‘Breaking Bad' homeowner's wild act

Herald Sun

12-06-2025

There's a new villain living in Walter White's house.
The real-life owner of the famous 'Breaking Bad' home has had enough of fan visits and reached her own breaking point.
Joanne Quintana grew up in the ranch-style property in Albuquerque, New Mexico, during the filming of the series which aired from 2008 to 2013, the New York Post reports.
After years of dealing with trespassers and fans of the show flocking to take pictures of the iconic house, Ms Quintana is taking matters into her own hands.
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Influencer Santi, who has over 174,000 Instagram followers, went to Ms Quintana's home for a day and witnessed what she has to deal with.
In his viral clip, Santi filmed Ms Quintana spraying fans on the street with her water hose, as she demanded they stay away from her property.
While sitting on a chair in her front yard, Quintana asked one fan, 'Have you seen anything but 'Breaking Bad' stuff since you've been here?'
'You can take a picture from that corner, do not get close,' she continued. 'And no tripods, no nothing. One picture then you go.'
When one visitor approached Ms Quintana's property, she told him, 'back up, cowboy.'
Another visitor told Ms Quintana that he was a fan of the Emmy Award-winning show, to which she replied, 'the whole world is a fan, doesn't impress me.'
Santi's video of Ms Quintana went viral with nearly three million views, as fans weighed in on Ms Quintana's behaviour.
'She just sits there all day and tells people how stupid they are lol,' one fan wrote.
'If she was smart she'd start charging,' another person said.
Someone else pointed out, 'the street and sidewalk are public property.'
Other fans suggested Ms Quintana should Airbnb her house to make money.
In January, Ms Quintana listed her home for $US4 million ($A6.1 million) as she grew frustrated with fans of the show gawking at her property.
Walter White, played by Bryan Cranston, his wife Skylar and their son Walt Jr. famously lived in the home in the series.
Ms Quintana told local news outlet KOB that she initially considered the filming a 'once in a lifetime thing' that allowed her and her family to witness 'the magic of Hollywood,' which included interacting with the entire cast and crew.
But eventually Ms Quintana and her family dealt with strangers constantly visiting the property.
On one occasion, a package for 'Walter White' showed up at the home at 4.30am, leading the Quintanas to call the bomb squad out of concern for their safety.
They also put up a fence — but that did not deter television nerds from showing up to the home.
Some fans even tossed full pizza pies on the roof of the house's garage in an homage to a classic scene from the show, but they were reprimanded by 'Breaking Bad' creator Vince Gilligan on the 'Better Call Saul' podcast back in 2022.
'There is nothing original, or funny, or cool, about throwing a pizza on this lady's roof,' Gilligan said at the time.
'She is the sweetest lady in the world, and if you are getting on her nerves you are doing something seriously f**king wrong,' he added about Ms Quintana.
Parts of this story first appeared in the New York Post and was republished with permission.
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