16 Awful People That TLC Made Famous
40 years ago when TLC first launched it was a completely different channel to what we know today. Originally named "The Learning Channel" the aim was to provide educational programming through television. Nowadays, it is better known for broadcasting shows like Extreme Cougar Wives, Toddlers and Tiaras and Gypsy Sisters.
Emma Barnett, Women's Editor for The Telegraph, commented about the channel: "My personal hunch is that TLC is a bit like good junk food. You'll crave it at certain times, really enjoy the hit and then feel just a little bit dirty afterwards - whether you've watched some poor woman eat cat hair or another go swinging with her husband."
Over the years, TLC has discovered the real issue with reality - not everyone is a living saint. These extreme people, who are living less than ordinary lives, have proven they are willing to be exploited in exchange for fame. Although many of them should never have been allowed in the public eye at all.
16 Kody Brown - Sister Wives
Sister Wives in a nutshell is a show that tries to show something illegal, sexist and quite creepy as lighthearted entertainment. Meri, Robyn, Janelle and Christine Brown have the (dis)pleasure of being married to Kody Brown - altogether they have 17 children living in the family home. As long as you're fertile and have a competitive streak then you are able to win the heart of Kody. TLC urges viewers to watch their show on polygamy and "see how they attempt to navigate life as a "normal" family in a society that shuns their lifestyle."
Mark A. Perigard, TV critic for the Boston Herald, criticized Kody Brown for allowing himself and his family to be placed in a position for potential criminal prosecution. He describes him as "a lawbreaker who is risking himself and the family he claims is so precious just to star in his own TV show."
15 Alison Dunlap - Cheer Perfection
Alison Dunlap made a swift transition from star of Toddlers and Tiaras to star of Cheer Perfection on TLC - not really the most enviable of TV careers but she made the most of it. Then in 2014, her run on reality shows came to an end after her husband was arrested for marijuana possession and fellow Cheer-mom, Andrea Clevenger was arrested for inappropriately touching a teenage boy. Another coach Ryan Dahl, who did not appear on the show, was also arrested for drug offences.
As co-owner of Cheer Time Revolution gym, Dunlap took the burn of three people, all who worked closely with her gym, being arrested within a short space of time. Dunlap was also seriously criticized for essentially allowing criminals to work closely with vulnerable young people at her gym. It's safe to say Cheer Perfection was not renewed for a third season.
14 Rebecca and Abe - Breaking Amish
In 2012, TLC introduced Breaking Amish to the world. The show allowed viewers to follow the lives of young Amish people living in New York City. It was only two episodes into the show that viewers started to unravel all the lies. One couple, Rebecca and Abe, "met" on the show for the first time and fell in love. However, with thanks to some succesful snooping from viewers, they had already posted photos on Facebook of their relationship and they even had a newborn daughter together.
Another cast member caught for being rotten to the core was Jeremiah. The mother of his three children and ex-wife Naomi Stutzman from Ohio divorced him in 2011 for gross neglect of duty, extreme cruelty and incompatibility. She told CBS, "The kids and I suffered for years at the hands of this man." One police report claimed that he punched her in the stomach during her pregnancy. Record also showed that he did not pay child support. On Breaking Amish The Truth, Jeremiah ranted, "Do your frickin' homework. I did spend three days in jail for supposedly (abusing her). The court threw it out. I regret that I didn't pay child support in the past, but I'm paying it now."
13 Jo Frost - Family S.O.S
Jo Frost angered pretty much every Mumsnet user when her show Family S.O.S aired in 2013. The format was quite like her original British series, Supernanny, Frost visits the homes of families that need help with their unruly children.
However, many claimed that her technique is about "shaming" the child into good behavior. Tracey Jenson, lecturer on media and cultural-studies at Newcastle University believes that even the mother is "shamed before she is transformed." Mumsnet users were also angered that Frost could be so critical of other parents considering she had no children on her own. In October 2014, the show was cancelled due to low ratings.
12 Lindsey Isham - Virgin Diaries
Lindsey Isham wasn't the most loved television personality when she appeared on Virgin Diaries. Isham felt comfortable revealing on the show that she had to work out until she was suffering from exhaustion or she struggled to sleep due to sexual frustration.
In 2009, Isham released her own book titled No Sex In The City. She speaks about her quest for sexual purity in the face of an "impure culture" and sexual desire. Isham became an advocate for abstinence, although many just found her too preachy and obnoxious.
