Let’s be honest: we’ve all wanted to quit our job at a certain point in life. No matter how awesome your job is, or how awesome you think it is, there’s going to be that one moment where you’ve just had it. Most people will just let that moment pass, but a select few will roll with it and quit their job.
Even TV stars sometimes get to that moment and quit their job. And it’s not always for a good reason either – here’s a few of the more ridiculous ones. Be that either good or bad.
Isaac Hayes (South Park)
While we can imagine South Park providing its actors with plenty of reasons to leave their roles without anyone blaming them, Isaac Hayes chose a pretty weird one. We all know South Park loves mocking all types of religion, so Isaac leaving the show after the show’s creators mocked Scientology, Isaac’s religion, was a bit weird. I mean, it had to happen sooner or later, right?
Luke Grimes (True Blood)
This is a painful one if true, but according to HBO Luke Grimes left the show because he didn’t agree with his character becoming gay. Sounds like a petty thing to lose a role in one of the more popular shows of its time over, but I guess Luke disagreed with that.
Janet Hubert (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air)
Remember when Aunt Vivian was suddenly another Aunt Vivian? Well, it turns out that the first actress who played the part, Janet Hubert, couldn’t stand Will Smith and felt he was a bit of an egomaniac. In fact, in the recent reunion, she was also painfully absent, claiming that Will Smith hadn’t changed one bit and she’d never do anything that he is attached to.
John Rhys-Davies (Sliders)
John quit this science fiction show about parallel universes because of nothing more than bad writing. He claimed the writers knew nothing about science fiction or science, which does seem like it would pose a few issues when dealing with this kind of material. Then again, considering how little we know about this subject – especially 20 year ago, when the show aired – I think a little creative leeway was to be expected.
Kal Penn (House M.D.)
Kal Penn’s character committed suicide in the popular House M.D. series, which usually means the writers are 100% sure the actor isn’t coming back – either because they don’t want to or the writers don’t want them to. In Kal’s case, it was the former: he left the show to work for the Obama administration. It’s hard to blame the guy.
Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men)
Who could forget about this one? Charlie Sheen hit rock bottom before leaving the Two and a Half Men showrunners no other choice but to continue on without their most popular actor and character. Charlie missed no opportunity before and after him getting fired to call Chuck Lorre all kinds of names in interviews, which begs the question if this was what Charlie Sheen wanted all along.
Dave Chappelle (Chappelle’s Show)
If you get a show named after yourself, it does beg the question why you’d quit it in the first place. Well, it’s actually fairly simple: Dave got tired of what the producers asked him to do and how hard he had to fight them to keep certain of his own skits and jokes in the show. I guess if the juice isn’t worth the squeeze anymore, it’s probably smarter to just call it quits.
