The Shady Side Of Yellowstone Creator Taylor Sheridan Everyone Ignores

Taylor Sheridan was a struggling actor when he sold his first screenplay in 2011. Within just a decade, he became one of Hollywood's most successful showrunners. With hits like "Yellowstone" and its spinoffs "1883" and "1923," "Mayor of Kingstown," "Landman," and "Special Ops: Lioness," he brought in millions of new subscribers to Paramount and made Americans realize they needed Westerns back in their lives. But bringing back the cowboys also exposed Sheridan's shady side.

Because of the profits he has helped generate for the studios he works with, Sheridan has been accused of using his influence to broaden the scope of his powers. From profiting off of arguably unnecessary costs to feuding with his main protagonists, the showrunner's ethics have been called into question. His writing has also drawn criticism, particularly for his portrayal of Indigenous and female characters. But he doesn't want to hear about it. 

Sheridan infamously avoids writers' rooms, preferring to write all his scripts alone. "The freedom of the artist to create must be unfettered. ... If I have to check in creatively with others for a story I've wholly built in my brain, that would probably be the end of me telling TV stories," he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2023. His overprotectiveness of his scripts may have caused issues along the way, but ultimately, he is making bank and helping others do the same. So he will continue to do things his way. But that doesn't mean he won't have to face the consequences once in a while.

Taylor Sheridan can't always control his temper, which he proved when he got into a physical fight with Cole Hauser. This was way before their "Yellowstone" days, though, when they were newbies in Hollywood. They went on to be friends, presumably in part thanks to Hauser's liberal views on fistfights. "I don't think there's anything wrong with fighting. Sometimes I'm just tired of words, so let's beat the s*** out of each other," Hauser told Men's Journal in 2022. 

In his opinion, a physical altercation can be a productive way of releasing whatever tension that was pent up. "Maybe at the end of it you'll buy me a Guinness and I'll buy you a Bushmills, and we'll be done. It's kind of what guys do," he said. Sheridan seemingly had a similar take on physical fights, considering that he and Hauser went on to become close friends and colleagues. "He's a really intense guy," Hauser said on "The Ryen Russillo Podcast" in 2020.

Hauser didn't mean it in a bad way. "He's very focused, he's not unlike me. I think we kinda complement each other because we both give a s***," he said. They both shared similar outlooks on life and had a similar work ethic. "He's one of those guys who works his a** off 'til it's over, and when it's over, he likes to have a nice drink and enjoy himself," he said. 

Taylor Sheridan may have once believed that getting physical was the way to solve his differences, but he must have later determined that some issues require legal intervention. In November 2023, Sheridan filed a lawsuit against Cole Hauser's coffee brand, Free Rein Coffee Company, accusing his friend of using a logo that was too similar to his own coffee brand, Bosque Ranch. "Free Rein uses a brand mark strikingly similar to Bosque Ranch's registered trademark, potentially misleading consumers," the suit contended (via MRT).

However, Sheridan asked the judge to dismiss the case just a month later. While they haven't publicly addressed their legal dispute, the colleagues seemingly put it behind them. A few months later, Hauser happily returned to the set of "Yellowstone," whose production had been on pause amid the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. He even highlighted his excitement over resuming his work with Sheridan on the show's fifth and final season. "I think he's going to direct some [episodes]," he told People in April 2024. "So I'm excited about that. Just get back up in Montana and go to work."

Given how quickly they moved on from the issue, some "Yellowstone" fans conjectured that Sheridan and Hauser may have had obscure reasons for going the legal route. "The lawsuit is a ploy to get national coverage of the coffee brands. Cheap advertising, and in the end they'll say they 'settled,'" one user defended in a Reddit thread. It's impossible to know, but the whole thing was for sure shady.

Rumors of tension between Kevin Costner and "Yellowstone" creator Taylor Sheridan started doing the rounds in mid-2023. It turned out that fans had every reason to worry. A year later, the Hollywood legend announced he would not return for the latter half of Season 5, despite Costner's lawyers previously blasting the rumored standoff with "Yellowstone" creators. He cited scheduling conflicts with "Horizon," a passion film he starred in, directed, and poured millions of his own money into. But it became clear that wasn't the only reason.

Paramount accused Costner of ditching "Yellowstone" for his pet project, while the actor accused the studio of wanting to amend his contract and shifting his obligations around. It was a mess, but one Costner said he wanted to fix. He even said he sat down with Sheridan to find a solution. "I was straight up with him and he said what we would do and I believed him and we didn't get there," he told Deadline in May 2024. Sheridan denied this, saying he was always willing to work with Costner.

But then Costner lawyered up. "Once lawyers get involved, then people don't get to talk to each other and start saying things that aren't true and attempt to shift blame based on how the press or public seem to be reacting," he said in The Hollywood Reporter interview. Sheridan further denied he was a big part of the problems that led to Costner's bitter exit from "Yellowstone." "I don't dictate the schedule. I don't determine when things start filming. I don't determine when things air," he argued.

Taylor Sheridan has made a fortune thanks to his profitable shows. However, he has also been accused of using less honorable ways to cash in. Sheridan has raised ethical questions regarding his seemingly unchecked influence at 101 Studios and Paramount, allowing the showrunner to make money by renting out his own properties for production purposes. That includes charging $50,000 a week to shoot at his ranch and $25 for each cow featured on his shows, according to a May 2023 report by The Wall Street Journal.

Sheridan seemingly knew exactly what he was doing when he entered into these agreements with the studio. "There's nothing better than a movie company showing up and filming for about a month and paying you a bunch of money and leaving. It's about the greatest deal going," he said at a cattle owners convention, as quoted by the WSJ. He has also been questioned over other expenses, such as hauling a horse wrangler and farriers from Texas to Montana with "Yellowstone" money instead of using locals.

The show's production controller, Mary Jasionowski, emailed the wrangler to understand what was going on. "I was surprised to see a timecard for a TX wrangler come through last week even though we are now shooting in Montana," she wrote. The head of 101 Studios was even more astounded. "Are you kidding me? We can't find a local person?" David Glasser wrote in an email. However, he later defended Sheridan's expenses. "Everything we do has a three-bid system, and Viacom has an audit team," Glasser told The Hollywood Reporter.

As a man who made a name for himself in the Western genre, Taylor Sheridan inevitably weaves Indigenous plots into his scripts. But it hasn't always gone over well. Over the years, Sheridan has racked up criticism for his portrayal of Indigenous characters through tired tropes that do little but perpetuate stereotypes, particularly the use of seemingly unnecessary violence against them. The controversy hit an all-time high when he cast Kelsey Asbille (seen above with Sheridan) in an Indigenous part twice.

After starring in Sheridan's 2017 neo-Western film "Wind River," Asbille claimed she was a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. "This role, more than any other, it's in my blood," she told The New York Times. However, the tribe refuted her claim shortly after. "Kelsey Asbille (Chow) is not now nor has she ever been an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians," the tribe stated (via Pechanga.net), using the actor's Taiwanese last name that she doesn't use professionally. 

Sheridan cast Asbille again in "Yellowstone" despite the controversy. But this wasn't the only time he caught flak over Indigenous issues. In the interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sheridan claimed "Wind River" helped pass the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act in 2022, a law allowing U.S. citizens to be prosecuted for rape on Indian reservations. Indigenous activists disagreed. "Sheridan's attempt to take credit for the passage of VAWA is gross and completely discredits years of tireless advocacy from the Native community," Native rights attorney Mary Kathryn Nagle defended.