25 Infamous TV Co-Star Feuds, From Sex and the City to The X-Files
Many times in TV history, the casts of our favorite shows have gotten along like one big, happy family. But not every time.
The long hours and high pressure involved in TV production have led to some explosive fights between co-stars over the years, and some of those have even spilled over into the public eye, with actors taking shots at each other in the press. Itâs a tale as old as time, with ugly rifts dating back to the days of Star Trek, Moonlighting and Married⊠With Children and continuing into the present day with still-running shows like Greyâs Anatomy and American Idol.
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Weâre digging up all the dirt and looking back at 25 times that TV co-stars clashed, including infamous feuds from beloved hits like Sex and the City, The X-Files, Seinfeld, Friends, ER and more. We donât traffic in idle gossip, though, so we made sure to carefully document each of these feuds with verified quotes from the parties involved. (So if thereâs a feud youâre expecting to see listed here that we didnât include, well, thatâs why.)
Read on to get the scoop on the most notable instances of on-set friction we unearthed from decades of television lore, and then hit the comments to share your own recollections of strife between TV cast members.
Kiefer Sutherland and Freddie Prinze Jr., 24
Working with the man behind Jack Bauer was, well, like torture for Prinze Jr. âIt was terrible. I hated every moment of it,â Prinze Jr., who played agent Cole Ortiz in Season 8 of the Fox terrorist thriller, bluntly said years later, adding that Sutherland âwas the most unprofessional dude in the world⊠I think everyone thatâs worked with him has said that.â Prinze Jr. even revealed that his time on the show made him want to âquit the business.â So weâre guessing heâs not showing up for any future revivals, huh?
Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj, American Idol
These divas definitely did not harmonize when they were paired up as judges for Season 12 of the smash hit singing competition. The bad buzz started almost immediately, with a leaked video of Minaj reportedly hurling obscenities and threatening violence against Carey, with Carey later complaining of an âunsafeâ work environment. The insults flew back and forth â an Idol source quipped that âMariah doesnât think Nicki can sing and doesnât think she should be judging folksâ â and Minaj labeled Carey âinsecureâ and âbitterâ in a Twitter rant. After the season wrapped, Carey admitted she âhatedâ being on Idol, comparing it to âgoing to work every day in hell with Satan.â Itâs no surprise, then, that neither of them returned to Idol the following season.
Charlie Sheen and Selma Blair, Anger Management
The anger was very real on the set of Sheenâs FX sitcom, with Blair abruptly exiting the series midway through Season 2 after reports that she complained about Sheenâs lack of work ethic, which led to Sheen allegedly refusing to shoot with her. (One report even had Sheen firing Blair himself via text.) Production company Lionsgate simply said that âSelma Blair will not be returning to Anger Management, and we wish her the very best.â Laura Bell Bundy took over as the showâs female lead⊠but Anger Management still called it quits after its second season wrapped.
Jeffrey Tambor and Jessica Walter, Arrested Development
They played warring spouses George Sr. and Lucille Bluth on Foxâs Emmy-winning sitcom, and unfortunately, there was no peace when the cameras stopped rolling, either. Walter revealed in 2018 that Tambor had verbally abused her while shooting: âIn like almost 60 years of working, Iâve never had anybody yell at me like that on a set.â Tambor did apologize, Walter said, and she maintained she âwould work with him again in a heartbeat,â but the revelation cast a further pall over an already dreary Netflix revival.
Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth, Beverly Hills, 90210
This iconic Fox teen drama had plenty of drama behind the scenes as well. Doherty, who played Brenda Walsh, famously left the show after Season 4, and Garth, who played Brendaâs friend Kelly Taylor, revealed in her memoir that they didnât always get along: âThere were times when we loved each other, and there were times when we wanted to claw each otherâs eyes out.â Garth chalked up the feud to astrology: âShannen and I are both Aries women. Weâre both very strong, independent women, so we butt heads a lot.â But they later mended fences, and âas grown women, we happen to get along as well,â Garth noted.
Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross, black-ish
Oh, so the happily married couple at the center of the long-running ABC sitcom wasnât actually happy? Well, they werenât at first: It all dates back to when the pair co-hosted the Vibe Awards in 2005 and Anderson cracked a joke at Rossâ expense. âTracee didnât like me for maybe 10 years,â he later admitted. âShe really didnât start liking me until we were midway through the first season of black-ish.â But they eventually patched things up, and black-ish went on to run for eight seasons. âWe laugh about it now,â Anderson says.
Shannen Doherty and Alyssa Milano, Charmed
Following her departure from 90210, Doherty reteamed with producer Aaron Spelling for this WB favorite, playing witchy sister Prue Halliwell alongside Milano as Phoebe and Holly Marie Combs as Piper. Doherty left the show after Season 3, though, saying, âThere was too much drama on the set and not enough passion for the work.â Milano later said, âI can tell you that we were on the air with [Doherty] for three years, and there were definitely some rough days.â They settled their differences years later when Doherty was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, but sadly, the feud flared back up earlier this year when the two publicly disagreed about what really led to Dohertyâs exit.
Chevy Chase and⊠well, everyone, Community
Chaseâs prickly persona as elderly coed Pierce Hawthorne on the NBC college comedy wasnât just an act, it turns out. He managed to annoy and/or offend several of his co-stars, getting into physical fights with Joel McHale and allegedly using racial slurs in front of Donald Glover and Yvette Nicole Brown. Chase ultimately left the show in Season 4, and the whole cast is now set to return for a reunion movie on Peacock â minus Chase.
Teri Hatcher and Nicollette Sheridan, Desperate Housewives
Rumors of a rift between Wisteria Laneâs leading ladies constantly swirled around the hit ABC drama â remember the infamous Vanity Fair photo shoot? â and they were confirmed by series creator Marc Cherry when he recounted a Season 1 incident while testifying in court: âThere was a problem going on between Nicollette Sheridan and Teri Hatcher. They were furious at each other. Nicollette pulled me aside and told me that Teri Hatcher was the meanest woman in the world because of how she was acting.â Sheridanâs character Edie was killed off in Season 5, with Hatcherâs character Susan remaining for all eight.
Noah Wyle and Goran Visnjic, ER
Pulses were racing on the set of NBCâs medical drama â and tempers were flaring, too. Wyle, who debuted as doctor John Carter in the freshman season, admits now that he was tough on new cast members: âI had a chip on my shoulder with anybody that came on that show⊠We were really hard on people.â He says he owes co-star Kellie Martin âa big apology,â but he was hardest on Visnjic, who joined the cast in Season 6 as Dr. Luka Kovac. âI realized that he was a way better actor than I was⊠I hated him because I always felt like I was losing a scene to him.â
Will Smith and Janet Hubert, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
This feud got so heated that one of them had to leave the show: Hubert played Willâs Aunt Viv on the NBC sitcom for the first three seasons, but she exited the show amid turmoil at home and a contract dispute, blaming Smith for âbanishingâ her from the set. (Daphne Maxwell Reid took over as Aunt Viv in Season 4.) Smith later admitted that âI can see where I made the set very difficult for Janet,â and the two had an emotional reunion in 2020 on Maxâs Fresh Prince anniversary special.
David Schwimmer and Marcel the monkey, Friends
Ross loved his simian pal in the early years of the NBC sitcom, but Schwimmer wasnât exactly singing him lullabies off-camera. âI hate the monkey,â Schwimmer revealed at the height of the showâs popularity. âThe trainers wonât let me bond with it⊠Itâs a bummer.â The problem, as Schwimmer later explained: Marcel â played by two female capuchin monkeys â was trained to hit specific marks in a scene, and âweâd have to go again, because the monkey didnât get it right.â The showâs animal trainer, though, defended Marcel, countering that Schwimmer was âa little jealousâ of all the laughs the monkey was getting.
