The Dark Reality Of T.J. Miller

In the mid-2010s, actor and comedian T.J. Miller hit the undisputed peak of his popularity. From "Silicon Valley" to "Deadpool" and "Office Christmas Party," the audience couldn't get enough of his quirky demeanor, distinct look, and even more recognizable voice. A string of quickfire controversies, though, derailed the upward trajectory of his career, with it all but flatlining by 2020. Miller did himself no favors either, as many of his inflammatory comments brought with them additional outrage and gob-smacking shock from both his fans and peers. Resultantly, he's become kryptonite to Hollywood, with studios, streamers, and networks saying ixnay on the hombre and steering clear of his uncanny ability to attract scandal. Simply put, he's become part of an infamous club of actors who ruined their career in a matter of seconds.

Miller continues to perform gigs on the standup circuit, while also waxing poetically about the marvels and mysteries behind Bitcoin and NFTs on his X (formerly known as Twitter) account. However, this is a far cry from the person who played the standout character Weasel in the "Deadpool" movies and provided some of the sickest burns to Ryan Reynolds' Wade Wilson. In fact, it appears as if Weasel and Wade's bromance died when Disney acquired 20th Century Fox movies and decided to not let the character back in for "Deadpool & Wolverine."

With all that said, let's take a look back at the numerous events and disastrous issues that changed the course of Miller's life and his career.

HBO's "Silicon Valley" established itself as a must-watch comedy series for six seasons. For four of those seasons, T.J. Miller brought the laughs as Erlich Bachman; however, his departure caught everyone off guard as he rode off into the sunset — or stayed in Tibet, according to the storyline. In 2017, "Silicon Valley" co-showrunner Mike Judge explained why to The Hollywood Reporter, saying, "It was kind of becoming clear that [Miller] didn't want to do the show anymore," but overtures were made to keep him on in some limited capacity.

In a separate interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Miller said he wanted to leave because his blossoming career in showbiz left him with no time. He discussed how he was offered a reduced schedule for Season 5 but turned it down. However, he also hinted at problems with co-showrunner Alec Berg, saying: "I didn't talk to Alec because I don't like Alec, but I think Mike Judge and [co-executive producer] Clay Tarver are brilliant."

In 2018, people involved with "Silicon Valley" spoke to The Hollywood Reporter, mentioning how there had been plans to cut ties with Miller because of his general unreliability and intoxication on set. Judge once again discussed how it was evident that Miller wanted out, while adding that "it's not fun to work with someone who doesn't want to be there." Considering how his departure went down, it's unlikely Miller would be welcomed back for a revival or continuation of the show.

Considering T.J. Miller's close association with "Silicon Valley," which humorously focuses on the tech industry, it's easy to see why the real industry itself would have wanted him to make a fun guest appearance at a show. However, TechCrunch's Crunchies — which used to be the tech world's version of the Oscars — received more than it bargained for when Miller hosted the event in 2015.

Miller ruffled feathers as he made several disrespectful remarks throughout the show, held in San Francisco's Davies Symphony Hall. The audience wasn't impressed by his attempts at humor that targeted women and minorities, and there were audible groans at his punchlines. It only seemed to spur on Miller more, as he said (via The Verge): "And that's why you guys will never be as loved as Los Angeles. It's all too precious, you can't joke about it."

Naturally, the event attracted attention for all the wrong reasons, with even then-Twitter executive Katie Jacobs Stanton writing on Medium about how she wanted to leave the show and didn't want to ever go back after Miller's unpleasant comments. TechCrunch's Ned Desmond released a public statement afterward, saying that while comedy is subjective, the company apologizes for Miller offending the audience. "Many at TechCrunch, however, feel badly about some elements of T.J.'s performance," Desmond wrote. "The use of derogatory slang to refer to women or minority groups is unacceptable at any event TechCrunch runs, period."

The 2015 TechCrunch show wasn't the only time that T.J. Miller's controversial comments directed toward women made the headlines, as he was back in the news in 2017 after an interview with New York Magazine. In the conversation, Miller admitted that for him "[i]t's more important to be polarizing than neutralizing," and provided a number of his thoughts on various topics, including the funniness level of women. According to the feature, Miller said that women are "taught to suppress their sense of humor during their formative years," which makes them less funny than men.

