Janet Hubert on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The original Aunt Viv on the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was played by actress Janet Hubert. She ended up getting pregnant while filming the show, which violated her contract. At this point, the production team fired her. They replaced her with another actress, Daphne Maxwell Reed, who would go on to play the role of Aunt Viv for the final three seasons.
One would think that getting fired for getting pregnant is a harsh punishment, but there was more to it. It was also said that she hated Will Smith and was constantly fighting with him. It was rumored that Smith said she was too dark to believably be the mother to the kids, as well. She did not seem surprised when she was fired from the show.
Scarlett Pomers On Reba
The role of Kyra Hart, the youngest daughter of Reba, on the TV show Reba, was played by actress Scarlett Pomers. She was one of the main characters on the show and was a saucy beauty. People loved her and were quite surprised when she left the show without a trace.
Sadly, Scarlett left the show because she went into rehab for her eating disorder. She had been suffering from anorexia and was weighing only 73 pounds. She appeared in 2 of the 22 episodes during season 5 and returned to Reba when she recovered, in 2006.
John Amos on Good Times
The media's portrayal of African Americans has been an ongoing issue in the U.S, since its beginning. John Amos, the famed father on Good Times, revealed in an interview that he was fired from the show because he spoke out against the “shucking and jiving,” that they constantly had the black actors doing. Their characters had no depth like white TV characters.
Apparently, the executive didn't like his opinions and he was written off the show. His character was said to have been involved in a car accident.
Mandy Patinkin on Criminal Minds
Mandy Patinkin spent 2 seasons on the show Criminal Minds before calling it quits. He had previously done mostly comedies, such as The Princess Bride, so after two years on Criminal Minds he decided the show was getting too dark for him.
Sadly, he says he does regret his time on Criminal Minds. He marks it as one of his biggest mistakes. He was excited to do something different but did not realize the toll it would take on him mentally. He did not know the storylines were going to be about raping and murdering women every night. He says it was very destructive to him.
Robert Downey Jr. on Ally McBeal
On the show Ally McBeal, Robert Downey Jr. played Larry Paul, who was the love interest of the title character, Ally McBeal. Ally had a multitude of different love interests on her show, but the team brought Larry in as the last one. The plan was for her to marry him. That was a great idea since he was a big fan favorite - both character and actor wise.
Robert Downey Jr. got the role of Larry Paul shortly after getting out of jail. He was in and out of jail due to his addiction to drugs but was hopeful that he would be able to stay clean now that he had a new role to focus on. Sadly, that was not the case, and he got fired from the show after his inability to stay clean.