The Food Network removed last year’s “Worst Cooks in America” season after the winner of the competition was accused of the death of a 3-year-old girl in South Carolina.
Ariel Robinson, 29, who won the challenge for novice cooks in August, and her husband Jerry Robinson, 34, were charged with child abuse homicide involving their adopted daughter, according to NBC affiliate WYFF.
The 3-year-old, whom the Greenville County coroner’s office identified as Victoria Smith, suffered “a series of blunt injuries” from the Robinsons, according to arrest warrants. She later died in a nearby hospital after being found unanswered by the police.
Ariel Robinson, a former teacher who worked as a comedian, won $ 25,000 in season 20 of the culinary reality show, in which a group of admittedly terrible cooks compete while being taught by famous chefs.
Season 20 episodes, which aired last year, have been removed from the Food Network’s Discovery +, Hulu and YouTube pages, according to Deadline. The recaps of the 20th season episodes also disappeared from the Food Network website.
The Food Network did not immediately respond to a request for comment TODAY.
Smith was adopted by the Robinsons after spending most of her life in foster care, according to WYFF, who spoke with the girl’s previous adoptive parents, Tiffany and Cameron Huggins.
“She was just natural,” said Tiffany Huggins. “She had the best personality and I’m not saying that just because I was her mother, but she was just our light. She was a beautiful child, inside and out. “
Ariel Robinson told WYFF after his win on the show last year that the cash prize would help the family because they just adopted three young children, including Smith.