Breaking Bad transformed pop culture, began the Netflix renaissance, and lifted Bryan Cranston out of his relatively obscure career in Hollywood. If not for Vince Gilligan and his eye for talent, the majority of the series cast would have been encased in guest/supporting roles or in Cranston’s case, as a middle-aged dad in a dysfunctional family sitcom after Malcolm in the Middle.
In hindsight, however, not all facets of the AMC sleeper hit are laudable. There are darker truths, allegations, and unsolved mysteries hidden within the annals of Breaking Bad history. Cast members were accused of crimes so flagrant that they would be blacklisted by the industry in today’s socio-political climate. One such accusation almost destroyed the reputation of Breaking Bad, if not tarnished its legacy entirely.
The World of Breaking Bad Gets a Bit Too Realistic
Murder, theft, armed robbery, gang violence – Breaking Bad is a who’s who of criminal offenses. For its cast, the story is not too far from the truth and their roles are not entirely incomprehensible to re-enact. Bryan Cranston himself has repeated the story about his days as a murder suspect time and again in talk shows and podcasts. Dean Norris was accused of sexual assault in 2018. Meanwhile, Danny Trejo’s past as a career criminal is known far and wide.
However, it was Raymond Cruz, the actor playing Tuco Salamanca in Breaking Bad Seasons 1 and 2, who left the show’s legacy crippled due to the much-publicized abuse allegation made against him by Orange is the New Black actress Taryn Manning.
In a since-deleted Instagram post, Manning not only accused Raymond Cruz of violent behavior and physical abuse but also called out other industry names like Ashton Kutcher and Terrence Howard for numerous wrongdoings.
Taryn Manning Takes Down Tuco Salamanca
In September 2023, Taryn Manning went on a social media rant against Raymond Cruz, among others, accusing him of physical assault while working together in the Lifetime TV movie, Cleveland Abduction in 2015. Cruz played the part of the kidnapper while Manning played one of his three female victims. Speaking of their time on the sets of that film, Manning recalled (via CinemaBlend):
They didn’t have to put bruises on me in the makeup trailer anymore cause I was COVERED from your abuse. You can legit burn in HELL since you loved talking about it daily anyway. Also traumatizing. Most evil actor I’ve ever worked with hands down.
Around the same time, the actress was also suffering from a potentially manic episode after being dropped by her talent agency and PR rep for making pro-Trump statements and supporting Danny Masterson amid his rape trial and conviction.
Her erratic posts on social media had the fans concerned for her health and well-being and although that should not take away from her alleged experience of assault at the hands of Raymond Cruz, her mental health also gets drawn into the equation along with her accusations, leading to doubts about their veracity.
Breaking Bad is streaming on AMC+.
