What Happened To Bobby Brown From Dog The Bounty Hunter
It was May 2012 when A&E announced it would be pulling the plug on Dog the Bounty Hunter after a successful eight-season run, which began in 2004. However, only a few months before the network announced that it would not be ordering a ninth season, one of the show's regulars was taking the network to court, demanding a bigger stake in the series.
What fans may not remember is that bail bondsman Bobby Brown actually sued A&E Television Networks, Hybrid Films, and D&D Television Productions in September 2011, stating that he "appeared in, and was principally responsible for the preparation and coordination of approximately 40 episodes" and all he got in return was a measly $6,000. Brown claimed that he put in "meticulous preparation and research" and spent 50 hours working on each of his episodes. As part of the lawsuit, he accused the defendants of failing to pay him for "substantial contributions to the production of the television series;" said that Duane "Dog" Chapman had (falsely) promised to make him a full-time cast member; and alleged that the network had misappropriated his likeness.
After the show was canceled, Brown had to put his reality TV dreams on the backburner and return to, well, reality. Here's what he's been up to since.
Bobby Brown is working seven days a week
One thing Bobby Brown's lawsuit made clear is that he loves to work. Long before his stint on Dog the Bounty Hunter, he was running his own Colorado-based business, aptly called Bobby Brown Bail Bonds, and his short reality TV career hasn't changed that. The bail bondsman started his "small family business" back in 1992 and, according to his website, he's been working hard ever since to "help families through the heart-wrenching experience when a loved one has been arrested."
Brown's father, wife, and daughter have all worked for Bobby Brown Bail Bonds over the years, and he's also got a team of "professional, personal, and compassionate agents" helping him out. Brow's business is open seven days a week — 24 hours a day on weekends — and, in addition to posting bail, he's also happy to meet his "#FANtasticFANS," which he regularly shouts out on Twitter. He's even set up a merch store to sell branded swag, such as hoodies that read "Property of Bobby Brown" and T-shirts emblazoned with this cheeky line: "I'm Too Cute for Jail."
He lost one of his closest friends when Beth Chapman died
Duane "Dog" Chapman's late wife, Beth Chapman, was an integral part of Dog the Bounty Hunter, but before she even met her husband, she was friends with Bobby Brown. The pair met in 1989 when Beth was working as a bail bondsman in Colorado and, as Brown told KRDO, they were "very close ever since." When Beth was diagnosed with stage II throat cancer in 2017, Brown was there to offer support.
Beth underwent emergency surgery in November 2018 and was later placed in a medically induced coma in June 2019. Dog took to Twitter to ask fans to "please say your prayers for Beth right now," and that's exactly what Brown did. "It's a well known FACT that #DogAndBeth are serious #CHRISTIANS and just like me, 'WE' appreciate and know how POWERFUL the #POWERofPRAYER works!" Brown tweeted. "I promise you ALL that BETH hears and thankfully receives and HEARS all our PRAYERS and #DOG whispering his words of LOVE to #BETH."
Beth lost her battle with cancer later that month. "It's hard for me to talk about it right now [because] you cannot prepare for when it really happens," Brown confessed.
He'll always be a part of of the Chapman family
Despite his 2011 lawsuit, Bobby Brown has shown no signs of cutting ties with the Chapman family. His special bond with Beth Chapman, for example, remained strong to the very end. When the late reality star exchanged jabs with Lyssa Chapman on Twitter, accusing her stepdaughter of ignoring her on Mother's Day and purposely not inviting her to granddaughter Abbie's high school graduation, Brown responded with some choice words for Lyssa.
"All I can say is that after my mom passed over 3 years ago, I second-guessed WHY did I pass on times that I know I could have spent even more time with her or whatever," he tweeted, adding, "I wish for every child that still has MOM and DAD... NO REGRETS." Beth acknowledging her friend's support by writing, "I know Bob, they just don't understand that forever is forever. You can't take it back & you can't give it back. Time is not on our side."
More recently, Brown has also been showing his appreciation for Duane "Dog" Chapman. In September 2020, Brown not only tweeted about the "awesome book" his "lifelong friend" wrote, titled You Can Run but You can't Hide, but he also went as far as to help promote his pal's new show. Writing about the upcoming Dog Unleashed series, he gushed, "This is truly #MUSTseeTV. #DogTheBountyHunter like nothing you can imagine. Coming in 2021."
Should we expect a cameo?