Dave Chappelle
Countless celebrities have been the target of what is often referred to as “Cancel Culture.” Whether these “cancellations” have been justified or not depends who you ask, and varies case by case.
Mel Gibson recently announced that he’ll be directing Lethal Weapon 5, after years of “cancellation” by the general public. If Mel can be forgiven, what about other “canceled” celebrities? The following are celebrities who’ve been “canceled” for one reason or another, along with the reasons why. It’ll be up to you to judge if “cancellation” was justified…
Louis C.K.
If there was an area of entertainment that is a tightrope to navigate, it’s standup comedy. Comedians have been lauded in the past for their ability to discuss taboo topics that nobody else can, but given the current conversation about what’s potentially offensive, standup comics have also been called out for stepping over the line.
Comedian Dave Chappelle released several standup specials on Netflix since 2018. His 2020 special Stick and Stones, and his 2021 one, The Closer, received major backlash for having jokes about Michael Jackson, R. Kelly, the LGBTQ+ community, and about “cancel culture” itself. Many comedians and actors have been met with much harsher treatment from the public due to their off-stage behavior.
Jennifer Lawrence
One of the biggest comedians of the previous decade, Louis C.K. had his career changed significantly due to past behavior. His reputation has gone down the tubes in recent years after he was embroiled in several sexual harassment scandals that were proven to be entirely too true.
The comedian admitted to his mistakes, expressing remorse over his actions, but that didn’t stop studios from canceling his projects all over the place and removing his specials from their platforms. While many have decided to shun the comedian forever, Louis did win a Grammy award in 2022 for Best Comedy Album, which brought about a great amount of controversy.
Bill Murray
Jennifer Lawrence has been a popular actress for over the last decade, in a variety of different roles showcasing her acting versatility. Fans however, were not happy about her cultural insensitivity when filming one of the Hunger Games movies in Hawaii.
J-Law joked in a Graham Norton interview about how although the locals say that you’re not supposed to sit on these sacred Hawaiian rocks, she would often use them to scratching her rear end on them. Suffice it to say, Lawrence did not win favor with the locals of the 50th state.
Jeff Garlin
Bill Murray has been a comedy mainstay for decades, first as one of the original cast members of Saturday Night Live, and later starring in classic ’80s comedies such as Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, Meatballs and Stripes. The Internet has compiled stories of Murray, where he has gotten the reputation of being quite the character, doing outrageous things, such as randomly bartending or taking fries off someone’s plate.
In April 2022 however, his antics were evidently not well received. Production of an Aziz Ansari movie called Being Mortal was suspended after there were reports of Murray being accused of “inappropriate behavior.” It’s not the first time that other actors have voiced their difficulties with the actor. He’s had unpleasant encounters with Lucy Liu, Richard Dreyfuss, Chevy Chase, and the late Harold Ramis, of who he was good friends with for many years. It’s unclear what the allegations will mean for Murray’s career.
Kevin Spacey
Comedian and actor Jeff Garlin, who is known to portray the father on the hit sitcom The Goldbergs, parted ways with the show after being accused of inappropriate conduct on set. After several weeks of rumors where Garlin stated that he was not fired, in December 2021, he and the show abruptly ended the relationship.
Garlin, who also plays Larry David’s best friend on the hit show Curb Your Enthusiasm, has said that any allegations against him are “silly, misunderstood gags that rubbed some people the wrong way.” One anonymous source had called Garlin “emotionally abusive” and another mentioned feeling uncomfortable that the actor would give out hugs to other members of the cast.
Taylor Momsen
Over the last few years, the star power of Kevin Spacey has been severely tarnished when it came out about a relationship with someone under 18. When the creators of House of Cards found out, he was fired on the spot. The fallout was so bad that he was even replaced after filming had been completed on the movie All The Money In The World.
Since news of his extracurricular affairs leaked, the actor has been hard-pressed to land roles. Add to that the fact that Netflix lost $39 million removing him from the show and the career for Spacey looks bleak.
