Nancy Grace’s 12 years at CNN certainly haven’t gone quietly. The self-described “victims’ rights” advocate gained a reputation for her loud and combative personality and for butting heads with guests on her show. Now that she’s stepping away from the program, let’s look back at some of her more contentious moments.
Elizabeth Smart, who made headlines after her 2002 abduction, appeared on Grace’s show in 2006 to talk about her efforts to start a national sex offender registry. Grace, however, only wanted to talk about the abduction, and Smart was not happy about it.
Following Whitney Houston’s death in 2012, Grace began speculating over whether foul play was involved. “I’d like to know who was around her, who, if anyone gave her drugs … and who let her slip, or pushed her, underneath that water,” she said. Then she went on “The View” to trash its panelists when called on it.
Perhaps Grace’s most bizarre interview came in 2014 when she talked with Charles Bothuell IV, whose son had gone missing. She revealed to Bothuell that his son had been found in his own basement, and his reaction went viral on YouTube. A year later, Bothuell and his wife were charged with child abuse, to which they pled guilty.
In 2015, Grace debated rapper 2 Chainz over marijuana legalization. The host used a video of a mother trying to get a toddler to smoke pot, but 2 Chainz responded with some very eloquent arguments.
Grace went all in on the Duke University lacrosse players that were accused of rape in 2006. As it turned out, the charges were false. Grace was on vacation the day the charges were dropped.
Two weeks after being interviewed by Grace about the disappearance of her son, 21-year-old mother Melinda Duckett committed suicide. Duckett’s family sued Grace, saying her interview caused the emotional distress that led to her death. The lawsuit was settled in 2010.
In 2012, Grace did a segment on Toni Medrano, a woman charged with manslaughter after drinking vodka and rolling over on her sleeping baby. Grace called Medrano “vodka mom” on the program and demanded that she be charged with murder. Medrano also committed suicide, and CNN reached a settlement with her family in 2013.
Grace brought in wrestler Dallas Page in 2014 to talk about the death of the Ultimate Warrior. She pressed Page about the possibility that Warrior had died of steroid abuse, which he had not, posting a list of deceased wrestlers and implying they did as well. Page later made a statement saying he regretted accepting the interview request.
“Making A Murderer” took the country by storm, but Grace wasn’t a fan. She claimed she had an “avalanche of evidence” to prove Steven Avery’s guilt, and brought on “Blue Bloods” star Donnie Wahlberg to debate the merits of the 10-hour documentary.