After Miller's comments received backlash for being presumably misogynistic, he took to his X account to clarify his original statement. He claimed that his words were being used as "click bait" by journalists who didn't understand what he was saying and the point he was trying to make was: "Society suppresses humor in women [because] it is a sign of intelligence." He published a series of posts, including one that stated: "Don't get it twisted. The world gets better the more we empower our literal better half. Women ARE FUNNY, against odds that men don't face." 

Even though Miller provided his own statement and suggested vilification for being misunderstood, there were those who felt this to be yet another instance of him putting his foot in his mouth during interviews where he tried to be too edgy or controversial for his own good.

In 2022, T.J. Miller appeared on "Steve-O's Wild Ride" podcast, where he discussed a variety of topics. In one segment, the actor opened up about a brain condition known as arteriovenous malformation (AVM) that he has had since birth, which affects blood vessels in the brain.

Speaking about his condition, Miller said the following on the podcast: "I had brain surgery and they took out a golf ball-sized piece of my brain, and it was from my right frontal lobe. I was born with an AVM, which is an arteriovenous malformation, and it's just a malformed part of your brain that never develops. It's just a mess of arteries and veins that you don't use, but it's prone to hemorrhaging."

Miller explained how this has made him susceptible to periods of mania, so he requires a good eight hours of sleep every night to manage it. He added how the heightened manic episodes are capable of triggering immense excitement in him, including inspiring creativity to write, but that they also have negative side effects. He attributed a well-publicized incident where he called in a bomb threat from a train to the severe lack of sleep he was experiencing at the time, as well as finding himself in a state of mania. For many individuals, that event was how "Deadpool's" T.J. Miller destroyed his career in seconds.

In 2017, The Daily Beast published a shocking exposé, in which it detailed the story of an unnamed woman who claimed that T.J. Miller sexually assaulted and physically harmed her. The allegations stemmed back to their days together at George Washington University in the early 2000s. The woman alleged that she and Miller started a romantic relationship that took a violent and non-consensual turn. According to the woman, she laid a complaint at George Washington University's student court and was told the matter was handled after several weeks of testimony and witness accounts.

Providing comment to The Daily Beast, comedy festival organizer Maura Brown explained how the allegations about Miller's past were an open secret in the entertainment industry and people were well aware of the story. Brown said: "Very commonly, women have warned each other [in entertainment] about him ... and about what happened in college."

Both T.J. Miller and his wife, Kate Gorney, who attended the same college, denied the allegations in a joint statement which read: "We met this woman over a decade ago while studying together in college, she attempted to break us up back then by plotting for over a year before making contradictory claims and accusations." The statement added that the woman was also a part of their comedy group, but was requested to depart "because of worrisome and disturbing behavior," while accusing her of having told others that she was going to take revenge against them.

After The Daily Beast published a harrowing story about allegations of assault involving T.J. Miller, adult film star Dana DeArmond posted on her X account stating that she had experienced harassment from both Miller and "Kong: Skull Island" director Jordan Vogt-Roberts when she worked on the "Mash Up" series. She added: "I've been saying T.J. was an ***hole for years. So there you go."

While DeArmond didn't disclose exactly what Miller did or said to her, she elaborated on Vogt-Roberts' alleged behavior, explaining how he tried to kiss her and when she declined, he kissed her anyway. Responding to another user who commented how she should have put Vogt-Roberts back in "the friendzone," DeArmond discussed how difficult it was to address these issues when they happened, writing: "It was actually the employer zone. This was before the [#MeToo] movement had erupted and I didn't have any choice but to deal with the assault for fear of not working for Comedy Central again."

Miller didn't publicly address DeArmond's allegations, while Vogt-Roberts told GQ that he had believed the kiss to have been consensual.

To call T.J. Miller's relationship with the media contentious would be putting it mildly. The actor has a history of claiming that he's misunderstood and that reporters sensationalize his statements, but in December 2017, some journalists painted a far darker picture of their interactions with him. Taking to X (via IndieWire), transgender film critic Danielle Solzman posted an aggressive and transphobic email that Miller was alleged to have sent her, simply because Solzman gave "The Emoji Movie" a negative review. For some context, the 2017 film holds a 6% critical approval rating and 36% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, demonstrating how Solzman wasn't alone in disliking the animated feature.