11 Susanna and Isabella Barrett - Toddlers and Tiaras
Susanna Barrett is mom to 9-year-old Isabella Barrett who appeared on Toddlers and Tiaras. When she was just 5-years-old, Isabella launched an attack on her co-star and rival Paisley Dickey, labelling her a "hooker" for dressing up like Julia Roberts' Pretty Woman character during a pageant.
Susanna has basically created a monster. Her daughter owns more than sixty pairs of shoes and once spent $1,000 on room service. Isabella told US Weekly about her spending, "My daddy freaked out!" She even boasts her own pageant room that is worth more than $100,000. The last anyone heard from the mother-daughter duo was that they pursuing a pop career, yet nothing has appeared in the charts to date.
10 David Drew Howe - Suddenly Royal
45-year-old David Drew Howe discovered he was a potential heir to the throne of the British Isle of Man and landed his very own TLC show, Suddenly Royal. However, David soon realized it takes more than a bit of family research to become part of royalty. He angered many locals who tried to explain to him on the show, "You can't just come over and declare yourself the King of Isle of Man." He is also attempted to take over the official record of the British Government, known as the London Gazette.
Despite all his royal demands, his family didn't move to the Isle of Man in the end. His wife, Pam, told him, "I am not prepared to move here full time, and I don't think Grace is either." His daughter Grace added, "I don't want to stay here permanently if that means leaving everything that I have grown up." The family have since moved back to America and David no longer wishes to be King.
9 MaKenzie - Toddlers and Tiaras
For little MaKenzie, who starred in Toddlers and Tiaras, she was not happy after watching the show herself. Her mother Juana Myers told Radar Online, "After watching the first show with MaKenzie we took a little break from pageants. MaKenzie didn't like herself and it taught her you don't act that way."
MaKenzie became famous for throwing a tantrum whenever she didn't take home a pageant crown. Many criticized her mother for allowing her to get away with such awful behavior. Juana added, "I let her be herself. With the cameras following us I didn't want to discipline her so I let her throw her fits or cry things out. I would never spank her and she really knows not to do that stuff at home."
8 Mellie Stanley - Gypsy Sister
Mellie Stanley became known as the angriest woman on television after she starred in Gypsy Sisters. Last year, TLC announced they were cancelling the show after Mellie caused a lot of concern when she claimed on social media that her then-fiance, Skott Vuncannon, had killed their new puppy. Then hours later, she deleted the post and update: "What ever Skott never killed no animal he was taking it outside and it ate something it should have not ate."
A month later, Skott was arrested and charged with a felony for causing the death of an animal. Mellie apologized to her fans and wrote in a social media post: "I'm sorry to all the people that told me right from wrong and I didn't listen to none of ya I was blinded from my side of love. Yes I do have a lot of hate and anger in me and yes maybe I do need to go take anger management classes but it's all from my past."
7 Tori Spelling - Craft Wars
In all fairness, Tori Spelling was a celebrity before she became the face of Craft Wars, but it appears this exposure just made people hate her all the more. She already went public about her fellow Beverly Hills 90210 co-stars hating her, claiming, "All my cast members hate me. People say, 'Do you mean during 90210?' I say, 'No, we were great friends during 90210. We were friends after 90210.' They all came to my first wedding. All of a sudden I marry Dean, and I don't know what happened. I lost all my cast members."
She then tried to win back some fans with Craft Wars, where contestants competed in craft challenges to win a $10,000 prize. Donna Bowman, reviewer for A.V. Club wrote, "Every reality competition needs a big "wow" moment when the special materials for the challenge are revealed. On Craft Wars, a storage-unit-style garage door opens, and Spelling's minions roll out a bunch of shopping carts." Not really the most glamorous of television and the series hasn't been renewed since 2012.
6 Kate Gosselin - Kate Plus 8
Katie Gosselin gained national recognition on her show Kate Plus 8, when she allowed the world to watch her raise sextuplets and twins. However things didn't go to well when Kate's parenting skills were brought into question. In 2009, she was caught on camera refusing her children water before an interview commenting: "You haven't had a drink all day? Neither have I!" Then the following year she blasted her ex, Jon Gosselin, when she told a reporter that her kids hate staying with him. She said, "I basically wait for the phone call, for how many of them want to come home."
