Co-Star Feuds That Almost Killed Iconic Shows

For viewers, being part of a TV series may look like being embraced into one big happy family. 

But for some there can be just as much drama off-set as on-set, with dynamics mirroring popularity contests at school and cliques forming. 

Last weekend,  called out the 'intense and cliquey' environment when she first joined the Charmed cast for the show's eighth series back in 2005.

While going into more detail about her experience, Kaley said 'there were a few people on that show that were wonderful to me, and there were a few people that weren’t.' 

Naming Alyssa Milano as a co-star who made her feel welcome and gave her a big hug when she arrived on set, she revealed gave a less warm reception as she commented: 'I still don't know if she liked me.' 

But Kaley is by no means the only actress to have had a frosty experience starring in a TV show. 

From Sex And The City to Gossip Girls, Glee and even The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, plenty of fan favourite shows were almost derailed due to their off-screen bust ups. 

Charmed 

Shannen Doherty claimed Alyssa Milano caused a 'weird divide' between the cast while Kaley Cuoco says she was 'terrified' after being snubbed by an icy A-list star when she first joined the show. 

and starred in the popular show together for the first three seasons before Shannen left the show.

At the time, Shannen was brutally honest about how a certain person on set had contributed to her departure from the series, and while she didn't name names, many people thought she was referring to Alyssa.

'I want to work with actors who really, really care and that want to be there every single day,' Shannen once said.

'I don't want to work with people who b***h about their job and complain about it and say that they hate it or anything else.'

In December 2023, Shannen and Holly Marie Combs reunited for an episode of the Little House on the Prairie alum's podcast Let's Be Clear - and they made a series of shocking claims against Alyssa.

They slammed her for causing a 'weird divide' between them during their time on the show, and alleged that it was Alyssa's fault that Shannen was ultimately let go.

Shannen stated that Alyssa and her mom, Lin Milano, had tried to restrict her access to Holly after she had to undergo surgery on her uterus to remove a tumor.

'I waited 24 hours after your surgery to go and then it wasn't even easy for me to get in,' Shannen said to Holly. 'I was like being told I couldn't even get in.

'Alyssa and her mom were blocking people from seeing you and at the time you didn't know - I remember you texted me, "Dude are you going to come and see me?"'

Shannen claimed that the scenario 'caused a weird divide between the two of them that continued throughout season two,' which resulted in her 'crying every single night' during production on the show's second season.

While addressing their accusations afterwards, Alyssa said, 'I am the most sad that a show that has meant so much to so many people has been tarnished by a toxicity that is still to this day almost a quarter of a century later still happening.

'I'm sad that people can't move past it. I'm sad that we all can't just celebrate the success of a show that meant so much to all of us.

'I have worked super hard in my life in the last 25 years to heal all of my trauma, and that's not just all the trauma that I experienced while shooting but all of my trauma.'

But Shannen doubled down on the claims a few days later, stating, 'Holly and I, we were not mean on the podcast.

'In fact, we went in and we edited out anything that we felt would cause more drama.

'We simply told the truth because the truth actually does matter. But we wanted to try to save you, the fans, from heartbreak as much as humanly possible.

'At this point in my life with my health diagnosis - with fighting horrific disease every day of my life, it is also incredibly important to me that the truth actually be told as opposed to the narrative that others put out there for me.'

After Shannen passed away in July 2024 after a battle with breast cancer, Alyssa addressed their longtime feud in an emotional tribute.

'It's no secret that Shannen and I had a complicated relationship, but at its core was someone I deeply respected and was in awe of,' she said.

'She was a talented actress, beloved by many, and the world is less without her. My condolences to all who loved her.' 

Meanwhile this week Kaley looked back on her time on the show as she revealed she felt overwhelmed from the start. 

The actress explained that her very first day wasn't a casual meet-and-greet, it was the show's official gallery shoot for the new season. 

Appearing on Dax Shepard's podcast she explained: 'For those - a gallery shoot, you're starting season eight, you're going to go do new photos with the cast. It's an all-day thing.

'So I'm the new girl. You got Alyssa Milano, Rose McGowan, and Holly Marie Combs. I've never met them. Do you think about that? I'm joining their family photo and I'm 21.'

Admitting she was simultaneously 'terrified', her anxiety only intensified when she arrived during the cast's lunch break.

'I walk in that gallery and I am so freaking nervous,' she said. 'It's on their lunch break. They're all in the corners eating.

