Summary

• Lily's interference causes major relationship problems for her friends in How I Met Your Mother.
• Some sitcom characters' terrible actions are glossed over, like Andy dating a high school student in The Office.
• Characters in comedy shows like Modern Family often forgive and forget disturbing behavior that should be addressed.

Warning: This article discusses topics of a mature nature, including sexual assault.

Sitcom characters are some of the wildest personalities to grace the TV screen, but some of their actions are so unbelievable that it's confusing that they are ever forgiven. The best sitcoms often include brilliant and complex characters for audiences to fall in love with. While they face difficult storylines at times, this is usually a part of character development, and they are better off for it. However, this isn't always the case for some characters whose actions should continue to be highlighted for long after they happen.

Although a TV show abandoning a storyline isn't an unusual thing to happen, there are some moments in sitcoms where a character does something that should never be forgiven, let alone forgotten. These moments are so baffling that it makes no sense that the show's characters never bring them up again, especially if they are illegal, embarrassing, or simply wrong. Although sitcom characters always create laughter, some of their worst moments don't deserve the applause.

10 Andy Dating A High School Student

The Office

In The Office season 3 episode "Product Recall," Jim (John Krasinski) and Andy (Ed Helms) are sent to the local high school to do some damage control after an obscene watermark is printed onto some Dunder Mifflin stock. However, as they walk through the hallways, Jim is stunned to discover that Andy is dating a high school student. Andy confronts Jamie (Shira Scott Astrof) over lying about her age in a painfully awkward interaction, shocked to learn he's been dating a minor.

When Andy tries to discuss his woes on the drive home, Jim is quick to shut him down. Although Andy confirms that nothing illegal has happened between him and Jamie, the fact that he is upset over the truth is very odd. It makes sense that Jim wouldn't mention this fact to anyone, wanting to avoid Andy getting in any trouble, but this bizarre plot point disappearing and never being mentioned again was unusual.

9 Ross Hitting On His Cousin

Friends

In the run-up to Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler's (Matthew Perry) wedding, Monica and Ross' (David Schwimmer) cousin Cassie (Denise Richards) comes to stay. Immediately, every member of the gang is attracted to Cassie, with the exception of Monica. However, Ross doesn't have the same mindset as his younger sister, failing to that Cassie is related to him. Although Friends, often pining over women who didn't suit him or he couldn't have, that doesn't justify him trying to kiss Cassie as they watched a film.

While it isn't shown on screen, it can be assumed that Cassie told Monica about this, especially as she leaves Ross' place to stay with Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow). There are plenty of embarrassing things about Ross that the rest of the gang repeatedly taunt him about, but making a move on his own cousin isn't one of them. Even though Ross continues to experience more romantic blunders after this, the fact this TV storyline was forgotten about by its characters is astounding.

8 The Gang Kidnaps A Newspaper Reporter

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

In one of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's funniest episodes, the gang kidnaps a local newspaper reporter after a bad review. This story shows the Paddy's Pub gang at their most unhinged, attacking Korman (Fisher Stevens), taping him to a chair, and subjecting him to flurries of insults and homophobic slurs. Korman doesn't press charges against the gang, following along with their terrible solution to convince him he is experiencing amnesia, but it's still baffling they managed to get away with it. Especially because, in the chaos, they also manage to kidnap Korman's neighbor, who absolutely should have said something.

7 Chang's Dictatorship

Community

Ben Chang (Ken Jeong) quickly establishes himself as the villain of Community in the pilot, but his behavior gets significantly worse as the show progresses. In season 3, Chang's dictatorship rules over Greendale, bringing in a fake Dean Pelton (Jim Rash) to manipulate the students, and even blames the study group for the riot that occurs in the episode "Course Listing Unavailable." After draining Greendale's finances, the study group brings his reign of terror to an end, and Chang returns to living in the building's vents.

Although Chang is still villainous after these events, his dictatorship is specifically forgotten about after a while. While there are small references, the fact he takes over the entire school and bends it to his will should result in him being arrested, but Chang gets away with it. Especially in later seasons, when Chang and the study group finally put their drama to rest, it's absurd that none of the characters have Chang's tyranny in the forefront of their minds.

6 Debbie Date Rapes Her Boyfriend To Try And Get Pregnant

Shameless

One notable storyline in Shameless involves Debbie's (Emma Kenney) obsession with falling pregnant. In season 5, Debbie finds her friend Matt (James Allen McCune) unconscious at a party and proceeds to have sex with him. Matt is naturally horrified at this, and even when he explains to Debbie that what she's done is rape, the teenager is more concerned about getting pregnant than her terrible and illegal actions.

