16 Problematic TV Moments That Somehow Happened In The Past 15 Years

    Some of these characters need higher standards for who they date.

    Jess Goodwin
    by Jess Goodwin

    BuzzFeed Contributor

    In terms of overall inoffensiveness, TV is, for the most part, getting better.

    ABC / Via giphy.com

    It's still not perfect, though — there are plenty of moments even in relatively recent years that probably should never have happened in the first place.

    NBC / Via giphy.com

    Here are 16 problematic moments from the past 15 years of television:

    1. This Gossip Girl relationship from 2007 onward

    jenny and chuck in gossip girl
    CW

    In the 2007 series premiere of Gossip Girl, Chuck attempts to sexually assault Jenny. Even though he apologizes the following year, it's still pretty hard to stomach seeing Jenny lose her virginity to him in Season 3.

    2. This "sweet" gesture in The Office from 2008

    jim halpert saying today is the day that I show Pam the house that I bought for us without telling her
    NBC

    There are, like, a million problematic moments in The Office, but for the most part, that's kind of the point. The show generally highlights the bad behavior in a "here's what not to do" sort of way.

    One thing that did not get treated as inappropriate, though, was when Jim bought a whole-ass house for him and Pam without consulting her in Season 5. 

    It also ended up being a precursor to behavior that could've ended their marriage — him spontaneously taking a job in Philly, which snowballed into a lot of other general crappiness.

    3. This Pretty Little Liars relationship from 2010 onward

    ezra and aria in pretty little liars
    ABC Family

    Teacher-student relationships are never appropriate, but by the time Pretty Little Liars hit the air, you'd think they'd know better than to portray one between a grown man and a high school student as this big dramatic love story. Even worse, they ultimately ended up getting married during the series finale in 2017, because love conquers all, I guess.

    4. And this one from 2011 onward

    paige and emily in pretty little liars
    ABC Family

    Paige nearly drowned Emily, and yet, they not only kissed, like, five episodes later but ended up seriously dating later?

    5. The many, many instances of sexual assault in Game of Thrones from 2011 onward

    daenerys in game of thrones
    HBO

    For a show about dragons, Game of Thrones , which premiered in 2011, was really committed to including graphic depictions of sexual assault against women in the name of remaining "historically accurate" to the Medieval era it drew inspiration from. It sounds like the upcoming spinoff House of the Dragon will continue the trend.

    6. This response to Ryder's confession in Glee from 2013

    sam and artie telling ryder he should be proud and not ashamed of being molested by his teen babysitter when he was a child
    Fox

    Toward the end of Season 4, Ryder shares with the other New Directioners that he was sexually abused by his babysitter at 11 years old.

    When he reveals it was a roughly 17-year-old female babysitter, Sam and Artie tell him he shouldn't be ashamed — but because it's every teenage boy's dream. Sam even says he "would have killed" for that to happen to him, and Artie says Ryder "has superior game."

    Mr. Schue and a couple other New Directioners chime in to tell Sam and Artie that it's not something to high five or congratulate Ryder over, but they clearly don't get it. Ryder ultimately leaves, telling everyone not to worry about it and that Sam and Artie are right.

    Sadly, it was probably a fairly realistic portrayal of how teen boys might have responded, but it's just gross and sad.

    7. This Hannibal death from 2014

    beverly katz in hannibal
    NBC

    I'm personally a huge fan of the Bryan Fuller series (and still hope to get another season), but it's hard to deny that the death of Beverly Katz was hard to watch (for more than the usual reasons). As far as the main cast went, she was the only non-male character of color and the only Asian character. Her murder was a classic case of fridging as well, as it finally gave Will the push he needed to go scorched earth on Hannibal.

    Hettienne Park, who played Beverly, addressed her character's demise not long after it aired, and made it clear that she didn't think there were any racist or sexist motivations behind the choice. Still, it was a bummer to have to say goodbye to one of the few characters who helped bring diversity to the show.

