Whenever you are sitting down to watch your favorite television show, the last thing on your mind is all of the behind-the-scenes drama that is little known to the public. You are far more focused on the drama unfolding on your screen, which is understandable. But when you really take a moment to think about the lives of the actors on-screen and what may or may not be going on in their real lives, especially in regards to their jobs, you may realize there is even more drama to be had off-screen rather than on.
So when it comes to the many shows that have been on the CW (previously the WB) over the years, there’s bound to be a lot going on off-camera that we usually don’t get to hear about. Until now. While a lot of the shows have been immensely successful over the years, that doesn’t mean they haven’t hit their own roadblocks from time to time. And some of those roadblocks are bigger than others, to the point where they can be rather damaging to the actor’s career or the show’s longevity.
In regards to some of the CW shows we’re referring to, some scandals are obviously bigger deals than others, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t greatly affected the show or people involved. From those who were affected by harassment claims to those who suffered on-set injuries, there’s a lot to discuss. So here are the 25 Dark Behind-The-Scenes Secrets The CW Wants To Bury.
24 The Arrowverse’s Gross Misconduct
The #MeToo movement started when all of the allegations against Harvey Weinstein came to light. Women (and men) everywhere were encouraging those who have been victimized by people within the film industry to come forward so nothing like this could happen again.
Shortly after that, more and more people came forward with stories of misuse of power within Hollywood, and the CW was not immune to that. Nineteen men and women came forward with allegations of harassment by Executive Producer Andrew Kreisberg. He wrote and produced on all of the superheroes shows including Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, and Legends Of Tomorrow, before he was fired for his misconduct. Many of the stars of the Arrowverse shows came forward with support for those who spoke out which is really great considering the seriousness of the allegations.
23 Method Acting Gone Wrong
Method Acting is when an actor completely immerses themselves in their role to the point where you don’t know where the actor ends and their character begins. A lot of the time that results in spectacular performances, but sometimes it can also result in injury.
Case in point: KJ Apa in the season one finale of Riverdale. When Cheryl Blossom tried to end her life, Archie came to the rescue by punching through the ice repeatedly to save her from drowning in the icy waters.
But in real life, KJ Apa ended up punching so hard that even the styrofoam in between his hand and the ice didn’t keep him from being injured.
Unfortunately, he ended up with a broken hand, but he at least made the scene completely believable.
22 A Shocking Partnership
On Jane the Virgin, Mexican actress Kate del Castillo guest starred as a recurring character. She played the telenovela actress Luciana Leon who was known to be a very brazen and unapologetic person who could also be very manipulative.
What you probably didn’t know about the actress who played Luciana is that she has connections to El Chapo, a well-known substance lord. She actually facilitated a meeting between him and Sean Penn, which resulted in Penn’s infamous interview with El Chapo.
She claims to have not known about the interview but instead thought Sean Penn wanted to be a part of the film about El Chapo that she was working on. Very convenient, I’d say. But it’s hard to know what the actual truth is, so we’ll just have to take her at her word I suppose.
21 Too Much For Public
Just before The Vampire Diaries became such a hit show on The CW, five of the actresses from the teen vampire drama were arrested during a photoshoot. Nina Dobrev, Candice Accola, Sara Canning, Kayla Ewell, and Krystal Vayda, were all doing a shoot with Tyler Shields to promote the show when 911 calls started pouring in from the freeway they were on.
Some of the callers thought the women were in trouble, while others said they were clearly signaling cars driving below the overpass they were on.
Soon all five actresses, as well as the photographer, Tyler Shields, were arrested for disorderly conduct.
This all happened merely three weeks before the show was set to premiere, which you probably would think would negatively affect the numbers of the viewership, but that was not the case.
20 The Loss Of A Fan-Favorite
The 100 is a show known not only for its diversity but its acceptance and feminist qualities, what with it having a strong, Bi female lead in Clarke and having a diverse cast to boot. But when they decided to write off Lexa, played by Alycia Debnam-Carey, fans were utterly shocked.
Lexa was Clarke’s love interest and they had finally consummated their relationship when Lexa suddenly met her end. The writers chose to do this because Alycia was needed to begin filming season two of Fear The Walking Dead and they felt she was too important to have only made brief appearances.
So instead…she was written off the show permanently. Fans were outraged, particularly because their LGBT relationship presence on the show was no longer.
19 Real-Life Love Triangle
It has long been rumored that Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder’s abrupt ending of their relationship may have had more to it than they simply drifted apart. The reason being that after they broke up in 2013, it seemed it didn’t take long at all for Somerhalder to move on from Dobrev with another actress by the name of Nikki Reed. You probably recognize her from another popular Vampire hit which was none other than Twilight.