Later on, Debbie baby-traps her boyfriend Derek (Damien Diaz) by lying about how long she has been using her birth control and refuses to have an abortion. Both of these pregnancy attempts are rape, but the rest of the Gallagher family in Shameless carry on, ignoring their sister's behavior. What Debbie does is forgotten after Franny is born, and while the rest of the cast have plenty of awful moments as well, this particular instance is the most harmful throughout the show.

5 Eric Leaving Donna At The Altar

That '70s Show

Donna (Laura Prepon) and Eric's (Topher Grace) relationship is one of the most prominent storylines throughout That '70s Show. Although That '90s Show confirms that they do eventually get married, their first attempt isn't as successful. While it makes sense that he panics over his nuptials, especially as both he and Donna are so young, Donna still forgives Eric when he doesn't turn up for their wedding. When Eric returns, their relationship continues for a short while as if nothing had ever happened, minus a brief comment from Bob about the money Eric owes him for the wedding.

Eric and Donna's relationship doesn't last long, as season 7 focuses on Eric "finding himself" for a year before he decides to head off to Africa to earn a college scholarship. Although they do reunite in the That '70s Show finale, it's puzzling why the characters, especially Donna, don't make reference to this more often. There are a few mentions, but Donna sweeping the entire experience away as if it is just a bad dream doesn't make sense.

4 Kim Lying About Having A Miscarriage

Scrubs

In Scrubs, one of J.D.'s (Zach Braff) relationships is with Kim Briggs (Elizabeth Banks), who becomes the mother of his first child, Sammy. When this storyline first begins, the two are nervous about becoming parents, especially as their relationship has only just begun, but a few episodes later, Kim announces she's had a miscarriage. It's heartbreaking to see J.D. find out, especially as, although anxious, he is also ready to grow up, which is why it's even worse when he crosses paths with Kim and discovers she's lying.

J.D. forgives Kim almost immediately, although this is because he wants to be a part of his child's life. The two briefly get back together, but J.D. realizes he doesn't love Kim as she gives birth. While he picks the worst moment to tell Kim this, there is a lot more focus on J.D.'s awful timing than the fact Kim lies about losing their baby. After Sammy is born, Kim's terrible actions are forgiven and forgotten, and the fact that J.D. and Elliot (Sarah Chalke) continue to have strong relationships with her makes no sense.

3 Haley Cheating On Arvin With Dylan

Modern Family

In Modern Family, there is always a mention of Haley (Sarah Hyland) and Dylan's (Reid Ewing) relationship. Although Haley and Dylan eventually get married and have their twins, Poppy and George, the storyline that led to this paints Haley in a bad light. Haley's relationship with Arvin (Chris Geere) appears to give her the opportunity for a secure future, but despite her genuine feelings for him, Haley still falls back into Dylan's arms and cheats on Arvin.

It can be appreciated that Haley is very much aware of her problematic actions, which leads her to break up with Arvin. Once she does so, Haley ensures to tell Dylan that she wants to take things slow, but this doesn't happen. While Haley handles the situation maturely, it is odd that Claire (Julie Bowen) doesn't have more to say on the subject, especially as she and Phil (Ty Burrell) are such big fans of Arvin. Alex (Ariel Winter) also should have an opinion, particularly as she harbors feelings for her ex-professor.

2 Lily Breaking Up Ted And Robin

How I Met Your Mother

How I Met Your Mother's "front porch test" shows the depths of Lily's (Alyson Hannigan) wacky thought process, which leads her to confess to Ted (Josh Radnor) that she was responsible for his breakup with Robin (Cobie Smulders). Throughout the show, it is established that Lily often oversteps boundaries and involves herself in her friend's lives way too much, but this storyline is a new level for the character. Too concerned about who she and Marshall will spend their twilight years with, Lily triggers a string of disagreements that then cause the breakdown in Ted and Robin's relationship, but this isn't the only time she does this.

Lily follows the same process to split up Robin and Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) in the season 5 episode "The Rough Patch," one season after Ted's discovery. While it is crazy enough that Ted magically accepts Lily's actions, especially as he never lets go of the idea of him and Robin, it's even wilder that everyone happily goes along with her using the same plan for Robin and Barney. Although Lily does plenty of bad things throughout the show, this stands out as the worst.

1 Craig Letting Himself Into The House

Malcolm in the Middle

In Malcolm in the Middle, Craig Feldspar's (David Anthony Higgins) obsession with Lois (Jane Kaczmarek) makes frequent appearances throughout the show. While Craig does multiple creepy and weird things, one notable example is in the episode "Casino," in which Francis (Christopher Masterson) discovers Craig letting himself into the house, making food, rooting through Lois' belongings, and even dancing around the home in a bathrobe. Although Francis and Craig form a strange bond in this episode, it's still shocking that Craig's actions don't lead to Lois finally cutting her strange co-worker off for good.