David Silver (Brian Austin Green) might not be bad boy Dylan McKay (Luke Perry) or dramatic Brenda (Shannen Doherty), but he's still a big part of Beverly Hills, 90210. David and Donna's romance is one of the longest on the show, and for 10 seasons, viewers watched David fall in love, try to get his career going, and hang out with the rest of the gang.
Of course, David had some hard times, and he also behaved in some ways that seem problematic now. Read on to find out some of David Silver's actions and words that wouldn't be viewed so casually in 2020.
He Stops Being Friends With Scott To Be With The Popular Crowd
It's horrible and heartbreaking when Scott Scanlon (Douglas Emerson) dies on Beverly Hills, 90210 and it's tough for David as the two used to be close friends.
David stops being friends with him in order to be with the popular crowd, and while he knows that this was a terrible way to behave, that doesn't make it okay. Back in the '80s and '90s, it was considered totally fine to want to be one of the popular kids. This was just what people did. But dropping a friend to try to be popular looks really bad.
He Insults Donna, Saying She's Selfish And Horrible
David treats Donna really badly in the fifth season. Sure, it's not easy to get along with an ex and not everyone is going to be friends, but he has no excuse for calling her "self-involved" and a "b*tch."
This wouldn't fly today, as it's disrespectful and rude. Why does anyone want to be friends with David, let alone date him, when he acts this way?
He's Intimate With A 17-Year-Old Girl (And Gets Bailed Out)
While David Silver is supposedly a cool guy, wearing stylish clothes (or stylish for that time period) and indulging his DJ hobby, he's not that cool about his dating life. In the ninth season episode "You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello," he's intimate with a girl who is actually only 17.
In the next episode, he gets arrested for statutory rape, and Dylan McKay (Luke Perry) bails him out. Everything is supposedly okay because they talk to the girl's family and say that she has some problems so this is why she brought charges against David. But David was guilty of this, so it seems strange that he gets to move on from the situation so easily.
He Has A Super Creepy Crush On Kelly
At first, David has a crush on Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth), and it's incredibly creepy. He actually says the following line about Kelly: "I think it's the blonde hair that gets me the most. I have this incredible urge to just sniff it!”
David saying this line is bad enough, but what if he had actually done this? It's really inappropriate.
He Doesn't Respect Donna's Decision To Wait To Have Sex
One of the well-known aspects of David's time on 90210 is that he's in love with Donna Martin (Tori Spelling) and she doesn't want to sleep with him.
David doesn't respectful Donna's decision to wait to have sex, which wouldn't fly today. He constantly pushes her and doesn't even try to see things from her perspective. He could be a lot nicer and more sensitive about this than he is, and today, he would be told off.
He Comes Up With A Rap That Is Offensive
In the first season of Beverly Hills 90210, David comes up with a rap, and it's pretty offensive. He sings, "Yo West Beverly, my name is Dave/And I'ma give you all the songs that you crave/And all the babes are gonna be my slave/And all from a guy that don't even shave, word."
Why is he saying that he wants girls to be his "slave?" This would definitely never fly today and he would get a lot of negative feedback.
He Has A Very Intense Reaction To Scott's Death
After Scott accidentally shoots himself, David feels super guilty for not being friends with him anymore, but he has a very intense reaction that wouldn't be viewed that positively today.
David says, "He was a jerk who blew himself away, that's who he was. You don't know. You left early. You missed out on the fun part when he picked up a loaded gun and twirled it around like he was Wyatt Earp. You weren't there to see him goof up and bleed all over his mom's Persian rug." David could have definitely been a little more sensitive with his wording...
He Says Sex Ed Should Be Co-Ed So Girls Want To Have Sex
Everyone remembers the awkwardness of health class, especially sex ed, but no one should say what David does about it.
When he says about girls, "Because when they start talking about sex things with guys around, it gets them in the mood," this would never fly today. Instead, everyone just shrugs off the things that he says.
He's On Crystal Meth For A While
David actually gets addicted to meth, and someone gives it to him like it's honestly no big deal.
This is definitely a very dangerous substance and not something that would fly today. 90210 often examined serious subjects like drug use and this was one example, but it took too long for the other characters to see that David was in a lot of trouble.
He Makes A Sex Tape With Clare
In the fifth season episode "Intervention," David makes a sex tape with his girlfriend Clare (Kathleen Robertson). Of course, it winds up in the wrong place, which tends to always happen in this kind of scenario.
This would never fly today because this would definitely wind up on the Internet and cost David his job and his reputation. It's easy to see something very dramatic happening as a result.