Executives at Food Network have decided to remove last year’s season of Worst Cooks in America after a contestant on the show was detained and charged for the murder of a three-year-old girl in South Carolina.
On Jan. 19, a judge denied bond to Ariel and Jerry Robinson after they were charged with homicide by child abuse. Arrest warrants detailed that they inflicted a "series of blunt force injuries" to the three-year-old identified as Victoria Smith, who later died at a hospital, ABC-affiliate station WYFF reports.
Food Network has pulled season 20 of #WorstCooksInAmerica after winner Ariel Robinson was charged with homicide. https://t.co/OsZv6XiBu3
pic.twitter.com/HksbIPth2d— E! News (@enews) January 25, 2021
"Police officers handle all kinds of cases, and these kinds of cases can be the hardest for them to do," Justin Lee Campbell, a Simpsonville police spokesman, told PEOPLE. "It is a sad day. You bring charges and maybe convictions, but at the end of the day, the life of a child was taken. For anyone who knew the victim or was related to the victim, they are in our thoughts and prayers."
Smith was adopted by the Robinsons after spending the majority of her young life in the foster care system, according to WYFF.
Tiffany and Cameron Huggins, Smith’s previous foster parents for 10 months prior to her joining the Robinsons, said the little girl was the center of attention everywhere she went.
“When she entered a room, all eyes were on her, because she demanded it and she was a cutie,” Tiffany said.
Her husband, Cameron, said Smith was a joyful girl with a contagious smile who enjoyed riding her bike.
The Huggins said the girl was a natural at gaining the attention of others and they will always remember her light and potential.
“She was just a natural,” Tiffany said. “She had the best personality and I’m not just saying that cause I was her momma, but she was just our light. She was a beautiful child, inside and out."
The couple expressed that the girl “just had so much to offer,” and “she’s gonna be missed by many, many, many people."
Ariel was named the winner of Season 20 of the Food Network food competition show. In an interview after the contest ended, Robinson said that she would take the $25,000 prize money to help raise her three adopted children with her husband, Jerry, according to Texas news station KXAN.
“I just know that the Lord had his hands on me and he had a purpose for me to go on there,” the 29-year-old said. “He knew we were going through this adoption, we really could use the money and he just let everything work out for our good.”
Since the couple's arrests, Food Network has banned the entire 20th season from the cable service’s offerings, including Hulu, YouTube, and Discovery+, according to Deadline. The previous first 19 seasons and season 21 are still available on streaming platforms.
“The South Carolina Department of Social Services is aware of allegations and the arrests made and is investigating along with law enforcement,” a DSS spokesperson said in a statement to WYFF on Wednesday. The agency said its next move in the case will involve taking the appropriate action to ensure the remaining children in the Robinsons home are safe and protected.