    8. This "unplanned" pregnancy in Shameless from 2015

    debbie saying i wanna have a baby on shameless
    Showtime

    At the end of Season 5, Debbie starts taking birth control pills, and is in no uncertain terms told by the doctor that they won't be effective for 48 hours. She still has unprotected sex with her boyfriend that same night, telling him not to worry about using a condom because she's "on the pill," in hopes that she'll get pregnant — which she does.

    9. This Outlander beating from 2015

    claire and jamie in outlander
    Starz

    Like Game of Thrones, Outlander is another series that relies heavily on a desire to remain "historically accurate," which means not only sexual violence against women, but general violence against women. 

    About halfway through the first season, Claire "needs" to be punished, and the social mores of the time call for a belting from her husband, Jamie. Naturally, she resists, resulting in a somewhat goofy chase scene, accompanied by upbeat violin music, which seems to be an attempt to make the fact that he's physically abusing her more lighthearted.

    They ultimately make up, with him apologizing and realizing that their relationship can't really work if they adhere to the rules of the time, but the fact remains that an act of domestic violence was downplayed to make it seem like it wasn't that big a deal.

    10. This pointless death in The 100 from 2016

    lexa dying in the 100
    CW

    Just after Clarke and Lexa make love for the first time, Lexa is accidentally shot by a bullet meant for Clarke, courtesy of Titus. 

    Behind the scenes, Lexa was killed off because the actor who played her, Alycia Debnam-Carey, had a commitment to star in Fear the Walking Dead. Many fans felt this was a classic example of the "Bury Your Gays" trope; however, as you'll see if you search "lexa 100 still mad" on Twitter, people are indeed still mad about it.

    11. This Stranger Things relationship from 2016 onward

    jonathan and nancy in stranger things
    Netflix

    Jonathan was a big ol' creep in the first season of Stranger Things, which began streaming in 2016. He took pictures of Nancy undressing, and while he apologized and seemed to genuinely understand why what he did was wrong, it still feels gross that Nancy decided to date him in Season 2.

    12. This Riverdale dance sequence from 2017

    betty singing mad world in riverdale
    CW

    I know Lili Reinhart defended this scene, but there's literally no reason for a 16-year-old to be doing a striptease at a bar in front of a group of people comprised mostly of adults.

    13. This onscreen suicide in 13 Reasons Why from 2017

    hannah from 13 reasons why
    Netflix

    Netflix got a lot of flak for choosing to include Hannah's suicide scene in the original release of the series, and for good reason. The show is accused of glamorizing suicide, and after it started streaming, educators and school administrators began warning that it could lead to a "contagion effect" among vulnerable teens.

    After the outcry, Netflix added warnings ahead of the season finale, which featured the scene in question, as well as on two other episodes that depicted graphic sexual assault.

    It wasn't until 2019, though, that Netflix edited the scene depicting Hannah's suicide; now when viewers watch, the scene cuts from Hannah looking at herself in the mirror immediately before to her parents finding her just after.

    14. This Legacies eating disorder "joke" from 2018

    A girl saying, "Why, so you can throw me up later?"
    CW

    A bulimia joke in 2018? Really?

    15. Basically all of Insatiable from 2018 onward

    debby ryan in a fat suit in insatiable
    Netflix

    Speaking of making light of eating disorders, the Netflix series, which started streaming in 2018, was basically just two seasons of constant fatphobia.

    16. This controversial Bridgerton sex scene from 2020

    daphne and simon in bridgerton
    Netflix

    It's true that Simon lies to Daphne about being unable to have children (as far as he knows, he actually can — he just doesn't want to), which is a crappy thing to do. However, it doesn't justify the fact that, in an effort to figure out if he's been lying to her, she positions herself in such a way that he's unable to pull out while they're having sex, in effect forcing him to orgasm inside her.

    This scene was taken from the books on which the series is based and modified so that Daphne's not shown in quite as bad a light, but the novel the first season follows came out in 2000. The writers of the TV series had 20 whole years to know that a lack of consent shouldn't result in a happy ending.

    What recent TV moments did you find surprisingly problematic? Sound off in the comments.