A while back, we asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us which characters they consider the worst TV parents of all time. Their answers did not disappoint. Here are some of the best responses:
Spoilers ahead!!!
Note: Some of the following contain mentions of abuse.
1. Hiram Lodge from Riverdale.
The CW
“Hiram’s obsession with Archie was bizarre. He felt threatened by his teenage daughter’s boyfriend, so he wrestled him? That was weird in itself, but why were all the other parents okay with that, as if it was totally normal behavior?” —serquackington
Here’s the full scene between Hiram and Archie:
View this video on YouTube
The CW / Via youtu.be
2. David and Holly Vega from 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.” —aneggonmylegg
Here’s the full scene of what poor Tori had to go through:
View this video on YouTube
TeenNick / Via youtu.be
3. Ross Geller from Friends.
NBC
“Not only did Ross basically always put his son last, but he also flipped out when Ben wanted to play with a Barbie, and would rather have a crappy nanny than a manny. He was also very egocentric and insecure about his place in Ben’s life, without ever actually working to be a decent parent.” —radicallexicon
Here’s the full scene of Ross freaking out about Ben’s Barbie:
View this video on YouTube
NBC / Via youtu.be
4. John Winchester from 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.” —chandlerm43a4b1dcb
Here’s another one of John’s bad parenting moments:
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The CW / Via youtu.be
5. Joseph Santos from Degrassi: The Next Generation.
CTV
“He literally called his teenage daughter a ‘slut’ to her face just because she felt insecure about her body. Things got so bad at home that Manny even had to move in with Emma for a while! I understand that he was very traditional, but it’s not an excuse to speak to your children in such a demeaning way. He’s not the absolute worst parent on the show, and I will give him some credit for his growth later on, but his earlier actions were pretty unforgivable to me.” —Kelly Martinez
The above scene isn’t available on YouTube, but you can watch the full episode, “Venus” (Season 5, Episode 1), on HBO Max.
6. Alexis Carrington Colby from Dynasty (2017).
The CW
“I hate her with a burning passion. She abandoned Blake, her husband, and their children, Fallon and Steven, when they were young. Then, 15 years later, she crashed a funeral, somehow made her way back into their lives, and stuck around. She is manipulative and enjoys ruining the lives of everyone around her.” —ebishop
Here’s the full scene of Alexis making her grand return:
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The CW / Via youtu.be
7. Cal Jacobs from Euphoria.
HBO
“Where to start? Not only is Cal unfaithful and sleeping with teenagers, but he’s a terrible father to Nate. He controls Nate’s life down to his caloric intake and scrutinizes his every mistake, and he’s the reason Nate has warped views of sex, women, and masculinity. Nate is absolutely horrible, but I can see why, considering where he came from.” —Hannah Marder
Here’s the full scene between Cal and Nate:
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HBO / Via youtu.be
8. Aaron Echolls from Veronica Mars.
UPN
“He slept with and then killed his teenage son’s girlfriend. That’s pretty bad…” —jonassister7536
Here’s the full, shocking scene:
View this video on YouTube
UPN / Via youtu.be
9. Megan Stewart from Genera+ion.
HBO
“After Nathan came out as bisexual, his mom, Megan, constantly did things that made it clear she was uncomfortable with it and made a lot of comments to Nathan that invalidated his sexuality. It was really hard to watch. And even though she kept claiming that she wasn’t anti-gay, when it came to his bisexuality, she told her friends it was a phase and something he was doing for attention. She even went on a rant about how no kids today are ‘normal’ and they all just want to choose labels. Nathan’s dad, on the other hand, tried really hard to understand and accept Nathan, but Megan was stubborn throughout.” —Ajani Bazile
I can’t find the scene above on YouTube, but you can watch the full episode, “Pussy Power” (Season 1, Episode 4), on HBO Max.
10. Brooke’s mom and Sam’s dad on Popular.
The WB
“They were incredibly selfish. From getting engaged after knowing each other for a week to making Brooke and Sam cohabitate because they weren’t getting along, every decision they made was bad. I couldn’t stand their parents.” —talormadisonc
Here’s the full scene, starting at around 40:01:
View this video on YouTube
The WB / Via youtu.be
11. Harry Morgan from Dexter.
Showtime
“He saw two recently orphaned, horrifically traumatized children and decided to take only one of them. Then he never told him about his brother, and literally trained him to become a serial killer instead of getting him actual help coping with his trauma!” —ectobug
The full scene above isn’t available on YouTube, but you can stream the series on Showtime.
12. Lorelai Gilmore from Gilmore Girls.
The WB
“I completely understand that Lorelai had Rory when she was only a teenager, so she was in a compromising position from the start. She wasn’t fully developed as a person yet, and brought a life into the world — however, as Rory grew up, she didn’t know how to parent her! She set increasingly high expectations for Rory, got mad at her whenever she ‘messed up,’ and didn’t do a good job listening. Even in the revival, she was so judgmental of Rory!” —Kayla Yandoli
Here’s the full scene from above:
View this video on YouTube
The WB / Via youtu.be
13. Ventura Nunier from Elite.
Netflix
“No one talks about this enough, but I think Guzmán and Marina’s dad is horrible. He essentially caused the school to collapse, treated his daughter like crap, and bankrupted his family by spending it all on cocaine. It’s still somehow not as bad as Carla’s dad essentially selling her, but it’s still pretty bad.” —malia05
Here’s the full scene of him finding out about Marina’s pregnancy:
View this video on YouTube
Netflix / Via youtu.be
14. Mr. and Mrs. Turner from The Fairly OddParents.
Nickelodeon
“They could clearly see how Timmy felt about Vicky, yet they kept hiring her.” —colleend9
I can’t find the above scene on YouTube, but you can stream the full series on Paramount+ or Netflix.
15. Alaric Saltzman from Legacies.
The CW
“Alaric was once reminiscent of The Vampire Diaries’ reigning legacy, but now he is only a shell of what he used to be. Preferring the company of whiskey instead of focusing on his responsibilities, he now spends his time on Legacies giving alcohol to underage students, ignoring the mental stability of his daughters, and staring pensively over books to deliver some algorithmic piece of exposition an episode might need. He puts Matt Donovan as the token human on a show to shame.” —WITCHYOLOGY
Here’s the full scene from above:
View this video on YouTube
The CW / Via youtu.be
16. Dan Scott from One Tree Hill.
The WB
“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.” —Slytherin_Siren
Here’s the full scene between Dan and Lucas:
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The WB / Via youtu.be
17. Monica Gallagher from Shameless.
Showtime
“Honestly, whenever I think of a bad TV parent, I often think of Monica Gallagher. She literally came in and out of the Gallagher kids’ lives, and it was always not great. She always thought she would come back and be helpful, but she caused so much trouble. I’ll never forget that heartbreaking scene where Fiona yells at Monica that she was supposed to be her mom too. That pretty much summed up how hurtful Monica’s actions had been.” —Nora Dominick
Watch Fiona’s full speech to Monica here:
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SHOWTIME / Via youtu.be
18. And finally: every parent from Gossip Girl, but especially Bart Bass.
The CW
“Pretty much all of the parents were a disaster, so it was no surprise that all of their kids were hot messes too.” —ariellej4
Watch the full scene here:
View this video on YouTube
The CW / Via youtu.be
We couldn’t fit everyone on one list, so tell us who else deserves a spot in the comments!
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
Reminder that I, Kelly Martinez, do not necessarily endorse all of these opinions!