'I walk in. Alyssa Milano sees me and I will always tell this story about her. She got up, ran over to me, welcome to the show. Gave me the biggest hug in the world. We're so happy. You're so kind. So kind. I will never forget that,' Cuoco shared. 

'Rose maybe not as happy. I don't know. I don't know,' Cuoco said of McGowan. 'I still don't know if she liked me. I don't know. But Alyssa was amazing. I was terrified.'

Cuoco noted that joining a long-running series midstream can feel deeply awkward.

'It's a weird thing coming into a show with how many years. I was year eight. And I only did the one season,' she explained. 'It's walking into someone's family dinner. It's so weird.'

Beverly Hills 90210

Shannen Doherty also clashed with her co-star Jennie Garth while they starred in Beverly Hills 90210. 

The pair were known to clash while starring on the 90s teen drama, and in August 2019 Jennie revealed the tension was so severe they almost got into a physical fight on set.

In an interview with E! News, the Jennie said she and Shannen 'butt heads a lot' on set.

'There were times when we loved each other and there were times when we wanted to claw each other's eyes out,' she said, adding that they get along much better now as adults.

Fellow 90210 co-star, Tori Spelling, claimed in her memoir there was even a physical fight between the bitter rivals, when Shannen pulled Jennie's skirt up revealing her backside to the whole crew.

The rumor mill started churning again in March when some fans called out Jennie for supposedly leaving Shannen out of social media posts when they both attended 90s Con earlier this year.

However in 2023 it appeared Jennie was willing to put the feud behind them after Shannen revealed that her breast cancer had spread to her brain. 

Shannen passed away from the disease in July 2024.   

Sex and the City 

It's no secret that Sex and the City stars Sarah and Kim were not as close in real life as their characters were on screen and the pair have publicly slammed each other numerous times. 

Speculation first emerged that said the two were feuding when filming kicked off for the SATC movie.

Kim initially decided she wouldn't be a part of it, and explained that it came down to the pay yet afterwards, reports began to emerge that said the rest of the SATC stars weren't happy with her decision.

But Sarah tried to quelle the rumors, stating, 'Honestly, we are all friends and I wish I saw more of Kim.

'She mentioned money and no one should vilify her for it. People made a decision that we had vilified her.

'No one bothered to say [to the rest of us], "Are you disappointed by not making the movie?' Yes. 'Do you respect and support her choice to not do it?" Absolutely.'

Kim ultimately did agree to join the film, which came out in 2008, but when they started filming the follow-up afterwards, it was clear that things were tense between Kim and SJP.

A 2009 report from New York Magazine claimed, 'Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall are no longer speaking, which is making everyone on the set of the new Sex and the City movie uncomfortable.'

While both women initially denied that there was any feud, the façade began to break down in the years that followed.

In 2017, after reports emerged that said the Sex and the City 3 movie had been canceled because of Kim, she spoke out against Sarah.

'I remember so clearly, making that decision, and last December, I got a phone call and it was concerning that and the answer was simply, "Thank you, but no,"' she said of deciding not to participate in the third film.

'The answer was always no. I never asked for any money, I never asked for any projects. To be thought of as some kind of diva is ridiculous.'

She then said of Sarah, 'She could have been nicer. I really think she could have been nicer.'

She added that she hadn't been in contact with any of her costars in quite some time and said it felt like being in a 'toxic relationship.'

She also clarified, 'We've never been friends. We've been colleagues, and in some ways, it's a very healthy place to be.'

Kim then slammed SJP again after she tried to console Kim on social media after her brother died in 2018.

'I can't begin to know how her family is managing such a loss,' Sarah told Extra at the time.

'We all send her our love and condolences and grant her the privacy that she's asked for.'

'I don't need your love or support at this tragic time @sarahjessicaparker,' Kim wrote on Instagram.

She then accused Sarah of 'exploiting our tragedy to restore [her] "nice girl" persona,' adding: 'Your continuous reaching out is a painful reminder of how cruel you really were then and now.'

When the Sex and the City reboot, And Just Like That..., came out in December 2021, Kim was not a part of it.

She did, however, make a brief cameo in the season two finale... which she filmed by herself without any interactions with her former cast mates. 

Gossip Girl  

Blake Lively and Leighton Meester may have played best friends on the show which ran from 2007 until 2012, but in real life it was a different story. 

Last year Leighton - who played Serena's on-off bestie Blair Waldorf - admitted she is no longer friends with many of the cast and has no interest in ever revisiting the show for a reunion episode.

In 2008, a source told New York Magazine that the two 'avoid each other like the plague' on set.

