Power Rangers Boss Got Angry When One Star Was Too Good At Their Action Scenes

"Power Rangers" was one of the biggest franchises in the 1990s. It was a monumental piece of children's television that helped push the boom of Japanese media in the West, introduced millions of kids to the magic of tokusatsu, and had the kind of diversity Hollywood's only started to seek out 30 years later.

Though there are many different "Power Rangers" TV series and movies (most of them unconnected and unrelated), the original "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" — itself a partial adaptation of the Japanese tokusatsu series "Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger" — is still easily the best known. But as popular as the show proved to be, behind the scenes, things were not great. It's now widely known that the "Mighty Morphin" cast was severely overworked and underpaid (many of the actors were literal teenagers), while certain cast members faced homophobia, sexism, and more at the hands of the crew, including the producers.

As documented in PopCrush's 2016 oral history of "Mighty Morphin," David Yost initially auditioned to play the Rangers' leader, Jason/the Red Ranger, before being cast as Billy Cranston/the Blue Ranger. Yost, however, struggled to identify with the quiet, shy tech wizard Billy and didn't want him to be the geeky weak link in a group of athletes — something that didn't fly with "Power Rangers" creator (and admitted Zionist) Haim Saban.

"When I was first cast, and we were training in martial arts before we started filming, I started getting pretty good, and I remember Saban coming in and being really upset because he thought I looked too good," Yost recalled. "He didn't want my character to look good. When I saw him get angry, it kind of put the fear of God in me — I was like: 'Oh, s***, I don't want to piss him off.'"

Infamously, Yost's problems on the "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" set didn't stop there. The actor came out as gay in 2010 and revealed that was a big reason why he abruptly left the show in its third season, having dealt with years of harassment and abuse from its crew, directors, and producers over his sexuality. Though his character was essential and the last member of the original Power Rangers team to leave the show, his treatment remains a blemish on the franchise's history.

During an interview at the Anime Festival Orlando in 2010, Yost revealed he "walked off set one day during the middle of lunch — I had made a decision, I had been thinking about it for a good week, and the reason I walked off was because I was called f****t one too many times" by the creatives working on the show. This left a lasting mark on the actor, who underwent conversion therapy after leaving the show (via Out In Perth) — something that "unfortunately caused a nervous breakdown because I was actively working against the truth of who I was, and mentally, I couldn't take it anymore."

It didn't stop with Yost, of course. Investigation Discovery's docuseries "Hollywood Demons" included an episode titled "Dark Side of the Power Rangers," which revealed some of the horrendous working conditions on the show. Tony Oliver, the series' head writer, acknowledged (via Entertainment Weekly), "These contacts made it okay to work you to death, and they did."

As for Yost, he eventually made peace with "Power Rangers" and its legacy. He even came back for the 30th anniversary special "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always," an emotional reunion and love letter to the franchise.