He was seen with Nikki Reed not very long after his relationship with Nina ended, so speculation soon started that maybe the two relationships overlapped.
Of course, there’s no confirmation of this from any party, but there did seem to be a lot of drama behind-the-scenes of the hit CW show when all of this was first happening.
18 An Uncomfortable Storyline
Supernatural is the longest-running show in The WB/CW history, with it now being renewed for a season fourteen. But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t come under its own controversy here and there throughout its thirteen seasons.
One, in particular, has to do with a season seven storyline. The episode in question was titled ‘Time For A Wedding’ and centered on Sam being intoxicated by a fangirl of his named Becky. She used a love potion to get him to marry her and it almost worked. She complained about it when it didn’t, even going so far as to say she was disappointed they couldn’t consummate their marriage.
The unfortunate thing about this is clearly Sam couldn’t have given his consent to any of this, but it was treated mostly as a joke. That’s quite uncomfortable, to say the least.
17 A Texas Brawl
Manu Bennett is known for his role as Slade Wilson/Deathstroke in the Arrowverse and is a known nemesis of Oliver Queen. His performance on the show has made him one of the most entertaining villains to watch on Arrow.
But it appears he is just as capable of losing his temper in real life as he is on the show.
After the Alamo City Comic Con in Texas back in 2015, he was arrested after getting into a fight with another man. It was said to be because the man made some disrespectful remarks about the mother of Bennett’s children and her battle with cancer.
Understandably, that would make anyone mad, but getting into a brawl over it only to be sent to jail soon after is not the way to go.
16 Misuse Of Power
One Tree Hill was another teen drama that was a huge hit on The WB/CW starting in the early-2000s. It centered on Lucas Scott and his dreams of being a basketball player while juggling his complicated family life as well as his relationships. What we didn’t know was there was a lot of unfortunate things happening behind-the-scenes on this hit show.
It turns out that Mark Schwahn, the creator of the show, was known amongst the cast and crew for allegedly committing harassment and in some cases, assault, all throughout the series. It was an ‘open secret’ and these women did not feel protected.
But in the light of the #MeToo movement, these 18 accusers wrote a joint letter detailing the despicable things he allegedly did. Truly awful.
15 Unprofessionalism
Taylor Momsen played Jenny Humphrey on Gossip Girl for five seasons up until her departure in 2012, which seemed to end under less than ideal circumstances.
There were sources close to the show that claimed her leaving the show was more because of her erratic behavior than the fact the other characters were going to college and leaving the younger characters behind.
The executive’s on the show felt she wasn’t giving it her all and was very unreliable, so they ended up dismissing her as a regular and completely wrote off her character later on.
Even guest star Tim Gunn had unflattering things to say about her, saying that, “She was pathetic, she couldn’t remember her lines, and she didn’t even have that many. I thought to myself, ‘why are we all being held hostage by this brat?”
14 Image Controversy
The 90210 reboot had a lot of drama, both on and off screen, but one of the scariest situations had to do with several of the main actresses’ health.
It seemed that many of them were way too thin. There were rumors that the other cast members were planning an intervention to get them the help they need. But others said that the CW execs actually were pressuring them to stay that thin.
It’s hard to know what the truth is, but it’s completely understandable that people were concerned about their health, not to mention the body image issues it might project onto their young viewers. A lot of young girls may have felt that was the ideal look to go for, but let’s hope that wasn’t the case and that the actresses did get the help they needed.
13 Private Photos Hacked
With everything these days being stored in the cloud, there always seems to be a risk that a hacker could get into our personal information and use them to their benefit. But when you’re a celebrity, that risk multiplies tenfold.
And that’s exactly what occurred with Arrowverse stars Katie Cassidy, Emily Bett Rickards, and Melissa Benoist.
All three of the actresses had photos leaked of them in a state of undress, but Cassidy’s and Benoist’s were far racier than Rickard’s.
No matter how risqué the photos were, though, it was an invasion of privacy and a really awful thing to do to someone. Just because someone is a celebrity doesn’t mean they aren’t a person with feelings. Or that they don’t have their own right to privacy.
12 The Newbie
Just before season two of Riverdale began production, it was announced that actress Vanessa Morgan would be joining the cast. It was also said that she would be shaking things up a bit when it came to Betty and Jughead’s relationship.
Her character was described as “a former student at Southside High” who could have potentially caused trouble for Betty and Jughead’s relationship. But it was later revealed she was “more into girls.”