Stassi Schroeder
Actress Taylor Momsen had a pretty cushy gig on the show Gossip Girl, playing the character Jenny Humphrey. For whatever reason, she decided to just stop showing up when they were filming season four.
As a result, writers had no choice but to write her off the show completely. It’s sad to think that if Momsen just showed up and the job was hired to do, viewers might’ve seen Little J shine on-screen.
Selma Blair
Stassi Schroeder, star of the reality series, Vanderpump Rules has said her fair share of insensitive things, along with certain other castmates. Schroeder was revealed to have called the cops on Faith Stowers, during an interview.
Add to that the fact that she made a series of offensive remarks live on a podcast and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. Both she and fellow co-star, Kristen Doute were both let go from the show, losing many endorsements along the way.
Johnny Depp
Selma Blair starred alongside Charlie Sheen in the sitcom Anger Management, playing his therapist, slash friend with benefits. Blair made claims that Sheen was incredibly difficult to work with, which wasn’t surprising.
She would end up suing both Sheen and the studio for the way she was treated. There’s still no report of whether the case has concluded or not, but things definitely got nasty between her and the aforementioned parties.
Jimmy Fallon
To the shock of many fans, Disney decided to fire Johnny Depp from the smash-success series, Pirates of the Caribbean. He was also recast in his role of the villain Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts series. The decision was made from a combination of rumors of abuse of his ex-wife Amber Heard and excess drinking.
Sadly, Depp would enter a rehabilitation program too late, with the decision of the network being final. It would be a definite low point in the otherwise lucrative career of the talented actor. Depp has taken to trying to clear his name, suing his ex-wife for $50 million in damages.
Mischa Barton
The boyish late-night host made the mistake of doing a Chris Rock impression in 2000, entirely in blackface. When the video surfaced, Fallon immediately made a public apology, with comedian Chris Rock and actor Jamie Foxx coming to his defense.
Even still, fans seemed to want retribution for his past actions. It’s hard to fathom what would actually appease people when it comes to wrongs of the past, especially since he gave already apologized and seemed full of regret.
Ryan Gosling
The young starlet would make a name for herself in the teen drama, The O.C. playing the love interest of the main character. Mischa Barton was reported to act “childish” and “spoiled” on-set, pretty consistently.
Fellow cast-mates believed Barton thought she was “too good to be on the show”, or any show, since she said she preferred to act in films. Sadly, the actress would fall victim to excess partying, much like other young actresses in Hollywood.
Natalie Portman
The Canadian heartthrob was all set to play the father in The Lovely Bones, gaining 60 pounds specifically for the role. Gosling did this entirely of his own accord, believing the character should be more heavy-set.
Long story short, Gosling was fired immediately when the director saw just how much bigger he was. The actor admits at that moment that he felt completely out of shape, and out of a good role.
J.K. Rowling
For some reason, the studio that was filing Romeo & Juliet decided that they should cast a then-14-year-old Natalie Portman to be the love interest of 21-year-old Leonardo DiCaprio, which sounds like it would raise eyebrows.
Naturally, the crew realized the age gap was too much and viewers likely wouldn’t appreciate an on-screen love affair with a minor, resulting in Portman being let go in favor of the older actress, Claire Danes.
Megan Fox
The famous Harry Potter author has come under fire for remarks online that fans considered transphobic, after showing her support for a researcher that claimed a person’s gender was fixed and could not actually be changed.
Even her fictional characters have come under speculation, with some thinking that her cross-dressing villain being an insight into a distaste towards crossdressers, though that was based on real-life serial killers. Studios have distanced themselves from the best-selling author, most notably by her absence in a 20-year Harry Potter reunion at the beginning of 2022.
Anne Hathaway
It was no secret that Megan Fox didn’t get along with Transformers director, Michael Bay. Fox constantly accused the director of making sexist and derogatory remarks towards her on and off-set.
Bay fesses up to a small portion of the claims but also claims that Fox was incredibly difficult and unprofessional to work with. He even went so far as to recast her in all the subsequent sequels to the franchise.
