Donna is the fervent feminist from That 70’s Show who dates Eric on and off while exploring her passion for music and female empowerment. She is a fan favorite character while also being one that annoys viewers with her decisions. She doesn’t always treat Eric the best and she makes a few decisions along the way that cause fans to shake their head in disapproval.
That being said, Donna did have her fair share of heartbreaking moments that really made fans feel for her. Here are five times fans felt bad for the girl next door, and five times viewers hated the assertive redhead.
Felt Bad For Her: When Her Parents Got Divorced
Donna’s parents had her in high school and they never really knew what they were doing, but Donna loved them anyways. So, when they divorced in season 4, her Mother Midge leaving for good to go pursue her dreams in California in the episode “The Relapse”, it devastated her. And to make matters worse Eric made her feel bad for talking to Hyde about it instead of him, but only because Hyde would understand it more, coming from a broken home.
Hated Her: The Way She Treats Eric After She Starts Working At the Radio Station
Donna gets a job as a disc jockey which puts her on the perfect path to her dream career. She soon gains popularity with listeners and even gets the nickname “Hot Donna” which Eric is not thrilled about. She begins to stand him up on dates and in one instance ditches him at a concert. It was hard to see her treat Eric so poorly after he had been by her side and cared so much about her, but being the feminist she is, it made sense that she put her job before her boyfriend.
Felt Bad For Her: When Eric Killed Her Cat
In the season 1 episode aptly titled “Kiss of Death”, Eric is yelled at for the fiftieth time to put the cruiser in the garage, and in doing so he runs over Donna’s beloved cat, Mr. Bonkers. He stays silent about the incident and actually lets Donna worry about her cat before coming clean. It’s a surprise she forgave him so quickly for this lie and for taking away something she loved.
Hated Her: When She Writes A Mean Story About Eric
After they break up in Season 4, Donna copes with the breakup by penning a short story about her relationship with Eric and has it published in the school paper. The story paints Eric in a really bad light, such as exaggerating the above incident where Eric ran over her cat, making it seem as if he did it on purpose.
Her words really hurt Eric’s feelings and turned the school against him and he retaliates with a story of his own. His behavior is uncalled for as well and it turns out the school didn’t publish the whole story, leaving out the happy ending she wrote for the two. But Donna should have kept the story to herself and found a better outlet that didn’t involve such a public airing of their dirty laundry.
Felt Bad For Her: When Eric Wouldn’t Take Her Back
After Eric gives her a promise ring in season 3, Donna begins to overanalyze their relationship and panic. She breaks up with him, thinking that they aren’t on the same page about the future and she’s not quite ready for such a commitment. But (after dating the utterly wrong guy) she realizes how much she cares for Eric and tries to win him back but he rejects her. She’s so heartbroken she decides to move to California with her mother to escape. Thankfully, Eric comes to his senses and follows her to California and brings her home, but only after an unanswered call home makes her think he’s moved on.
Hated Her: The Way She Acts After She Dyed Her Hair
In the season 7 premiere, Donna dyes her hair blonde in a vain attempt to get over Eric leaving her at the rehearsal and pretend everything is alright between them. She begins to act conceited, enjoying the attention she gets and becoming more superficial like Jackie. Unfortunately, the hair sticks around until the end of the show, but thankfully the personality change does not.
Felt Bad For Her: When Eric Pantsed Her
In the season 3 episode, aptly titled “Donna’s Panties”, Eric pants Donna in a prank and reveals her granny panties, mortifying her. Her embarrassment is felt vividly as many can imagine how horrible this situation would be for a teenage girl, especially with the misfortune of having those unflattering underwear on. It was such an invasion of privacy and Eric did it for a spiteful reason. You can’t help but feel bad for Donna here.
Hated Her: The Fact That She Dated Casey Kelso
Casey was everything Donna stood against as a feminist. He was a player and lazy with no ambitions besides having a good time. He’s clearly a bad rebound, but Donna decides to be ignorant to the fact and fool herself into thinking its something more, even defending him to her parents.
But he walks out saying he didn’t really love her and this was all too serious for him. Something Donna should have known, being so smart. Her feminist ideals should have prevented her from even going down that path.
Felt Bad For Her: When Eric Disappeared Before Their Wedding
Eric and Donna are set to finally tie the knot when Red’s words finally get to Eric. He thinks if he marries Donna it will hold her back from the life she actually wants. It’s a somewhat selfless act but its something he should have discussed with her instead of just ditching her and not showing up to their wedding rehearsal. It’s the worst thing to happen to Donna on the show and fans cried right along with her.
Hated Her: Her Jealousy Every Time She And Eric Split
Eric and she broke up many times on the show and every time they did donna exhibited an annoying habit. She would be really jealous of any girl Eric talked to or dated even though she had no right to, as they were broken up. The best example of this is in the episode “Uncomfortable Ball Stuff” in season 4 where they go to the Price Mart Ball and he kisses a girl named Connie and gets her number. Donna basically makes it as if he cheated on her, even though they were clearly not together anymore and she pettily smears the number Connie gave him to prevent him from calling her. Her jealousy is not attractive and makes her seem petty.