The publication claimed that the rivalry escalated to the point that other members essentially had to 'choose sides' in the matter. 

At that time, Blake's publicist came forward with a statement, admitting the two were indeed never friendly.

'Blake and Leighton have never been best friends and never professed to be,' the publicist's statement read. 'Blake goes to work, does her job and goes home.'

Years later, a writer from the show, Josh Safran, spilled some more info on their icy relationship.

'Blake and Leighton were not friends,' he told Vanity Fair in 2017. 'They were friendly, but they were not friends like Serena and Blair.'

He then explained that the two of had differing personalities and interests, which likely contributed to why they didn't click.

'Blake is very much in the moment. Blake knows what's happening,' he shared. 'You talk to Blake on a very contemporary level, and she would be like, "I'm doing this thing tonight. Have you been to this restaurant?"

'Leighton was very removed and very quiet, and, after her scenes were done, she would wander the stage.

'I had this image of her just in these gorgeous dresses with a book in her hand, sort of a little bit out of focus out in the corners.'

Glee 

Glee stars and famously feuded while filming the Fox musical show and by season six the pair refused to speak to one another. 

Naya spoke in detail about their rivalry in her 2016 memoir, Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up.

'One of the Glee writers once said that Lea and I were like two sides of the same battery and that about sums us up,' she wrote. 

'We are both strong willed and competitive - not just with each other but with everyone - and that's not a good mixture.

'As the show progressed, though, that friendship started to break down, especially as Santana moved from a background character to one with bigger plot lines and more screen time.' 

The actress went on to say that 'Lea didn't like sharing the spotlight' and that she 'was a lot more sensitive when people offered feedback or criticism.' 

'If I'd complained about anyone or anything, she'd assumed I was b**ching about her,' Naya recalled. 

By season six, Naya claimed that Lea 'didn't say a word' to her on set.

'Lea and I definitely weren't the best of friends, and I doubt we'll ever sit on her couch and eat kale together again, but the rumors of our 'feud' were blown out of proportion,' she concluded.

After Naya's tragic death in 2020, her dad, George, spoke further of their drama in the docuseries The Price Of Glee. 

'There was always a fight between them. Always. Everybody knew. Everybody saw it,' George alleged.

'They hated each other but, at the same time, respected each other's talent.' 

Fresh Prince of Bel Air

Janet Hubert and played mother and son respectively in the show Fresh Prince of Bel Air. But in real life, their relationship was very different. 

Janet left the show in 1993 over 'creative differences,' and at the time, Will made it clear that she wasn't a fan of his with her later branding the actor an 'egomaniac' and 'a**hole'. 

'[Janet] said once, "I've been in the business for 10 years and this snotty-nosed punk comes along and gets a show." No matter what, to her I'm just the Anti-Christ,' the actor said during an interview.

She later publicly slammed Will's behavior on set, telling BlackAmericaWeb in 2010, 'I was a dark-skinned, African-American mother, and Will used to tell the you're-so-Black jokes to the audience before the show.

'At one point, I came out and stopped him... He didn't understand how unbelievably disrespectful that was to women like me.'

A year later, rumoirs began to swirl that there was going to be a Fresh Prince of Bel Air reboot after Will posted a photo with some of his former castmates. 

But Jane was quick to shut those rumors down, telling TMZ, 'There will never be a reunion as I will never do anything with an a**hole like Will Smith.' 

'He is still an egomaniac and has not grown up. This constant reunion thing will never, ever happen in my lifetime unless there is an apology, which he doesn't know the word,' she scathed.

Will went on to publicly apologise to Janet on a segment of Red Table Talk, and she appeared in the  Fresh Prince reunion special in 2020.

'I waited a long time to hear those words,' Janet told WABC afterwards of Will's apology.

She said it was 'easy' to forgive him' because she had 'felt [his] honesty. I felt the change. He is not the same person that he was at 21 years old,' she added. 

Grey's Anatomy 

Isaiah Washington was fired from Grey's Anatomy after being accused of using a homophobic slur in reference to co-star T. R. Knight - who later came out as gay - while arguing with co-star Patrick Dempsey on set.

He later denied using the term as a slur, and claimed he instead told Patrick to stop treating him like an 'F-word', which he said meant 'somebody who is being weak and afraid to fight back.' 

In 2021 Isaiah opened up about his experiences on the Grey’s Anatomy set, and what he said were many toxic elements in play involving key figures on the ABC medical drama, in particular former leading man Patrick Dempsey.