Tiger Woods
Fun fact…Katherine Heigl wasn’t the first choice to play the lead role in Knocked Up. That honor actually went to Anne Hathaway, but she ultimately turned down the role since she had no experience with motherhood.
She genuinely wanted to do a good job on the film but didn’t believe she could accurately portray a mother, herself. That sounds like a high level of commitment to quality acting, no question.
Chris Pratt
The absolute greatest player to ever walk the greens, Tiger Woods used to have a squeaky-clean reputation on and off the course. That all changed in 2009 when cheating rumors were confirmed by numerous women.
As a result, Woods lost several sponsors and had to go on a full hiatus from golf, costing him roughly $180 million per year. Since then, he’s actually managed to make an incredible comeback to the sport.
Demi Lovato
It’s always disappointing when such a lovable actor becomes the target of a public scandal, especially when it came to actor Chris Pratt, previously starring on Parks and Recreation and Guardians of the Galaxy.
Pratt has gotten some ire from those on the Internet after he was accused of being homophobic since fans have discovered his association with a church that reportedly holds anti-LGBTQ+ views. Additionally, him expressing more of a conservative political stance are reasons why you’ll see his name negatively trending on Twitter every so often.
Ellen DeGeneres
You’ll notice a trend here, where most terrible things tend to surface on Twitter, with Demi Lovato being no exception. A fake account was made in her name, and fans were quick to assume the star was actually behind it.
When questioned by the media, Lovato admits she’s been “canceled” more times than she can count. There’s definitely something to be said for being able to brush off the mobs of “cancel culture” whenever they come for you.
Lea Michele
It’s kind of crazy that a comedian who made the entire country laugh could create such an incredibly “toxic” workplace environment. Apparently, Warner Bros. is only keeping her show on hold to reduce her air time.
It’s sad to realize that those people we idolize on the screen can be filled with so much negativity. It’s even sadder when they feel they need to take out their frustrations on others, as Ellen apparently did in this case.
Vanessa Hudgens
Lea Michele became America’s singing sweetheart when she starred in the hit musical series, Glee. Unfortunately for fans, the actress wasn’t nearly as wholesome as the character she played on-screen.
Fans fears were confirmed when her co-star Samantha Marie Ware revealed online that Michele had threatened to “s*** in her wig.” She went on to admit that Michele made her question being part of Hollywood at all.
Roseanne Barr
At the peak of the covid-19 pandemic, Vanessa Hudgens took to Instagram Live, stating “…people are going to die, which is terrible but like, inevitable?” Most found her comments to be incredibly insensitive.
She’s since apologized, though many fans don’t buy that she’s changed. There are times when all you can do to appease the public is show that your behavior has changed, rather than just using your words.
Kristen Doute
In 2018, Roseanne Barr was fired from the reboot of her own show, Roseanne, after making some racially insensitive remarks. This is pretty noteworthy, considering the show was named after her and rebooted specifically with her in mind. After she left, it was renamed The Conners.
The subject of Barr’s comments was Valerie Jarrett, a former aide to President Obama. Jarrett was referred to in not-so-kind terms, and after Barr was called out, she backpedaled quickly, excusing her poor behavior on the Ambien she’d been taking at the time.
Janet Hubert
Kristen Doute didn’t come away from Vanderpump Rules unscathed, either. Being embroiled in the same scandal as Schroeder, the actress offered an apology on Instagram, claiming she didn’t realize just how privileged she was.
This just goes to show that fame can backfire on a person without the right level of awareness and compassion towards others. Doute learned the hard way that words can hurt others, especially when used carelessly.
Nicollette Sheridan
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was a sitcom with a cast of characters that were so lovable, it was hard not to be a fan of the show. Unfortunately, Janet Hubert had several issues with the star Will Smith on set.
Other castmates had called her “difficult” and claimed she had an attitude problem, which led to her being replaced a few seasons in. Only in the past two years have she and Smith managed to bury the hatchet.