But because of that first new piece of information, Bughead fans everywhere were already freaking out and assuming the worst. Furthermore, some fans even sent the actress threats, which seems like a huge overreaction and something no one should have to deal with. I mean, it’s a tv show, there’s no need for threats to someone’s life.
11 Controversial Tweets
Steve Talley is the actor who played Wick on The 100, who was also Raven’s love interest. Until she abruptly broke up with him off-screen.
It has been speculated that he was fired not long after fans found his twitter account.
It was filled with offensive content, including racist jokes. Some of these comments may have been meant as ‘jokes’,’ but fans didn’t think it was a laughing matter.
But there was also some wondering if this was his official account, seeing as it wasn’t verified, but when people noticed some of the cast and crew followed this account as well, it was hard to ignore the possible truth.
The writers claim he was written off because the breakup between Raven and Wick was her just pushing everyone away, but it does seem coincidental.
10 A Queen’s Tragedy
Reign was a wonderful historical drama detailing the life of Mary, Queen of Scots. It showed a lot about the political side of the French court while also including intrigue and the love lives of royalty.
There was one episode, though, that went too far for some fans.
The episode was titled ‘Acts of War,’ and in it, Mary is a victim of an assault.
A Protestant forces himself on her when he comes to the castle in an attempt to take her husband’s life.
Some fans applauded the show for illustrating what it’s like to have to heal from an act of violence such as that, while others thought it was a bit much to include. It also was looked at as wrong for being included just to be a punishment for her husband’s past transgressions.
9 Awkward Way To Find Out…
Most of the time when a show is canceled, everyone involved with the program is let know before the rest of the world does. That, unfortunately, was not the case when 90210 was canceled.
The cast and crew had to find out that the series was done via Twitter. It seemed almost like a slap in the face for those involved, and it definitely came as a shock, according to star AnnaLynne McCord. She went on to say that finding out through social media “wasn’t cool at all.” I have to agree with her on this.
It’s already bad enough that the cast and crew were now out of a job, but to find out in such an impersonal and frankly, unprofessional way, is really awful.
8 Feuding Actresses
On Gossip Girl, Serena and Blair were known for being the best of friends. But art did not imitate life in this instance, according to multiple sources linked to the show.
Apparently, there was plenty of on-set drama to go around between the two.
That includes Blake Lively being bothered that Leighton Meester’s wardrobe budget was upped when her’s was not, as well as Meester having her own not-so-great feelings about Lively and her personality.
Even the writer and co-producer, Joshua Safran said, “Blake and Leighton were not friends. They were friendly, but they were not friends like Serena and Blair. Yet the second they’d be on set together, it’s as if they were.”
Whether this feud is just a rumor or not, at least the two actresses don’t have to deal with the drama any longer.
7 Untoward Accusations
Robert Knepper played the entertaining villain William Tockman/Clock King in the Arrowverse for a couple of episodes and fans found his performance to be fantastic. He also plays Angus McDonough on the other CW series, iZombie and has garnered a large fanbase since he has been on the show.
But back in November of last year, some allegations came out about him and his past conduct with a costume designer in 1991 on the set of Gas Food Lodging.
Since then, more allegations have come out about him and he completely denies all of them. But it’s hard to see him in the same light after hearing details of the allegations against him, though we still can’t say whether or not they’re entirely true. Only time will tell.
6 Awful Fan Encounter
Ian Somerhalder came under fire while on his honeymoon with Nikki Reed in 2015. They were in Paris and while they were coming out of their hotel, a crowd of fans was there waiting for them.
They were hoping for autographs or pictures when Somerhalder came off as kind of rude to them.
He said to the fans, “Everybody stop…I love you guys, but I’m not taking a single photo today. It’s my day.”
Of course, he was on his honeymoon, so he probably wanted alone time with his new wife. But fans had already been on the fence about his relationship with Reed after the way things had ended between him and Nina Dobrev, but after this encounter, they may have decided it was time to let their adoration for Ian go.
5 Archie’s In The Hot Seat
KJ Apa plays Archie on Riverdale, and since the show has premiered, has become a household name. But if he’s not careful with the posts he likes on Instagram, his fame may go away just as quickly as it came.
Apparently, he liked a fat-shaming comment on Instagram that said, “Making fun of fat people is the only thing that’s gonna stop those useless bags of… [passing from] a fat early [demise].” That already isn’t a great example to set for his many young fans, but he also put up a problematic image on Snapchat.
He posted a picture of a list titled “15 Reasons A Beer Is Better Than A Woman” which is seriously misogynistic and his fans did not appreciate it. Hopefully, he learns his lesson eventually.