He spoke on KBLA Talk 1580 radio show saying that his firing 'was an agenda to cover up for the toxic and bad behavior of many of my former castmates on that show ... and the top of that would be Patrick Dempsey.'

Washington said that his tension with Dempsey, 57, was initially based on finances.

'I was the highest paid person on that show, next to Patrick Dempsey,' he said. 'Apparently, it got out, so there was a lot of resentment. I understand that but it was based on my roles and my resume. I can't help that.

'He was called Pilot Poison. No one wanted him on the show. They wanted Rob Lowe,' he added.

As of the incident involving T. R. Knight, 49, Washington said Knight was not present when he used the offensive phrase, and that the story with Dempsey was twisted to make him look bad.

'It went from us having a brawl, which was never a brawl, to me saying something about T.R.,' Washington said, adding that he was 'coerced to apologize' to keep his spot on the hit show.

In 2014, he reflected on his experiences on the show and said: 'I don't worry about whether or not the stories I tell will destroy my acting career, because you can't take away something that doesn't exist. They killed the actor [in me] on June 7, 2007.'

In March 2023 Isaiah quit Hollywood for good as he announced his early retirement and blamed the 'haters' for it. 

'It is with a heavy heart and a sense of relief that I am announcing my early retirement from the entertainment industry today,' the actor wrote.

'Those who have been Following/Witnessing my journey here on Twa***r since 2011 all know that I have fought the good fight, but it seems that the haters, provocateurs and the Useful Idiots have won.'

He continued: 'I'm no longer interested in the back and forth regarding a "color construct" that keeps us human beings divided nor am I interested in politics or anything vitriolic. I will be traveling this great country before it falls into Socialism and then Communism.'

Cheers

Costars and Ted Danson sent shockwaves around the globe when they revealed that they had been embroiled while starring on Cheers together. 

The two hashed out their issues when Kelsey appeared on Ted's Everybody Knows Your Name podcast in 2024, but at the time, neither divulged what had caused the decades-long fight.

'I feel like, f**k, I don't know. I missed out on the last 30 years of Kelsey Grammer, and I feel like it's my bad, my doing,' Ted said.

'I almost feel like apologizing to you... I apologize to you and me. I really do apologize.'

Kelsey thanked him for the apology and said, 'I truly wish we'd spent some more time together.'

Explaining what caused the rift to the New York Post, Kelsey said: 'It got a little blown out of proportion. There really wasn't an argument.

'It was at a time in my life when I was actually going through a lot of self-doubt, self-loathing, honestly.

'It was when I was drinking a lot. Ted had just come up and said, "You know, I'm kind of mad at you that sometimes you don't show up ready to go." 

'And I said, "okay, I respect that." And that actually was sort of it. Now maybe what happened for Ted was, he stepped away from what might have been a [bad] friendship... maybe he had to protect himself.'

Vampire Diaries

Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley famously played on/off lovers Elena and Stefan for six of the eight seasons of The Vampire Diaries until her unceremonious send-off in 2016. 

In 2019, Nina shocked the show's dedicated fans when she admitted that she and Paul 'despised' each other while they were filming the show.

'Paul and I didn't get along at the beginning of the show,' she said during an appearance on the Directionally Challenged podcast. 'I respected Paul Wesley, I didn't like Paul Wesley.'

She recalled how she would get compliments about how great their chemistry was on screen, adding, 'We despised each other so much, that it read as love.

'We really just didn't get along the first maybe five months of shooting.'

She explained that they did eventually 'end up getting to a good place' and are now 'good friends.'

Golden Girls

Audiences fell in love with and Bea Arthur as unlikely BFFs Rose Nylund and Dorothy Zbornak on NBC's The Golden Girls.

But things weren't quite as congenial when cameras stopped rolling, as Betty admitted in 2011 that Bea was 'not fond of her.'

'Bea had a reserve. She was not that fond of me. She found me a pain in the neck sometimes,' she admitted.

'It was my positive attitude - and that made Bea mad sometimes. Sometimes if I was happy, she'd be furious.'

Plus, in February 2022, Golden Girls casting director Joel Thurm admitted that Bea did not like Betty and called her profane names behind her back.

'Literally Bea Arthur just said, "Oh, she's a f**king c***," using that word,' he recalled of one particular incident.

'She called her the C-word. I mean, I heard that with my own ears.'

Bea died of lung cancer at the age of 86 on April 25, 2009, while Betty sadly passed away in 2021 at age 99.