Colin Firth
Desperate Housewives was a drama on-screen, but Nicollette Sheridan was dramatic off the screen when it came to her personal life. Sheridan would constantly clash with the show’s creator, Marc Cherry.
The actress made claims of physical harassment on the set, while Cherry admitted to touching her, only to show her how to move during the scene. The case went to trial but was ultimately labeled a mistrial.
Edward Norton
Colin Firth was oddly cast as the voice of Paddington in the titular children’s film in 2014. It was only after Colin Firth recorded every single one of his lines, that the studio did a 180 and decided his voice sounded far too mature for the children’s character. As a result, he was recast shortly after and replaced with Ben Whishaw.
The strange thing is, they clearly knew what Firth’s voice sounded like, yet hired him for the role anyways. It seems that the studio doesn’t always know what’s best these days, especially in this case.
Sylvester Stallone
Edward Norton actually had a shot at being part of The Avengers, but completely blew it with his behavior during the filming of The Incredible Hulk. Norton acted as if he was in complete control, refusing to be a team player.
The Avengers was then quickly recast with Mark Ruffalo, who had no problem collaborating with the crew and his castmates. It definitely pays to actually listen to the crew, even if you don’t always agree.
Bryan Batt
Strangely enough, Sylvester Stallone was originally supposed to star in Beverly Hills Cop, before he tried to completely re-write the script for the main character, Axel Foley. The studio didn’t appreciate that and fired him.
It’s tough to imagine anyone other than Eddie Murphy playing that classic role, but it could’ve been an entirely different film with Stallone in the lead. In the end, it was really all for the best since the movie was a hit.
James Remar
Mad Men was a show that launched the career of several actors, but Bryan Batt would not be one of them after he was abruptly written off the show. He played Sal, over the course of three seasons.
The actor told Esquire that he has absolutely no hard feelings towards AMC, stating that, “I’m grateful for the three years I had on Mad Men. It changed my life, and I’ve had so many crazy things happen to me.”
Max Boyens
A shocking incident that didn’t surface until years later was that James Remar was fired from Aliens for being caught with illicit drugs on the set. The studio had no choice but to let him go, for liability’s sake.
Of course, Remar has since cleaned up his act and gone on to star in shows like Dexter and the like. It just goes to show that it’s really never too late to turn your life around, start fresh and try again.
Brett Caprioni
Max Boyens was another star of the reality show that had to learn the hard way when racially insensitive tweets surfaced, where references were made to inappropriate slurs made by the reality star.
As shocking as the 2012 tweet was, Boyens did apologize publicly for his remarks. That being said, viewers weren’t completely convinced that the star had changed and hope to see his attitude towards the community improve.
Hartley Sawyer
Another cast member who had old, racially insensitive tweets resurface was Brett Caprioni. Apparently, the tweets made mention of several highly offensive terms, which ultimately resulted in him being fired from the show.
Like his co-star, Caprioni offered a public apology, claiming that he was ashamed and accepted full responsibility for his actions. He has since stated that he continues to learn and grow from the mistakes he’s made.
Taylor Selfridge
Actor Hartley Sawyer played Ralph Dibny on the CW’s, The Flash. A combination of derogatory and misogynistic tweets from the star’s past was found. The tweets revealed just how immature the actor was at the time.
As a result of his online actions, Sawyer was fired from the show after season six, though he never formally apologized for the tweets or showed any signs of remorse. Some actors clearly need a reality check.
Abby Lee Miller
Reality star Taylor Selfridge was another celeb that fell victim to insensitive remarks made in her post on Twitter. Selfridge made a remark that expressed that “…I won’t greet those people because they scare me.”
MTV had no issue letting her go as a result, expressing that they didn’t support any of her offensive views or unacceptable behavior. Apparently, starring on several reality shows didn’t teach her to be a better person.
Dee Nguyen
The head coach on the reality series, Dance Moms, was fired promptly as soon as the network learned of the racist remarks she made to a 9-year-old girl. Her upcoming spin-off, Abby’s Virtual Dance-Off was also canceled.
