Networks cancel TV shows all the time, but A&E's latest cancelation looks different. Instead of no longer airing the reality series Adults Adopting Adults, it also scrubbed the series from its website, YouTube channel and paid video on-demand services.
And it appears it had plenty of good reason to do so, as the show’s own footage prompted concerns to be raised about star Danny Huff. Fair warning, though: this is some pretty sleazy stuff.
As the show's title suggests, the series focuses on the rather rare situations of adults who want to adopt other adults. Adults Adopting Adults didn't even make it to a fourth episode, though, as The Daily Beast reports A&E didn't air episode 4 on Monday (Feb. 21).
Huff, and wife Christy, who are based out of Ohio, sought to adopt a pregnant Austrian 20-year-old named Ileana, after he met her in an online group based around adult adoption (yes, this is a real thing).
And since A&E took its footage of the show down, well, let's turn to TikTok user @auntkaren0, who found a 2021 TikTok video posted by Huff (whose account was taken down). In her own video, which since went viral with more than 42,000 likes, she shows footage of Huff declaring that "racism is alive and well in this country ... it comes from the Blacks." And then she pulls out the some Adults Adopting Adults footage that A&E aired:
@auntkaren0 ♬ original sound - TikTok’s Favorite Karen
Yes, Huff has tried to adopt a18-year-old woman before this situation, but found himself unable to, because he — and these are his own words — "started having feelings for her, [as] she was a very beautiful young lady." And, then, in the video, Huff's wife Christy notes he was unfaithful in the past.
So, then @auntkaren says "oh you're that guy, you're the guy who is trying to adopt 18-year-old teenagers, who you want to sleep with," before showing more footage of Huff saying that "Whites aren't racist, for the most part," and listing "Black History Month, BET, all-Black colleges, Black Lives Matter" as "examples of how racism is alive and well in this country."
Huff told The Daily Beast that any accusations about his behavior were not the cause for the show's seeming termination, and denied any inappropriate behavior toward Ileana.
Analysis: Why did A&E cancel Adults Adopting Adults?
A&E told Yahoo Entertainment that the series was canceled due to its "ratings performance."
So A&E may not have canceled Adults Adopting Adults because of what Huff admitted about himself. However, since this TikTok video was posted six days ago, right before A&E was supposed to (but didn't) air episode 4 of Adults Adopting Adults, there at least seems to be a connection.
A&E may have blamed its cancellation of Adults Adopting Adults on poor ratings, but that doesn't explain why the series has been wiped off of all of A&E's platforms.
