Whether it’s a bad fit with the rest of the cast, being “canceled” by the public, or because of a comment on social media years before, sometimes even the biggest stars get fired from projects.
Amazingly, big names like Johnny Depp, Julianne Moore, and James Gunn are just the beginning of this surprising list, so keep reading!
Hartley Sawyer’s Old Social Media Posts Were Dug Up
In The CW series The Flash, Hartley Sawyer played the role of Ralph Dibny, aka the Elongated Man. Unfortunately for Sawyer, he’d just made it on “Team Flash” as a full-time cast member when some old social media posts from 2009 to 2014 were found and exposed.
The horrible comments weren’t tolerated by the network, and Sawyer was promptly fired from the series.
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Julianne Moore Was Fired By Director Nicole Holofcener
Considering she’s an Academy Award-winning actress, it’s hard to imagine Julianne Moore getting fired from a project. But even she isn’t above getting the boot. According to Moore, she was fired from the film Can You Ever Forgive Me? before filming began.
During an interview, the actress said, “Nicole [Holofcener] fired me…I think she didn’t like what I was doing.”
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Gina Carano Was Fired After Season Two Of The Mandolorian
Going into season two of The Mandolorian, fans were excited to see more of Gina Carano’s character, Cara Dune. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before some social media posts resurfaced to haunt the actress.
The controversial posts wound up being the end of Carano’s time on the show, as she was swiftly fired for the negative comments.
James Gunn’s Offensive Jokes Didn’t Fly With Disney
Once upon a time, James Gunn was part of the MCU family as the director of the Guardians of the Galaxy films. When offensive jokes made on Twitter resurfaced, though, Gunn was immediately fired from directing the third installment of the series.
After a lengthy apology and being canceled for a short time, Disney re-hired Gunn to write and direct Vol. 3.
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Edward Norton Was Let Go Of Being The Hulk
Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk, was played by actor Edward Norton before Mark Ruffalo stepped into the green giant’s shoes. Interestingly, the studio initially asked Norton to come to the MCU.
Norton wound up getting tossed aside when he allegedly refused to work alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson.
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Megyn Kelly’s Comment On Air Got Her The Boot
Talk show host Megyn Kelly was filming her show Megyn Kelly Today when she made a remark about a certain costume style during Halloween. The family-friendly network of NBC wasn’t too keen on the comment.
NBC was quick to fire Kelly, and the show was canceled just one year after its premiere.
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Charlie Sheen Was Fired For Having “Too Much Fun”
After years of staring on the sitcom Two and a Half Men, Charlie Sheen was let go by Warner Bros. Television. According to the company, Sheen was having “too much fun,” and it looked bad for the show and the network, CBS.
In a statement, Sheen said, “I was having too much fun. What did they expect [when they paid me that kind of money]?”
Bryan Batt Was Written Out Of Mad Men
In the popular series Mad Men, Bryan Batt played the role of Salvatore Romano. The character wasn’t in each of the seven seasons, though. Batt was actually fired from the series because his character had completed his story.
According to Batt, even though he was written out of the show, there are no hard feelings.
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A Resurfaced Clip Of Shane Gillis Was The End Of His SNL Career
Before he even appeared on the variety show, Shane Gillis was fired from the 45th season of Saturday Night Live. Unfortunately, for the comedian, a single choice he made a few years before was the reason he was let go.
A clip had resurfaced, showing Gillis using an offensive term in one of his stand-ups. The show didn’t want to be associated with him after the clip was revealed.
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Roseanne Barr’s Tweets About Valerie Jarrett Weren’t Tolerated
When actress Roseanne Barr tweeted hateful comments towards former White House advisor Valerie Jarrett, it was pretty much the end of her time on the sitcom Roseanne.
ABC wasn’t going to tolerate the comments she made, announcing that season 11 of the show wasn’t going to take place. Instead, the network decided to embark on a spin-off series, The Conners.
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Mark Webber Was Replaced
In 2019, Mark Webber was originally cast to star alongside Cobie Smulders in Stumptown. However, before production began, he was replaced by Jake Johnson.
Webber didn’t take the news well, saying he was replaced because the network didn’t think he was handsome enough for the role of the ex-con Grey McConnell.
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Lisa Kudrow Was Fired From Frasier
Friends alum Lisa Kudrow didn’t even make it to the pilot episode of the popular sitcom Frasier before being fired from the cast. According to the actress, she was fired because “I wasn’t right for the part [or] for the chemistry of the group.”
Good news for Friends fans, though. Since she was fired, she was able to audition for Phoebe!
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Vanderpump Rules Gave A Few Cast Members The Boot
When hateful comments resurfaced on social media, a few reality stars paid the price. Stassi Schroeder, Kristen Doute, Max Boyens, and Brett Caprioni of Vanderpump Rules were all under fire when social media comments came back to bite them.
Even though the reality stars were a huge draw for Bravo, the network refused to work with people who were discriminating against others, firing all four of them in 2020.
Kevin Hunter’s Ex-Wife Fired Him From Her Show
Before their divorce, Kevin Hunter worked as the executive producer on his then-wife’s show The Wendy Williams Show. Apparently, the divorce was the perfect reason to fire Hunter.
Because once that paperwork was filed, Williams did not hesitate to let him go. According to a spokesperson for the show, “Debmar-Mercury wishes him well in his future endeavors.”
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Paula Abdul Was Let Go As The X Factor Was Cleaning House
In 2011, it was announced that The X Factor would make its debut in the United States, with Paula Abdul as one of the judges. After one season as a judge on the competition series, she was let go.
According to Deadline, Abdul was given the ax because the producers were “cleaning house.”
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Kathy Griffin’s Humor Was Too Much For CNN
Comedian Cathy Griffin was set to host CNN’s New Year special until a little photo surfaced that the network couldn’t back. In the picture, Griffin is posing next to what looks like a head resembling a certain former President.
As a result, Griffin was let go from the special.
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Gilbert Gottfried Made Unsympathetic Comments About Japan
In 2011, Japan was hit by a horrific tsunami and earthquake. Unfortunately, for Aflac duck mascot Gilbert Gottfried, he made too many unsympathetic and inappropriate social media comments about the disaster.
Since Aflac does 75% of its business in Japan, Gottfried was swiftly fired from his role as their mascot that same year.
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MTV Cut All Ties With The Challenge Star Dee Nguyen
Dee Nguyen was a reality star on the MTV show The Challenge. While ten episodes of the 35th season had aired with Dee in them, she was eventually edited out of the rest after being fired from the game show.
MTV asked Nguyen to leave the show after she made hurtful social media comments.
Johnny Depp Role As Grindelwald Came To An End
In the Fantastic Beasts series, Johnny Depp played evil mastermind Grindelwald. Yes, played, because the actor was asked to leave the role after the court proceedings between him and ex-wife Amber Heard became exceedingly messy and public.
According to Depp, Warner Bros. asked him to step down from the role, a decision he respected.
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Nick Cannon Was Let Go From The Masked Singer
Nick Cannon has hosted a slew of shows, with the most recent being the Masked Singer. Well, the gig didn’t last long after Cannon said some not-so-nice things during his podcast, “Cannon’s Class.”
The comments led ViacomCBS to end all partnerships with the comedian. Needless to say, Cannon did not take it well.
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