The claim was made by Adriana Smith, one of the mothers on the show was hoping to bring to light the poor behavior of the dance coach. Apparently, Miller made light of the fact that the child grew up poor when she didn’t.
Isaiah Washington
Dee Nguyen appeared on the reality show, The Challenge, before being fired by MTV for seriously insensitive comments made about the Black Lives Matter movement. Since then, she’s claiming to be a victim of “cancel culture”.
The fact is, she made these remarks with no regard for how they would affect others. Even the tone of the comments made on social media reveals just how much maturing the young star has yet to learn.
Craig Gore
It seems Grey’s Anatomy was completely plagued with several issues and drama from the get-go. Isaiah Washington wasn’t a fan of co-star T.K. Knight, using homophobic slurs to express his utter distaste.
Washington was immediately fired, but not before a media storm of stories outing the actor as someone homophobic and all-around nasty person to work with. If only he could’ve made more of an effort to be kind.
Shane Gillis
Craig Gore had the honor of writing for big shows, like S.W.A.T as well as Chicago P.D. before he was fired for an upcoming spin-off for the former, that dealt with organized crime. Gore made multiple Facebook posts that threatened protesters.
Both posts involved either showing a photo of him with a gun, using a vague, threatening caption, or an explicit threat of physical violence against any protesters who dared to come near his West Hollywood home.
Paula Deen
Shane Gillis was a stand-up comedian that was hired to join the cast of Saturday Night Live in its 45th season. Sadly, Gillis would never actually appear on air due to offensive jokes he made on a podcast against Asian people.
One joke said, “Chinatown’s f—ing nuts. Let the f—ing ch-nks live there,” in a video that he later deleted. Even after being called out, the comedian didn’t seem to regret the comments he made or his stance on Asians.
Hilaria Baldwin
Previously having three of her own shows on The Food Network, Paula Deen threw it all away when she decided to use racially insensitive remarks when discussing her brother’s wedding.
Deen referred to several black men in white jackets and bowties that waited on the event’s guests in not-so-kind terms, and this wasn’t even the first time she’d been caught using offensive or inappropriate language, as she would later admit.
Shane Dawson
Alec Baldwin’s wife, Hilaria definitely exhibited some strange behavior, pretending to be of Spanish descent when she clearly wasn’t. She went so far as to put on an accent, in an attempt to convince the public.
Funny enough, she’s actually a Boston native though she claims to have grown up in Spain. It’s hard to tell whether people like this are just looking for attention or may be suffering from early stages of mental illness.
Bryan Adams
Ridiculously popular YouTuber, Shane Dawson is no stranger to being part of online scandals, but 2020 seems to take the cake. Videos have surfaced of Dawson wearing blackface and making a slew of pedophilia jokes.
He’s since apologized for both instances, though fans don’t seem convinced that he’s changed much. That being said, he still runs his YouTube channel without interruption so viewers will see what happens.
Lana Del Rey
Canadian musician Bryan Adams made a huge misstep when he rewrote the lyrics to his hit “Cuts Like a Knife” to express his frustration with the origin of the current COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent pandemic.
Some have labeled the song as racially insensitive, and his added call to “go vegan” in the same online post, as completely tone-deaf.
Doja Cat
Sultry singer Lana Del Ray has responded to criticism that she participated in glamorizing abuse against women, by claiming that other big female artists wrote lyrics about being sexy, wearing fewer clothes, and engaging in graphically descriptive intimate acts.
Del Rey has never explicitly condoned abuse of any kind, especially against women, but her reputation in the eye of the public may have taken a hit due to this episode. Perhaps this is just another example of how it’s pretty easy to misinterpret things on the internet.
SSSniperwolf
In early 2020, American rapper Doja Cat was also a victim of “cancel culture. Cat rose to fame after going viral on TikTok at the beginning of the year but also opened herself up to online trolls in the process.
