The Discovery and History Channel are supposed to be the pioneers of knowledge proliferation for the Small Screens. For years, they have made learning look easy and fun. As the years have gone by, both the networks have become creative, coming up with innovative new shows and ideas to keep their audiences engaged. There’s tons of content if you like to watch these shows. But sometimes, even the mighty take a bad fall from grace. The Discovery and History Channel have their fair shares of controversy. Here’s a few of them that left a bad after-taste among the fans.
Bear Grylls Leaving Man vs. Wild
The show man vs. Wild pushed a seemingly unknown veteran soldier from the united States Armed Forces to the very frontlines of fame. Bear Grylls was a nobody. That was until the first episode of man vs. Wild aired and he became a household phenomenon. Grylls became the greatest survivalist to ever grace the small screens. He was pushed into the corners of the world from the jungles of Amazon to the Glaciers of Canada and the Deserts of the Kalahari. He survived them all. So why did he leave the show that made him a super star? The truth is – he did not leave. He mas wade to leave. Bear Grylls was fired from Man vs. Wild after he refused to participate in Discovery’s two upcoming projects starring him.
The Alaskan Bush People Were Not even From Alaska
The Alaskan Bush People generated a lot of views for the network. But the viewers were into sure whether the show was authentic enough. To be precise, the people featured in the show did not at all seem the way the show described them. The cat was finally let out of the bag. The Alaskan Bush people were revealed to be not even from the area filming was happening. They had a home 10miles away from the town center. The family was from Texas and Colorado. They had moved to Alaska in 2012. Fans did not like the way they were duped. To top it off, the brown family had already collected checks from the Alaskan State Government worth over 8000 US Dollars. That literally amounted to fraud.
American Guns Cancellation – Richard Wyatt & His Shop’s Morbid Fate
Things did not go smoothly after Discovery cancelled American Guns. The store was shown in detail in the show. A thief used the footage to come up with a layout for the store. When nobody was looking (the thief also knew about the store employees’ shifts from the show), he cut a hole in the roof and stole 3 rifles and 12 handguns. But wait there’s more. Richard Wyatt, the owner of the gun shop, was revealed to have been operating under an expired license. He was actually selling guns through another person’s Federal Firearms License which is against the law. He is facing criminal charges. He is also facing other charges on account of tax evasion worth a million dollars.
Dual Survival – Joe Teti Tried To Kill Cody Lundin In The Show
A slew of copycat shows came after the success of Man vs. Wild. Dual Survival was a reality TV Show which featured two survivalists who have been trained differently, using their own ways to deal with the forces of nature. Cody Lundin, one of the two stars of the show, filed a lawsuit against Discovery for hiding the fact that Joe Teti threatened to kill him during one episode. The show runner made it look like Teti was losing his mind but in reality, Teti was out for blood. He was swinging an ice axe in front of Lundin, threatening to kill him and bury his remains in the mountain they had set up camp.
Counting Cars – Experts Openly Claimed Its Sketchy and Far-Fetched
The massively popular show Counting Cars – where a custom car shop goes around the city looking for vintage cars to buy, customize, and sell, met with some controversy later on. The automobile experts claimed that the methods the shop was employing is not how custom car shops work. People who actually visited the shop in real life claimed the location was unimpressive and the merchandise was absolutely over-priced. The show still enjoys immense popularity despite the controversy. Danny Koker aka the Count, is also very politically active in the show. He claims environmentalism is a farce and hybrid cars are a joke. He even openly supports Donald Trump on screen, which is against the terms and agreements of the contract he signed with the network.
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Pawn Stars – Chumlee’s Criminal Career
Chumlee is one of the fan-favorite characters of Pawn Stars. The truth is that he does not work there anymore. Moreover, he is not as innocent as he sounds. The cops once raided his home years ago and found large quantities of drugs and unlicensed forearms. He got three years probation and was banned from working as an employee in the Pawn shop for life. He only makes occasional appearances due to his contract with the network.