Mike Ryan, who has written for the likes of Uproxx and HuffPost, also posted on X about Miller allegedly sending him 13 direct messages because he wasn't a fan of "The Emoji Movie" either. One of the messages reads: "Never work with Mike Ryan. If he thinks you don't give a s***, and he definitely doesn't, well then find a way to have him killed."

Additionally, Jason Guerrasio, who has been published by Business Insider, replied to Ryan's post, stating he had his own "T.J. Miller story" too. When asked by another commentator to share it, Guerrasio replied: "That was for Mike's ears only. Sorry."

There are many questionable things about Donald Trump's presidency, and he continues to be a divisive personality among people across the globe. T.J. Miller wasn't immune to the conversation either, as demonstrated in December 2016, when he was alleged to have engaged in a heated political argument with cab driver Wilson Deon Thomas III about Trump that resulted in Miller assaulting the driver. According to Los Angeles Police Department officer Jenny Houser's comments to The Hollywood Reporter, Miller was detained in a citizen arrest, booked by the LAPD, then released without bail the same morning of the incident.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Thomas sued Miller for battery as well as emotional distress, claiming that the actor hit him on the head and shoulder and caused him to suddenly hit the brakes in the vehicle. However, Miller's attorney, Bryan Freedman, argued that Thomas had schemed to extort Miller for money from the get-go. "From the moment Mr. Miller and his wife stepped into Mr. Thomas' vehicle and he recognized Mr. Miller as a comedian and Hollywood actor, Mr. Thomas started a plan to try and extort money from Mr. Miller, even commenting that Mr. Miller was 'a rich guy,'" Freedman stated.

In 2018, Miller and Thomas settled the matter without having to go to court.

In April 2018, T.J. Miller was arrested in New York's LaGuardia Airport after allegedly phoning in a fake claim about a bomb threat aboard an Amtrak train. According to the Department of Justice's press release (via CNN), Miller called the authorities about a female passenger on the train who "kept checking her bag without taking anything out; kept asking the first-class attendant what the next stop was, and seemed to want to get off the train and leave her bag behind." Officials stopped the train and searched it, finding no evidence of any bomb or explosive devices. In addition, Miller wasn't even traveling on the train he reported, but another one.

Furthermore, Amtrak officials suggested that Miller had been intoxicated on his train ride and argued with another female passenger. Subsequently, Miller was arrested and released on $100,000 bail; however, in June 2021, charges against him were dropped. Prosecutors made their judgment based on Miller's prior brain surgery, which could have had an impact on his cognitive reasoning, as well as his commitment to pay for all the costs involved in the investigation of the bomb threat.

Appearing on "The Tea with Dr. V" podcast (via Variety), Miller spoke about his AVM brain condition once again in relation to the incident, while explaining how alcohol calmed his manic episodes but only made matters worse.

Unquestionably, one of T.J. Miller's biggest roles was as Weasel in the first two "Deadpool" films. Critically acclaimed and making more money than a small country's GDP, the movies hold a special place in the hearts of many. While Miller's Weasel and Ryan Reynolds' Wade Wilson possess incredible chemistry on screen, it didn't appear as if everything was rosy off it, according to Miller.

"I think after he got super, super famous after the first 'Deadpool,' then he ... Yeah, things kind of changed," Miller said on an appearance on "The Adam Carolla Show" in October 2022. "I mean, would I work with him again? No." Miller added how fame had changed Reynolds and discussed an incident where he claimed Reynolds was "horrifically mean" to him and ensured he knew who the star of the movie was.

Miller's comments about Reynolds spread around the internet. However, not too long afterward, Miller appeared on SiriusXM and explained that Reynolds had reached out to him and they had patched up their differences. "It was a misunderstanding, so I emailed him back and now it's fine," he said, adding how he didn't think his comments would have made the news, especially since he paid many compliments to Reynolds as well. Expectedly, Miller didn't return for 2024's "Deadpool & Wolverine."

To learn more about the Merc with the Mouth, check out the dumb things in "Deadpool" everyone just ignored.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, has been a victim of sexual assault or is dealing with domestic violence, contact the relevant resources below:

• The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

• The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

• The National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.