This would actually be the second time she was canceled, with the first happening when she started beef with Nicki Minaj fans before allegedly making a racially insensitive comment on a video chat site, shortly after.
Lizzo
Popular streamer SSSniperwolf has a total of 23 million subscribers on YouTube was “canceled” pretty recently. This happened after fans found older videos of her using language that degraded the transgender community.
There were also racist comments made on that same video, which caused a dip in her popularity temporarily. But even with all that controversy, she seems to remain just as popular as she was before.
Charlie & Dixie D’Amelio
In the last couple of years, Lizzo has gained a massive following for her music, as well as becoming a role model for plus-sized women around the world. But all of that has also come with a hell of a lot of drama…
Her first “cancellation” came at the hands of Harry Styles after a video came to light where she was pretending to grab the singer’s butt on Twitter. The second time came when she tried promoting a crash, 10-day detox smoothie diet.
Sia
As two of the biggest internet personalities of the past couple of years, the pair rose to fame by going viral on TikTok. At the same time, they were both involved in a massive scandal in November of 2020.
Fans were upset that they didn’t express gratitude to their personal chef after he prepared them a stunning, multi-course meal. In the end, it turns out the whole setup was just a prank to troll their fans.
Bryce Hall
The Australian singer got “canceled” last November with the announcement of her upcoming film, Music. The theme of the movie had to do with autism, and actress Maddie Ziegler was cast to be the lead.
Fans began noticing that Sia hadn’t really done much research or made solid casting choices for the film, overall. As a result, the singer thought it would be a great idea to get involved in a public Twitter battle with the public.
Zoe Laverne
TikTok sensation, Bryce Hall received his “cancellation” the moment he broke lockdown rules at his home in LA. Hall threw a huge house party for his cake day, renting a mansion in the Hollywood Hills.
The party got so out of hand that the police actually had to cut power to the house. Sadly, he wasn’t the only influencer to break COVID rules, with James Charles and Jake Paul pulling similar stunts.
Sebastian Stan
At one point, Zoe Laverne had the largest following on TikTok. Period. Now fans have decided to turn against her after a video was leaked where she kissed a 13-year-old fan. All of the social media was outraged with her.
After multiple apologies on Instagram Live and other attempted public reconciliations, Laverne’s only choice was to completely remove herself from social media. Talk about being at the wrong place at the wrong time!
Anthony Weiner
This one wasn’t even the actor’s fault. Sebastian Stan, who famously played Bucky Barnes in The Avengers movies, had a girlfriend, along with her friend posted photos of them dressed as geishas with a caption reading, “Asian Night,” Stan commented on the image.
Some fans were so outrage by the whole thing, they created the hashtag #sebastianstanisoverparty and did their best to spread it. Luckily, his true fans saw through all the nonsense and defended his actions.
Ryan Lochte
The disgraced, former politician was caught in not one…but three inappropriate texting scandals, beginning in 2011. First, he was forced to resign as the Representative for New York’s Ninth Congressional District, earning $175,000 annually.
Later, in 2015 Weiner was fired from a top-tier PR firm after a measly two months. All of his scandals unfortunately involved exchanging obscene images and messages with a minor, making this one pretty hard to live down.
Billy Bush
The Olympian Ryan Lochte originally won a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, before losing every ounce of his dignity by making false claims of being robbed at a gas station with three of his teammates.
When the truth came out, the athlete lost every single endorsement deal he had. Those losses alone, resulted in a devastating reduction in yearly income, totaling around $1 million, according to ESPN.
Charlie Sheen
It would be after a 2005 Access Hollywood video surfaced, showing Billy Bush encouraging former President Trump to make inappropriate remarks about women. He was fired from The Today Show soon after.
Bush did receive a settlement from the show, though the amount was never made public. That being said, Us Weekly reported that he had a contract that totaled $3.5 million per year, not bad all things considered.
Valerie Harper
The megastar went buck wild in 2001, making claims that tiger blood ran through his veins while under the influence of a cocktail of illicit drugs. Strangely, Sheen turned on the show’s creator, Chuck Lorre despite them being friends.