John Stamos and Bob Saget, Full House
The Olsen twins werenât the only co-stars who got on Stamosâ nerves while shooting ABCâs family-friendly TGIF staple. âBob is the humblest egomaniac Iâve ever met, but he undercuts his narcissism by being so damn lovable,â Stamos recounted in his 2023 memoir If You Would Have Told Me, adding that he didnât think Saget was right for the role of Danny Tanner at first because he was a stand-up comic and not an actor: âBob and I tolerate each other and attempt to avoid interfering with each otherâs creative processes, though it can be challenging.â Stamos also begged his agent to âget me the fâk off this showâ after the first table read, but heâs glad he stuck around: Full House ran for eight seasons, and Stamos and Saget reunited on the Netflix sequel series Fuller House.
Lea Michele and Naya Rivera, Glee
There was fierce competition to get the solos on Foxâs teen musical, and that competition carried over onto the set as well, with co-stars Michele and Rivera rubbing each other the wrong way. Rivera revealed in her memoir that things would get âheatedâ between her and Michele on set, adding that Michele âdidnât like sharing the spotlightâ and âblamed me for anything and everything that went wrong.â She insisted, though, that she didnât âhate Lea, and I never have,â and Michele paid sweet tribute to her when Rivera passed away in a tragic drowning accident in 2020.
Patrick Dempsey and Ellen Pompeo, Greyâs Anatomy
Working with the man who played McDreamy was more of a nightmare, according to several people who worked on the show. âHe sort of was terrorizing the set,â former executive producer James D. Parriott revealed in a tell-all book, adding that âhe and [series creator] Shonda [Rhimes] were at each otherâs throats.â Dempseyâs leading lady Pompeo was reportedly fed up, too: âThere were times where Ellen was frustrated with Patrick, and she would get angry that he wasnât working as much,â former EP Jeannine Renshaw recalled.
Bea Arthur and Betty White, The Golden Girls
All those savage insults that Dorothy hurled at her birdbrained roommate Rose may not have been that far from the truth. Though they co-starred as pals on the hit NBC comedy, Arthur and White definitely had friction. âShe was not that fond of me. She found me a pain in the neck sometimes,â White later admitted, adding that her âpositive attitude⊠made Bea mad sometimes.â Arthurâs son Matthew Saks conceded that Whiteâs habit of chatting with the studio audience between takes ârubbed my mom the wrong way.â Plus, in co-star Rue McClanahanâs memoir, she recalled that Arthur was angry when White was the first Golden Girls cast member to win an Emmy. Canât we settle this over a nice slice of cheesecake?
Ed OâNeill and Amanda Bearse, Married⊠With Children
Al Bundy delighted in getting under the skin of his next-door neighbor Marcy â and that animosity wasnât just for the cameras. OâNeill and Bearse clashed often while shooting the raunchy Fox sitcom, with him later recalling âa big fightâ they had in front of the cast and crew where Bearse called him âa bullyâ and OâNeill called her âmiserable.â He then pointed out that he had more clout than her: âI have a button I can push [that] says, âGet rid of Amanda Bearse.â You donât have a button that says, âGet rid of Ed OâNeill.ââ He never did push that button, though: Bearse remained with the show for all 11 seasons.
Martin Lawrence and Tisha Campbell, Martin
This is the rare TV feud that actually resulted in a lawsuit: Campbell, who played girlfriend Gina on the Fox sitcom opposite Lawrenceâs title character, left the show in its final season and sued Lawrence for sexual harassment and verbal abuse. (She did return for a pair of episodes before the series wrapped, but only on the condition that she and Lawrence not share scenes.) The lawsuit was settled out of court, and Lawrence and Campbell have since buried the hatchet, reuniting for the 2022 BET+ special Martin: The Reunion.
Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd, Moonlighting
These two made a volatile pair as private eyes David and Maddie on the groundbreaking ABC hit, and itâs well-established by now that it was just as volatile behind the scenes. âAt one point in the show, it had gotten to where we just hated each other,â Shepherd admitted, and co-star Allyce Beasley (aka rhyming receptionist Agnes DiPesto) recalled: âCybill and Bruce were very unhappy, and it was very hard to be around.â Willis and Shepherd, though, now look back fondly on their days at the Blue Moon detective agency, and they reunited decades later to record commentaries for the Moonlighting DVD release.
Tim Allen and Casey Wilson, The Santa Clauses
Wilson made a guest appearance in the first episode of Disney+âs continuation of the Santa Clause movies⊠and that was enough for her. âTim Allen was such a bitch,â she later revealed, adding that âit was the truly single worst experience Iâve ever had with a co-star ever.â Wilson claimed that Allen âwas so fâking rude⊠Never made eye contact, never said anything. It was so uncomfortable.â Yep, sheâs definitely getting coal in her stocking.
Jason Alexander and Heidi Swedberg, Seinfeld
The abrupt death of Georgeâs fiancĂ©e Susan in the Season 7 finale may have been a result of the castâs difficulty working with Swedberg, who recurred as Susan. Alexander, who played George, revealed years later that âI couldnât figure out how to play off of her,â adding that their comedy instincts âwere always misfiring.â Co-stars Jerry Seinfeld and Julia Louis-Dreyfus agreed that Swedberg was âfâking impossibleâ to work with, Alexander added, and when Louis-Dreyfus joked about killing Susan off, co-creator Larry David took that as inspiration for the characterâs demise. (Alexander later apologized to Swedberg, saying that the actress was âgenerous and gracious, and I am so mad at myself for retelling this story in any way that would diminish her.â)
Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall, Sex and the City
These two may have shared cosmos on the hit HBO comedy as pals Carrie and Samantha, but they apparently didnât share much when the cameras stopped rolling. Rumors of tension between the two stars dogged the later seasons of the show and the two SATC movies, and in 2017, Cattrall admitted she and Parker have ânever been friendsâ and blamed Parker for Cattrall being labeled a diva in the press: âI really think she couldâve been nicer. I donât know what her issue is.â The rift led to a third movie getting scrapped and Cattrall not being included in the Max revival And Just Like That. Samantha did drop by for a brief Season 2 cameo⊠but only by telephone.
William Shatner and George Takei, Star Trek
One of the longest-running cast feuds in TV history started on this trailblazing sci-fi classic, with Shatner and Takei â who played Captain Kirk and Lt. Sulu, respectively â exchanging snipes for decades. They didnât get along then, and they donât get along now, with Takei labeling Shatner âa prima donnaâ and âa cantankerous old manâ in a recent interview, adding that ânone of usâ got along with him on the original Trek. Shatner, for his part, has fired back that âGeorge has never stopped blackening my name. These people are bitter and embittered. I have run out of patience with them.â
Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley, The Vampire Diaries
Dobrev and co-star Ian Somerhalder struck up a real-life romance while playing Elena and Damon on The CWâs supernatural hit â but with the other Salvatore brother, not so much. âPaul and I didnât get along at the beginning of the show,â Dobrev later admitted: âThereâs a fine line between love and hate, and we despised each other so much that it read as love.â Wesley agreed, revealing that âwhen we first started shooting The Vampire Diaries, we totally clashed⊠Creatively, it just wasnât in sync.â But now itâs all good between them, Dobrev reports: âOf everyone, I think I probably see him the most and hang out with him the most⊠Weâre really good friends.â
David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, The X-Files
While they smoldered on screen together as FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully on Foxâs sci-fi sensation, there were times that Duchovny and Anderson wanted to be on separate planets. âThere were definitely periods when we hated each other,â Anderson later admitted, while Duchovny remembered that âwe used to argue about nothing. We couldnât stand the sight of each other.â They worked it out, though, long enough to reunite for a Fox revival in 2016, and a photo of them hanging out as pals went viral in 2021.
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