viewers hated him. Everyone hates him."
By March 2021, Morgan's controversial remarks about Meghan Markle resulted in tens of thousands
of complaints, leading him to literally walk off the ITV morning show's set and resign.
The Guardian branded him, quote, "the man who never knew when to stop."
Plus, away from the camera, Morgan has been embroiled in some other
allegedly shameful improprieties — and we're not talking about his propensity for
the more-than-occasional celebrity Twitter feud.
While Morgan has long denied his involvement, the former editor of the Daily Mirror found himself
at the center of the tabloid's celebrity phone hacking scandal in the late 2000s.
Fellow TV presenter Jeremy Paxman even alleged to the Leveson Inquiry that Morgan
once explained to him in explicit detail how to hack a phone, as reported by The Guardian.
While Lord Justice Leveson stated the allegation didn't prove Morgan's involvement, he did add,
"What it does, however, clearly prove is that he was aware that it was taking place
in the press as a whole and that he was sufficiently unembarrassed
by what was criminal behavior that he was prepared to joke about it."
An understated and slickly professional host, Charlie Rose was renowned for his expertly
researched interviews on both his titular show and "CBS This Morning." One got the sense that Rose
was genuinely invested in his guests, who were the focus of his interviews, as opposed to himself.
While not a huge personality in the vein of, say, Jay Leno, Rose's contribution to the
talk show medium is undeniable, as he remained the antithesis of a larger-than-life TV host.
This reputation made it all the more surprising how apparently audacious Rose was in his alleged
entitlement toward women's bodies. As reported by The Washington Post in 2017, eight female
employees of the "Charlie Rose" show accused him of sexual misconduct. More accusations followed.
The former employees alleged, among other things, that Rose frequently exposed himself to women,
made, quote, "lewd phone calls," gave unwanted shoulder rubs, and engaged in groping. Insider
also reported that Rose's one-time makeup artist was suing him. The lawsuit alleged,
"Far from being an advocate for their careers, Mr. Rose treated them as sexual targets,
using his power and influence to serve his personal desires."
Responding to The Washington Post's exposé, Rose admitted to some of the accusations
and apologized for his behavior, though he argued that a number of the claims were inaccurate.
Subsequently, when TMZ asked Rose to comment on his wrongdoings,
he literally slammed the door on them, saying, quote, "it's not wrongdoings."
The notion of "The Jeremy Kyle Show" might seem unfathomable in the current climate.
Often compared with the likes of "The Jerry Springer Show," Jeremy Kyle appeared to take
the moral high ground on his tabloidesque series in the UK. The Guardian alleged that
he did this by attacking the most economically deprived and marginalized people in society,
quote, "as if decency and compassion are middle-class affectations."
Subsequently, the Independent suggested that Kyle contributed
heavily to the demonization of the poor, writing,
"Kyle exploited people's genuine problems (which were frequently mental health related)
for entertainment, using faux concern and cod psychology to give a paper-thin
veil of respectability to the nastiness. Kyle, for his part,
was vicious — a pugnacious troll with a God complex."
Indeed, Kyle's frequent targets included the unemployed, young single mothers,
and those with substance-use issues, as his show appeared to quench viewers' thirst for public
shame and ridicule. In a New! magazine column, singer Kerry Katona wrote that Kyle's show was,
”a vehicle to mock lower class people with no teeth,
whose mental health problems aren't always taken seriously."
While defenders of the show have noted that the host attempted to resolve whatever issues
the guests had, it was usually done in exchange for being verbally lambasted at great length.
This controversial technique tragically resulted in the death of a guest by suicide
shortly after filming an episode, effectively bringing the longtime series to an end in 2019.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts,
please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.