4 years ago
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"Dan Scott could literally fill this entire list."
We asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about a parenting moment on a TV show that was super toxic. Here are some of the best responses:
Note: Some of the following contain mentions of abuse.
🚨Spoilers ahead! 🚨
1. First, when Rachel's biological mom, Shelby, came into her life and messed with New Directions on Glee.
20th Cent Fox / Courtesy Everett Collection
"She came back into Rachel’s life, used Jesse to spy on her, and then told Rachel she didn’t want her. WTF?"
2. When Ross refused to let Ben play with a Barbie doll on Friends.
NBC
3. When Joyce kicked Buffy out and then got mad at her for leaving on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
The WB
"She kicked Buffy out of the house and then was angry when Buffy did, in fact, leave the house."
4. When both Brooke and Peyton's parents were always absent on One Tree Hill.
The WB
"They were gone 'for work' 99% of the time — it’s like all of these kids were expected to bring themselves up."
5. When almost all of the parents were completely clueless about their children's whereabouts on Stranger Things.
Netflix / Everett Collection
"Half of them have no clue that their children are off fighting monsters and have befriended a strange girl with superpowers, or don’t care that two school-age kids have disappeared."
6. When Ander's mom outed Omar to his dad on Elite.
Netflix
7. When Lydia's mom sent her to the Eichen House on Teen Wolf.
MTV
8. Everything Spencer's parents did on Pretty Little Liars.
Freeform
"Every single parent on Pretty Little Liars made terrible decisions, but Spencer’s parents were the absolute worst."
9. When Lorelai stopped speaking to Rory because she took time off from Yale on Gilmore Girls.
The CW
"I know that this might be unpopular, but Lorelei shouldn’t have stopped talking to Rory just because she wanted to take a break from Yale. She deserved a break without her mom not talking to her."
10. When Paula walked in on Spencer hooking up with Ashley and completely freaked out about her being gay.
The N
"She kept Spencer home from school, saying she was 'sick,' then hired a 'doctor' to come over to the house and straighten her out."
11. When Moira and Johnny knew virtually nothing about Alexis's life on Schitt's Creek.
Pop
"I love them, but I think we can all agree that Johnny and Moira were pretty crappy parents — they hardly knew anything about Alexis’s life."
"I mean, who forgets their own daughter's middle name?!"
12. When Kate's mom anonymously sent her a threatening note calling her a liar on Cruel Summer.
Freeform
"Her explanation was that she missed the two of them being close and wanted Kate to confide in her again, but who does this?! Kate had already been through an incredible amount of trauma without her mom adding to it. Her mom was truly the worst."
13. When Dean's dad sent him to a boys home for stealing food to feed his little brother on Supernatural.
The CW
"John Winchester is one of the worst TV dads of all time. Had John been with his boys, Dean wouldn’t have had to steal food to survive."
14. When Julie slept with her daughter Marissa's high school ex-boyfriend on The O.C.
Fox
"Julie did redeem herself in later seasons, but she was awful in Season 1."
15. When Tori's parents were absolutely never around on Victorious.
TeenNick
"They literally made Tori stay home with Trina when she had her wisdom teeth removed, were barely present throughout the series, and were just bad parents overall."
16. When Jim had completely hypocritical double standards for Brenda and Brandon about dating and sex on Beverly Hills, 90210.
Fox
"Jim and Cindy are definitely one of the better sets of parents on the show, but the hypocrisy here still bothers me. It's unfortunately realistic, especially for the time period, but it's so frustrating."
17. When Cheryl's mom sent her to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy because she didn't approve of her being a lesbian on Riverdale.
The CW
18. Basically everything the moms did on Desperate Housewives.
ABC / Courtesy Everett Collection
"How about pretty much every mom on Desperate Housewives? Bree sends her son to a conversion camp the moment she finds out he is gay and tells him she's worried he’ll go to hell if he doesn’t 'change.' Susan treats her teenage daughter like an adult confidant to the point that Julie becomes not only an active participant in Susan’s quest for a romantic partner, but also often assumes the role of caretaker during Susan’s post-divorce slump. And Lynette refuses to accept that her kids might have ADHD."
19. When Quinn's parents kicked her out for being pregnant on Glee.
Fox
20. When Spike was completely clueless about Emma's online "boyfriend," who turned out to be a grown man on Degrassi: The Next Generation.
CTV
"Spike even talked about how Emma was being weird about her emails at the beginning of the episode. It was so irresponsible."
21. When Timmy's parents kept hiring Vicky to babysit him on The Fairly OddParents.
Nickelodeon
"They could clearly see how Timmy felt about Vicky, yet they kept hiring her."
22. When Bart Bass literally tried to KILL his own son on Gossip Girl.
The CW
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"Pretty much all of the parents were a disaster, so it was no surprise that all of their kids were hot messes too."
23. And finally, everything Dan did on One Tree Hill.
Warner Bros / Courtesy Everett Collection
"Dan Scott could literally fill this entire list. I don't care what he did to 'redeem' himself. He killed his brother and took Lucas's only father figure when he didn't want him. He abandoned his pregnant girlfriend, denounced Lucas, and was an awful, abusive father to Nathan. There is no end to his awfulness."
Got a toxic moment that didn't make this list? Tell us in the comments!
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and clarity.
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