Hidden Secrets and Scandals Covered Up by the Discovery & History Channel Revealed

These shows are littered with scandals from misleading audiences to employing convicted criminals! The Discovery Channel has tried to keep these under wraps for appearance’s sake, but we’ve uncovered the juiciest secrets that they don’t want audiences to see. Read on and pull back the curtain on the REAL History and Discovery channels. 

It seems that the Browns claimed to live in southeastern Alaska. That part of the state offers full-time residents thousands of dollars to dissuade them from moving. The show’s stars collected the money, were caught, and sentenced to 30 days in jail.

Most of the time, the cast ends up offering the client less than what they hoped to get for their item. But, what you don’t see is how often the cast gets ripped off by the customer. Whether the item is a forgery or ends up being stolen, sometimes the owners do lose money. As Rick Harrison told NPR, “It’s the cost of doing business.”

And if that wasn’t bad enough he had actually tried to fake out the federal authorities with a sneaky change of address scam but got caught anyway. What he thought was a brilliant loophole got him into big trouble.  Unfortunately, the man didn’t learn his lesson and found himself in prison for ANOTHER federal crime.

Wyatt was charged with income tax evasion between 2009 and 2012 and was found guilty on felony charges of conspiracy and tax evasion. He had failed to report $1.1 Million in income! He was found guilty and convicted of 10 felony counts including conspiracy, fraud, and tax evasion. He was sentenced to 78 months in prison. 

Police raided Chumlee’s house in 2016, where they found drugs and illegal firearms. The TV star pleaded guilty so that he could avoid jail time and also served probation. By serving probation, it meant he could continue filming the show. Since the show went on as normal, most fans didn’t even know about the legal transgression. 

Well, the show’s executive producer, Dolores Galvin pulled the veil back on the show and revealed why the moonshiners never got arrested. She told the New York Daily News that “You have to catch them in the process of making it.”  This loophole allowed them to escape any real legal trouble.

The producers receive items from collectors, then sort through them to decide which are appropriate for the show. So, the stars do not “travel the country” at all, but are simply handed the items. Thus, very little luck is involved in this production and much of the magic of the show is lost.

Mama June’s love interest at the time was serving time for the sexual assault of a minor. It sparked a complete outrage from fans toward June. To try and avoid anymore drama, TLC cancelled the show immediately. Since then, many more secrets about the family have been unveiled as well.

Contestant Kim Shelton reported that she was fed bread, rice, and baby food after she got food poisoning from consuming a turtle’s liver. She even received rehydration. Yes, she was ill, but the show never told viewers that the contestant had been fed.  I guess it just wouldn’t make for as good of television.

Any street racer that appears on the show enters the race knowing they could lose their driving license if caught. In 2015, The National Hot Rod Association told the show that any participant on the show would lose their license because the show portrays dangerous and illegal street racing. So, anyone on the show is well aware of the risks.

Josh Duggar, one of the eldest Duggar children was accused of taking advantage of several underaged girls. In a horrifying addition, some of his own sisters were among the girls he abused. He was convicted and is serving a prison sentence for his crimes. This was not the only scandal that surrounded the Duggar family but it was certainly the reason the show was cancelled.

Discovery spokeswoman Kathleen Shaw told the Associated Press that her company would not have participated if they knew that moonshine is totally illegal in the state. The channel then agreed to contribute to the parts of the program which “documents the history of moonshine and moonshine investigations in Virginia.”

The enormous snake wrapped itself around him and crushed his arm while stretching its mouth around his head. Experts had to rush in to save Rosolie from a horrifying demise. Naturally, the fans who had expected a little more gruesome outcome were gravely disappointed and felt misled by the show’s teasers.

At that time, he was married to actress Sandra Bullock. While on the show, he cheated on Bullock and started dating his castmate, TV star Kat Von D. James, who is also known as the founder of The West Coast Choppers. He did end up apologizing to Bullock but was quoted in The Daily Mail, calling cheating a “part of life.” Naturally, diehard fans of Bullock turned their backs on Jesse and the show he was associated with.

However, just like the Jesse James of the Old West, this one, related or not, has a history of law-breaking. People Magazine reported that authorities fined him and his West Coast Choppers $271,250 because their customized bikes violate California clean-air laws.

There have been serious electrical shocks, blown-out windows, and even a cannonball shot into someone’s home. In short, there were lots of accidents and injuries. Most of the time, the accidents occur to one of the show’s co-hosts.  

