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Sims 4: How to Remove a Scandal (and Why It Won’t Go Away)

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Royal Sims at a sword stone, a throne room and a ballroom in The Sims 4 Royalty and Legacy

To get rid of a Scandal in The Sims 4, have your Sim post an Apology or a Denial from their phone or computer, or, if they are a Noble, address it at a Press Conference from a podium, then keep them busy while it fades. There is no button and no official cheat that removes a Scandal instantly: every Scandal passes on its own, those responses make it pass faster, and one that never ends was a bug EA fixed in May 2026.

Scandals come from the Royalty and Legacy Expansion Pack (February 2026), and they are easier to prevent than to cure. Below we cover every way to remove or shorten one, what to do when the cloud will not leave, how a Secret turns into a Scandal, and how to bury a Secret before it breaks. All of it is verified against EA’s official Scandals guide, the developers’ own write-up of the system and EA’s patch notes through the October 27, 2026 update.

Every Way to Remove or Shorten a Scandal

  1. Post an Apology or Denial. Use the phone or computer. The developers state plainly that “All Scandals will eventually pass” and that releasing an Apology or Denial speeds it up.
  2. Hold a Press Conference (Nobles only). Click a podium, choose Hold Press Conference, and apologize or deny in front of the kingdom. Every Ondarion neighborhood has a podium, and you can buy one in Build Mode. Our guide to becoming a noble explains how to unlock it.
  3. Cash in. Write a tell-all memoir on the computer, or, with Get Famous, record an apology or denial video at the Video Station. EA’s pack announcement says a Sim can “write a book about it and earn profits.”
  4. Wait it out. Keep your Sim busy with skills and friends while the timer runs down. Skill-building still pays off; our skills guide covers the fastest ways.

Why a Scandal Won’t Go Away

If a Scandal refused to end, or its duration kept climbing, that was a bug rather than something you did wrong. EA’s May 2026 fix list states that “Sims could get stuck with Scandal; this is now fixed for new cases, and existing affected saves will have the lingering VFX cleared.” EA’s October 27, 2026 update then fixed “an issue where the game wouldn’t properly save all data after using ‘Save and Exit’ relating to deleting a Household and Scandals,” so a Scandal that seemed to come back after a reload is worth checking again on the current version. Work through these in order:

  1. Check the Notebook. EA places it in the bottom-left corner of Live Mode, next to the phone. It shows whether the Scandal is still active or only a leftover visual effect.
  2. Update the game. Both fixes only apply to patched games. On PC, update through the EA app or Steam; on console, install the latest update.
  3. Address it. Post an Apology or Denial, or hold a Press Conference, to speed the timer along.
  4. Reset the Sim. If the cloud still lingers on an old save, resetting the Sim with the resetsim FirstName LastName command can clear leftover effects (the console basics are in our Sims 4 cheats list).
  5. Test without mods. If you use script mods, move your Mods folder out and test again, since an outdated mod can interfere with newer pack systems. Our Sims 4 mods guide explains where that folder lives.

EA has not published a dedicated Scandal cheat, so be wary of sites listing a specific code.

How a Secret Becomes a Scandal

Scandals always start as Secrets. When your Sim does something questionable, such as WooHoo in public, they gain a Secret. It goes into the Notebook, which shows what the Secret is, who else is complicit, and how long until it fades into obscurity. Anyone who witnessed it knows too.

Other Sims dig up Secrets by asking mutual acquaintances, rummaging through trash, hacking computers, or buying them from the Info Broker on the computer. You will also get gossip pop-ups about other Sims with a choice to believe or dismiss them; EA says believing one turns the Secret into a Scandal.

A Secret becomes a Scandal when it is revealed: through the phone or computer, by a Noble at a press conference, or by an extortionist whose demands you refused. From then on your Sim walks around with a cloud of rumors swirling over them.

What a Scandal Does to Your Sim

According to EA, a Sim caught in a Scandal suffers:

  • Lower success with romantic interactions and a harder time building friendships
  • Lost career progress, including in the Noble career
  • A “nervous bladder” that sends them to the bathroom more often
  • Dynasty Prestige loss, if they belong to a Dynasty
  • Fame, if you own Get Famous

Other Sims can shun, mock or comfort them. How serious a Scandal is depends on the type. EA’s examples put WooHooing hired staff at the minor end, and a secret lover or Social Services taking a child at the major end.

How to Stop a Scandal Before It Starts

The developers describe the Info Broker on the computer as “always happy to make sure the gossip mill stays focused elsewhere, for a price”: pay to bury a Secret and nobody finds out. If an extortionist contacts your Sim, you can pay their demand, ask for more time, or refuse, and refusing means they immediately tell everyone.

Demands can be steep: EA lists Simoleons, noble titles, favor, breaking an alliance, branding Dynasty members as Outcasts, or forcing a Dynasty Head to step down. If you would rather not deal with it at all, EA added a switch: open the Options menu (the three dots at the top right), then Game Options, Pack Settings, untick Allow Extortion on Active Sim and select Apply Changes. Protecting a Dynasty’s Prestige is the usual reason to bother.

Browse the rest of our Sims 4 coverage on the Sims guides hub.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Scandals go away on their own? Yes. EA’s developers say every Scandal eventually passes; an Apology, Denial or Press Conference just makes it faster.

Is there a cheat to remove a Scandal? Not an official one. EA has not published a Scandal cheat; resetting a stuck Sim with resetsim can clear a lingering cloud, but it does not remove a Scandal.

Why won’t my Scandal cloud go away? Early versions of the pack had a bug that left Sims stuck with a Scandal. EA fixed it in May 2026, and the fix also clears the lingering effect on affected saves once the game is updated.

Can I turn Scandals off? You can turn off extortion against your active Sim in Pack Settings. Scandals themselves come with the pack’s Secrets system.

Do Scandals hurt my Dynasty? Yes. A Scandal about any member lowers Dynasty Prestige.

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