He made remarks about Lorre being a “maggot” as well as a slew of anti-Semitic slurs. The star ended up living with a series of girlfriends and abandoned his entire family, while fans watched him go completely off the rails.
Mandy Patinkin
You’d think it would be difficult to get rid of the lead actor when they share the namesake of the show, but that simply isn’t the case. Valerie Harper was fired from her own show all for an apparent request for a raise in pay.
The network claimed she exhibited disruptive behavior on the set, not admitting to any sort of pay dispute. Harper sued the network, being awarded $1.8 million in compensatory damages and a share of the show’s profits.
Thomas Gibson
As an original cast member of CBS’s Criminal Minds, Mandy Patinkin was fired after only two seasons. Patinkin was reported to have behaved erratically on-set, forcing several rewrites and shooting delays.
The actor also didn’t appreciate the grim subject matter, with the characters consistently tackling issues of rape, drug abuse, and murder every single week. In the end, he simply stopped showing up to work instead of formally quitting.
Jay Thomas
10 years later after Mandy Patinkin, Thomas Gibson would stir up more trouble on the set of Criminal Minds as well. Gibson apparently lashed out at writers and crew members while filming, with unresolved anger issues.
In 2010, the actor was ordered to attend anger management classes after full-out, punching an assistant director. Even after attending those sessions, the actor would later kick writer, Virgil Williams after a heated argument.
T.R. Knight
Many fans of the classic sitcom Cheers might not remember Jay Thomas as Eddie LeBec, the hockey player. Thomas would soon be fired after talking trash about co-star Rhea Perlman, even though they were married on-screen.
The writers decided he should be killed by a Zamboni, of all things. They didn’t take kindly to the way the actor treated Perlman, opting to protect her by rewriting Thomas off the show completely.
Columbus Short
The ABC series, Grey’s Anatomy was run like a well-oiled machine, with the infamous Shonda Rhimes at the helm. Actor T.R. Knight was unfortunate enough to land on her bad side, resulting in an unpleasant experience on-set.
During the sixth season premiere, Knight’s character was killed off the show, right after his screen time was cut in half on the previous season. Apparently, Rhimes was uncomfortable with the actor coming out as gay, even in character.
Patrick Dempsey
Another show created by the legendary Shonda Rhimes, Scandal featured Columbus Short. Short was part of the original cast, but his personal life got away from him as of 2014 when he was arrested for domestic assault.
The police found him beating his then-wife, right in front of their two children. Only two weeks later, he was arrested for apparently pushing her, then only a month later, once more he was accused of attacking a man in a bar.
Maggie Roswell
Fans of Grey’s Anatomy are still sour about their favorite doctor McDreamy, played by Patrick Dempsey being killed off. Dempsey would be killed off on the screen in the season 11 finale, because of a car crash.
As it turns out, the actor wasn’t as squeaky-clean as he appeared to be. Rumors swirled of him cheating on his wife with a young production assistant and Rhimes grew tired of his constant complaints that he didn’t get enough screen time.
Dominic Monaghan
You probably wouldn’t recognize her face, but Maggie Roswell was the voice behind the character of Maude Flanders on The Simpsons. According to the voice actor, she was fired for asking for a raise.
Roswell actually consistently flew from her home in Denver to Los Angeles just to record her parts. All that Fox offered her was an additional $150 per episode, which Roswell found incredibly insulting.
Shannon Doherty
Dominic Monaghan was not one to mince words, or hold back in any matter, really. Starring on Lost, Monaghan fully admitted to being bossy, even going so far as to order the writers of the show around, sometimes.
According to former co-stars, the actor never fully recovered from his breakup with former co-star Evangeline Lilly, slowly morphing and twisting him into an angry and bitter man. Some actors are just really sensitive.
Stuart Townsend
Beverly Hills, 90210 was a series filled with drama, with actress Shannon Doherty having no problem playing the bad girl of the show. Doherty was actually addicted to the drama, constantly fighting with castmates and crew.