The shot then continued, shooting through the wall of a bedroom, and then into a minivan parked down the street. Fortunately, there were no injuries, but we can imagine that the house was pretty badly damaged. Let’s hope the show compensated that family.  That was far too close of a call.

For example, Trapper Joe was arrested in 2012 after arguing with his girlfriend, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The same domestic violence charges were leveled against at least twice more, in 2013 and 2015, according to Fox 8.

But it wasn’t a bear at all, just a man in a bear suit, as reported in The Daily Mail. It seems, according to crew member Ron Hood, that it was a colleague in a bear costume. Photos from the TV set that were released later also proved this to be true. So, was it a fake-out for the viewers?

PETA argues that anytime animals are used for entertainment, there is likelihood that it will result in injury, distress, or death of the animal. Public opinion largely agreed with them, feeling that it was not a necessary stunt and was a gross display of animal cruelty.

A Japanese historian told The Guardian that the photo came from a travel book and was taken in 1925, a good two years before the famous flight. The mystery remains unsolved and as you can imagine, fans felt misled and let down.

In Season 2, Larry Roberts, the second-place winner, debunked the premise of the show. As he said to Outdoor News, “They did check on us on a regular basis. We had a GPS tracker that we were required to carry. They would check in with us at least nightly, to make sure that we were OK.” So much for being alone.

The contestants do not spend time developing relationships but focus on finding food and shelter. They may be somewhere cold, surrounded by wild animals, or somewhere dry where it’s hard to find water. Falling in love is the least of their interests!  

They even encouraged their members to boycott the show when it premiered in 2013. As they said, “Discovery should be ashamed to air nudity and then call it entertainment. In fact, having the cast be naked is the basis for 50 percent of the show.”  

Apparently, June had withheld more than $300,000 that was owed to her daughter, Anna from the show. Not to mention, she also sued TLC for not ensuring that the money owed to her was given to her and her 2 year old daughter.

They do show up in the store every once in a while to sign autographs and talk to fans, but usually, that’s because their publicist, or the network, has arranged an event. We guess that with fame comes busy schedules, so don’t bother traveling to the store to see them. 

In season 7 of the show, Swamp People fans were shocked when 12 cast members were suddenly replaced. It seems that a new producer was hired and decided to change most of the cast. And, on top of that, the History Channel never explained the change to the fans.  

The fans began to notice that, during the capture scenes, the alligators don’t seem to be struggling at all. Even more, fans feel that the alligators are not real, based on the idea that alligators are not always as huge as they are on the show.  

The documentary told of the return of a prehistoric 70-foot shark.  There was a warning that the show was fiction, but many of the 5 million people who watched were terrified. Since it was the highest-rated episode to that point, the Discovery Channel probably didn’t get upset about that.

American Guns ran for two seasons and was canceled, although it received good ratings. The public assumed that school shootings like the one at Sandy Hook were the reason for the cancellation, but actually, the show had to be cancelled due to Wyatt actually going to prison. Tax evasion, fraud, and selling guns without a permit were only a few of the reasons he got into hot water. 

Because Grylls wouldn’t take part in the two new ventures, the channel fired him from the successful show he’d been hosting for six seasons. In the end, it was contract disputes that did Grylls in, not living in the wild.

The thieves may have acted alone or with accomplices, but their total take was 12 handguns and three rifles. The newspapers reported that the burglary was unfortunate, but that didn’t compare with the news that both fans and the family received afterward. 

The weapon had been stolen from a museum in New Mexico, and the seller wasn’t too bright. He tried to sell the gun on the TV show; a viewer recognized it and told the police.  

Lundin also reported that during filming in Hawaii, a co-host threatened to stab him with a spear and that another co-host claimed to have killed people while working in the CIA.   

Contrary to what the producers said, she did not suffer from the heat but developed a bladder issue, and the producers would not let her leave the show! She faked the heat exhaustion to escape the show.  

The six family members were cited for making false statements about their residency when they applied for hunting and fishing licenses. They were not born and raised in the wild and only moved to Alaska in 2012.  

On the show, most customers who come into the shop are thrilled by seeing the customized cars. But others have reported that the shop is located in a mildly dangerous part of the city and that the cars are way overpriced. The general reaction to the show was bland.  

Those bikes James and his crew built were sold between 1988 and 2005. Those are the same years that Monster Garage was on television, which means that, during the airing of their show, they were building illegal bikes.