Although Sons of Anarchy was inspired by the lifestyle of motorcycle clubs, its depiction of these clubs wasn’t entirely accurate, and this brought creator Kurt Sutter some problems, and he ended up angering a real-life motorcycle club. Back in 2008, Sutter took the audience to the fictional town of Charming, California, to meet the Sons of Anarchy motorcycle club, and through it, he explored topics like racism, brotherhood, corruption, and more. Although Sons of Anarchy was praised by critics and viewers, not everyone was a fan of its depiction of motorcycle clubs.

Leading Sons of Anarchy was Jackson “Jax” Teller (Charlie Hunnam), the VP of the club who eventually became the President. The events of the series began when Jax found a manifesto written by his father, John “JT” Teller, one of the founding of the club, in which he detailed his plans and vision for it. However, these clashed with those of the current President (and Jax’s stepfather), Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman), and this, along with other conflicts, sent Jax on a personal journey that made him question his path, role in the club, relationships, and more, and also led to a lot of conflicts, betrayals, and murders on Sons of Anarchy.

A Reality TV Show Called Out Sons Of Anarchy

Sons of Anarchy original SAMCRO name why changed

As much as the show found popularity and acclaim, Sons of Anarchy's accuracy with real motorcycle clubs has been questioned. Interestingly, some of these criticisms of the show came from real clubs and their , to the point where there was a reality TV series that claimed to be the “real-life Sons of Anarchy.” This didn’t sit well with Sutter, who expressed his annoyance over it on social media, thus angering the real motorcycle club that starred in that show.

The Devils Ride was a reality TV series by Discovery Network centered on the motorcycle club The Laffing Devils, based in San Diego, California. Executive producer Jason Hervey told Rolling Stone in 2014 that, although Sons of Anarchy was entertaining, it “only tells part of the biker’s story,” and what they captured in The Devils Ride is “a brotherhood.”

Kurt Sutter Responded To The Devil's Ride

Jax (Charlie Hunnam) riding his bike in line with a trailer in Sons of Anarchy

The Devils Ride premiered in 2012 and it was marketed as “real-life Sons of Anarchy,” so it didn’t take long for Sutter to voice his opinion on this. Sutter took Twitter to say that The Devils Ride was messing with his brand and they sure weren’t the real SAMCRO. This angered the of The Laffing Devils, with one of them (via EW) sending a response to Sutter. This man, best known as Sandman, sent a “reality check” for Sutter by inviting his “pretty-faced Kurt Cobain look-alike Jax” to San Diego to prove his point, and mocked Jax’s “shiny white kicks.”

Sutter continued to accuse The Devils Ride of exploiting Sons of Anarchy, and he Jax is based on a real biker who inspired Sons of Anarchy. Ultimately, this conflict between Sons of Anarchy’s creator Kurt Sutter and The Devils Ride’ The Laffing Devils didn’t go past exchanging words and threats on social media, and they all eventually moved on. Given its theme and topics, Sons of Anarchy was definitely going to anger some people, but they surely weren’t expecting a potentially big issue with a real-life motorcycle club.