One blogger wrote on the website Gosselins Without Pity:"I wonder if the Kate we don't see, actually tosses and turns in the early hours, knowing she's attained her notorious fame and substantial wealth on the backs of her eight children." In 2014, she also came under scrutiny again when the public raised the question if the children were being exploited. Lawyer Gloria Allred told reporters, "Every state does regulate to protect the health, the safety and welfare of little child performers. These little ones are only eight years old and five years old, they can't protect themselves, so the state has to be sure that they are safe in their workplace." As the Gosselin children were "performing" within their own home they didn't have to follow the same strict guidelines as other child performers.
As the show continues, Kate claims that she had calmed down a lot now and even cringes when she watches back to some of her previous meltdowns on the show.
5 Jim and Michelle Duggar - 19 Kids and Counting
19 Kids and Counting, previously known as 17 Kids and Counting and 18 Kids and Counting, aired for seven years. The Duggar parents Jim Bob and Michelle chose to name all nineteen children starting with the letter "J" and as devout baptists they avoid birth control saying they allow God to decide how many children they have.
They came under fire after they publicly criticized the LGBT community. In 2014, Michelle was recorded saying: "I don't believe the citizens of Fayetteville would want males with past child predator convictions that claim they are female to have a legal right to enter private areas that are reserved for women and girls." In response to this, a petition that was started on Change.org received 100,000 signatures calling for the cancellation of the show. The same year, the Duggars asked their fans to send them couples pictures through their Facebook page, but many users found that any same-sex couples that were uploaded were soon deleted. The show was finally pulled off air in 2015.
4 Alana Thompson - Here Comes Honey Boo Boo
Alana Thompson, better known as "Honey Boo Boo", became one of the breakout stars of Toddlers and Tiaras. She then landed her own show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo in 2012, where her famous phrases such as "a dollar makes me holla" and "I wish I had an extra finger so I could grab more cheese puffs."
The Guardian heavily criticized TLC for creating the show, they claimed the Thompson's were put on TV just for people to "point and snicker at." Alana throughout the series gained 125 pounds and a health intervention was staged by TV show The Doctors. It was no surprise she became overweight, especially as this is the kid who once said, "My mother has told me in the past that if you fart 12 to 15 times a day, you can lose a lot of weight."
3 June Shannon - Here Comes Honey Boo Boo
June Shannon, Alana Thompson's mother, prompted the show to be shut down when she failed to safeguard her own family. In 2014, she began dating Mark Anthony McDaniel Sr, who had previously been convicted for aggravated child molestation in 2004. Shannon's older daughter confirmed she was the victim when she was just 8-years-old.
TLC pulled Here Comes Honey Boo Boo off air despite having six more months scheduled. The show's lawyers stated that: "TLC preforms a background to make sure you will provide safe and responsible service to the public."
2 Andrea Clevenger - Cheer Perfection
Andrea Clevenger appeared as one of the main star moms on Cheer Perfection. Then in 2014, she disgraced herself when she was arrested for having sex with an underage boy on several occasions. Clevenger admitted in court that she had asked the 13-year-old boy to take sexually suggestive images on his phone and send these to her. The court also heard that they were intimate together on three separate occasions, despite Clevenger pleading he "didn't act" 13-years-old.
She was sentenced to ten years in prison and ordered to stay away from the victim for 20 years after her release.
1 Josh Duggar - 19 Kids and Counting
Josh Duggar, the eldest of the Duggar family and one of the main stars of 19 Kids and Counting, caused a lot of controversy when it was revealed he had acted inappropriately with five girls, had a membership with Ashley Madison, and had allegedly sexually assaulted adult film actress Danica Dillon. The show was cancelled soon afterwards which resulted in the channel losing $25 million a year due to the loss endorsements, speaking engagements and book deals based around the show.
Duggar is married with four children of his own. After the revelations were made public he resigned from his position at the Family Research Council, a Christian lobbying organization based in Washington, D.C. In February 2013, he issued the following statement: "I have been the biggest hypocrite ever. While espousing faith and family values, I have secretly over the last several years been viewing pornography on the Internet and this became a secret addiction and I became unfaithful to my wife. The last few years, while publicly stating I was fighting against immorality in our country I was hiding my own personal failures."
The following year, he checked himself into a rehabilitation facility. On National Siblings day this year, he was snubbed by his family who did not involve him, or his family, in the video they posted online celebrating the occasion.