The 15 Biggest Podcast Controversies That Made You Unsubscribe

The Podcast: A true crime podcast that dives into the world of crime and the criminal justice system. They cover everything from 911 calls to criminal court testimonies. 

The Controversy: Audiences of this long-running podcast quickly soured against its host Mike Boudet after he posted a tone-deaf internet poll asking users the audacious question, “When listening to a true crime podcast, what race do you prefer the murder victims to be?” The poll offered three options: white, Black, and Indigenous. After receiving backlash, Boudet commented that he felt podcasts were “no longer covering stories of white victims.” He blamed the outrage on wokeness and accused his listeners of “feigning outrage.”  

This is not the first time Boudet has run into controversy as he had allegedly asked fans for nude photos of themselves and used a slur against women in 2019. Boudet has threatened legal action against another podcast host, Justin Drown of Obscura, as he made allegations against Boudet’s behavior.

The Podcast: A gaming review podcast that initially focused on reviewing bad games, and now (rebranded as “Get Played”) discusses old, new, and upcoming games.  

The Controversy: In a piece written for The A.V. Club, Indigenous writer and comedian Joey Clift talks about his experience being the first Indigenous man invited to be a guest on the podcast. Hosts Nick Wiger and Heather Anne Campbell invited Clift to review an old Atari game titled Custer’s Revenge - a game in which you play as General Custer and gain points by sexually assaulting Indigenous women. 

The invitation, being problematic in the first place, was the icing on top of the controversy cake, as the episode was also set to be released Thanksgiving week, adding insult to injury. Clift, knowing the circumstances were inappropriate, to say the least, stood his ground and educated them on the atrocities Indigenous people have faced in this country, and how tokenizing the invite was in the first place. All in all, Clift did receive an apology from each host individually and has since been invited back.

The Podcast: WTF with Marc Maron is a podcast where comedian and actor Marc Maron interviews other entertainers from all walks of life and they talk about anything and everything. 

The Controversy: In 2011, comedian Leo Gallagher was on the show where things didn’t go exactly as planned. Gallagher had a reputation of making sexist, racist, and homophobic remarks in his shows and of overall being a nasty and spiteful person. On the show, Gallagher proceeded to use the same tactics and spit out his derogatory remarks, including asking if he could pick on Arabs and saying homosexuals were “God's joke.”

The interview grew more tense, with Maron asking Gallagher questions that seemed to make him increasingly angry. It all culminated in Gallagher storming out after angrily asserting he wasn’t an angry guy. It was the first and (so far) only time a person left a Maron interview halfway through the show.

The Podcast: A podcast that celebrates bad movies. 

The Controversy: It all started with a picture. Actress Janice Valdez was the punchline of a joke that podcast hosts Paul Scheer, Jason Mantzoukas, and guest Jessica St. Clair commented on a photo Valdez had posted, calling it “racy." The photo had been captioned #metoo. This caused Valdez to post on social media that she wasn't sure if she should “quit acting, or just be honored that these people even uttered [her] name.”

Some of the backlash also stemmed from accusations of body shaming, with one person commenting:

if you were a blonde haired, blue eyed, ‘traditional’ all American girl, would it still be considered 'racy'?'

The hosts of the podcast quickly responded with apologies, removing the portion joking about her from the episode, and claiming they were unaware of the context - although this, too, caused backlash as many people claimed that there is no way the #metoo can be misunderstood. 

The Podcast: An investigative journalism podcast whose first season covered the murder of 18-year-old Hae Min Lee. It is one of the most famous and fastest-growing podcasts.

The Controversy: It is easy for murder to become fetishized. So often the humanity of victims disappears in the pursuit of a good story. Lee’s younger brother found issue with the way his sister’s murder was being perceived. In a social network post, he wrote about the realities of having a family member be killed and the effects his sister’s murder has had on his whole family:

To me, it’s real life. To you listeners, it’s another murder mystery, crime drama, another episode of CSI. 

To be clear, Lee’s brother’s frustrations did not come from the podcast’s representation of his sister or her murder, but rather from the reactions from the listeners, and how her death was glorified for the sake of entertainment. 

The Podcast: A weekly comedy podcast hosted by Matt McCusker and Shane Gills.  

The Controversy: Shane Gills is no stranger to controversy, as he was fired from Saturday Night Live for making racist and homophobic comments. The reason for this parting of ways came after Gills used derogatory slurs and offensive accents to mimic Chinese people. He also used homophobic language on the podcast, referring to unfunny comedians using gay slurs. 

Insult to injury was added as Gills refused to back down and commented:

I’m happy to apologize to anyone who is actually offended by anything I’ve said. My intention is never to hurt anyone but I am trying to be the best comedian I can be and sometimes that requires risks.