After being fired, she late made a comeback on the show Charmed, but those same issues would plague the actress on this set too. Animosity erupted between her and co-star Holly Marie Combs, nearly coming to blows.
Judy Garland
This one had to hurt, considering Stuart Townsend was originally intended to play the role of Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings series, but just before filming began, director Peter Jackson changed his mind and fired the actor.
The sad thing, in this case, is that the actor did absolutely nothing wrong, yet he was still punished. There’s honestly nothing he could’ve done to change the situation, so hopefully, he’s gotten over it.
Michael Vick
As surprising as it sounds, the classic American actress, Judy Garland was apparently a complete nightmare to work with, while filming Valley of the Dolls. Things got so bad at one point that she refused to come out of her dressing room.
The studio had no choice but to ultimately fire her for all that bad behavior and recast her role. It seems that no matter how big of a star you are, you’re never completely untouchable…or un-fireable.
Harvey Weinstein
Star player, Michael Vick made the dumb decision to get involved in dogfighting, of all things. He was sentenced to almost two years in jail, while also losing out on $71 million from his Atlanta Falcons contract.
After his release from prison in 2009, he was forced to pay back $17.8 million in debt, which he was able to do with his $100 million, six-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. It’s safe to say, Vick is a lucky man.
Kathy Griffin
There’s no shortage of scandals surrounding Harvey Weinstein since it was revealed just how horribly he treated women. After numerous allegations of sexual assault, Weinstein was fired from The Weinstein Company.
Many lawsuits followed, with actresses coming out of the woodwork to reveal that he had been completely inappropriate with them regularly. Maybe absolute power does corrupt, absolutely.
Lance Armstrong
The comedian came under fire when photos of her were revealed to show Griffin holding a decapitated head that resembled Donald Trump. After learning of this, CNN immediately fired her from hosting the annual New Year’s Eve spot.
She quickly took to Instagram to apologize, but it was too late, the damage had already been done. Griffin began losing out on acting gigs and endorsement deals, left, right, and center, with things looking pretty bleak.
Matt Lauer
Former athletic legend, Lance Armstrong has definitely fallen from grace since his doping scandal was made public. It was revealed in 2012 that he was taking performing-enhancing drugs to beat his opponents.
His reputation will never fully recover as a result, with Forbes predicting a loss of income of around $150 million over his lifetime. Armstrong should’ve known he’d get caught eventually, nobody hides forever.
Bill O’Reilly
One of the former faces of American television, Matt Lauer has fallen from grace after allegations surfaced of his completely inappropriate behavior towards women in the workplace and publicly.
He was suddenly fired from The Today Show in 2017, as his former co-host broke the news to viewers, live on-air. NBC previously estimated his net worth around $80 million, but that number has since been drastically reduced.
Barry Bonds
At one point, Bill O’Reilly was FOX News’ leading anchor, that is, before a slew of sexual harassment allegations came his way. It was revealed that he paid several women more than $13 million to keep quiet.
Upon learning of this, more than 50 advertisers pulled their spots, with O’Reilly paying $10 million out of his own pocket to settle certain claims. Being fired from FOX must’ve really stung for the guy.
Mel Gibson
A true baseball legend, Barry Bonds was instrumental in the 2007 Major League Baseball steroids scandal, costing him lucrative endorsement deals with some really big names, including Mastercard and Charles Schwab.
Overall, the scandal cost Bonds over $28 million a year in contracts alone. Ultimately, he was found guilty of obstructing justice and was forced to serve a full month under house arrest for his crimes.
The former megastar, Mel Gibson seems to just attract controversy everywhere he goes these days. Gibson was arrested for a DUI before recordings surfaced of him going on an anti-Semitic tirade.
Those mistakes would cost the star 10 years in Hollywood, essentially being blacklisted from the entire industry for a time. Before, he could easily demand $30 million per film, but these days, he’s only started to come back from into the fold.