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“Singing About Her Deniability”: 60 Times Out-Of-Touch Celebrity Behavior Backfired
Celebrities are just like us, regular people—they can’t always see the consequences of their actions. Even the most sociable stars, with the best teams to advise them, end up doing or saying things that are so tone-deaf and narrow-minded that they instantly regret them.
Entertainment fans rounded up some of the most epic celebrity fails when their behavior backfired in the worst way possible. These are public disasters that would make any PR rep facepalm. Scroll down to read what to never do if you ever end up becoming famous.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Sinead O'Connor ripping up a picture of the Pope at the time.
The sad thing is she was right about the Catholic Church and their cover ups and it basically cost her a career.
Parts da Problema 14 hours ago
Except she continued to have a career and produced a lot of music. While she didn't use her celebrity to sell cola, she did continue to make music after making a political statement.
RELATED:
#2
Barbara Streisand, for creating The Streisand Effect. The act of trying to stop something but inadvertently giving it so much exposure.
SweetCosmicPope:
I can't believe this isn't the top choice! The whole topic is literally named after her. lol
For those who don't know, she got a bunch of bad press because she tried to bully a photographer into taking down photos of her house that happens to be on a public beach.
Beak Hookage 5 hours ago (edited)
Ah yeah, the old story of making everyone want something by trying to forbid it. As a kid in history class they told us of how they figured out that drinking lime juice would prevent scurvy but sailors didn't want to because it tasted vile. So one clever captain let it be known that lime juice was for officers only, keep your hands off. Suddenly the regular crew couldn't steal and drink it fast enough. With the Streisand story, her ill-advised tantrum led to a photo which would otherwise had remained obscure on the science website (the photographer was doing some kind of survey) got thousands of views.
#3
Gal Gagot and her celeb friends singing Imagine by John Lennon during Covid.
FranciscoGarcia69:
That was the most tone deaf, cringey thing I’ve ever seen.
The legendary Streisand Effect basically refers to the fact that hiding information makes it more popular, instead, because it attracts more attention and curiosity. The antidote to it is openness and honesty, if there’s a genuine problem you’re trying to tackle.
The term itself was coined in 2005 by Techdirt founder Mike Masnick and was the result of singer and actress Barbra Streisand suing photographer Kenneth Adelman for a whopping $50 million back in 2003. Adelman had taken photos for the California Coastal Records Project, one of which accidentally featured Streisand’s mansion in Malibu.
At that point, the image had been downloaded a mere 6 times. Later, it got over a million views and was reprinted many times. Meanwhile, Streisand lost the lawsuit. Though Streisand had had bad experiences with being stalked, in this particular case, it would have been better for her if she hadn’t escalated things.
#4
Jussie Smollett and the hate crime hoax.
_buffy_summers:
Every single part of his story was incredibly stupid. He claimed he was outside and going for a walk at two o'clock in the morning, during the polar vortex. Most businesses were closed because of the late hour, never mind the weather conditions.
Theincendiarydvice:
I literally only know of him because he did that.
#6
Chris Brown and his violence towards women.
Oh wait, he still has a career.
Fungus John 15 hours ago
he doesn't just still have a career, he still has women throwing themselves at him
Another example of the Streisand Effect has to do with Beyoncé. After she performed at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2013, BuzzFeed shared some photos from the middle of her routine. The star’s publicist reached out to the outlet, demanding to take down some of the “unflattering photos.” This prompted BuzzFeed to publish a second article titled, ‘The Unflattering Photos Beyoncé’s Publicist Doesn’t Want You To See.’ The photos went viral on social media and led to the creation of memes.
The Streisand Effect can impact individuals as well as companies, damaging the reputations that they have carefully constructed over the years. Trying to suppress certain information can leave a lasting impression, painting the person or business as dishonest and untrustworthy. The result is a tarnished public image, media scrutiny, regulatory attention, decreased sales, and lower customer loyalty as your brand has been affected.
Transparency, politeness, professionalism, quick responses, emotional regulation, and avoiding lawsuits are your best strategies if you want to avoid the fallout from this effect.
#7
The celebrity billionaires who went to space - calling themselves “astronauts” and telling the public that little girls all over the world thought they were heroes.
We’d all go to space and get lots of publicity if we had that kind of money.
I found the whole thing insulting because all it proved was that to go to space you either had to be an astronaut, Rich, a celebrity, or a billionaire.
It mostly affected Katy Perry and her public persona. And possibly ticket sales for her tour.
Dulcinea80:
Katie Perry and her tone deaf trip to space.
#8
Sam Smith - weeping openly about being in isolation in his million quid house during COVID while people were dying in droves.
#9
Idk if it had a big effect on him, but Will Smith slapping Chris Rock definitely didn't help his image.
Jambonito:
It had a big effect imo. The general public seems to have lost all respect for him, and Will Smith is completely blacklisted now. I’m pretty sure he hasn’t been in a movie or a show eversince. And if he has, it clearly hasn’t been promoted to the level it would have been if he was still in the good graces of the industry. I believe from time to time he goes on a radio show or releases music to try to regain his image, but imo it’s done in such a cringey way that he has become a laughing stock now :/
T'Mar of Vulcan 21 hours ago
He needs to get his balls out of Jada's purse and start using them again.
What are the biggest PR nightmares and disasters that you’ve seen stars and public figures construct with their own hands and words?
Have you ever witnessed someone fall prey to the Streisand Effect, where the information they tried to hide ended up going viral?
Who are the biggest celebrities that you love to hate and hate to love?
Share your thoughts in the comments.
#10
Nicki Minaj joining MAGA in hopes to get her husband a pardon. Didn’t seem like that worked out for her. Absolute fail.
#11
For me, it HAS to be Ellen making that joke to Dakota Johnson about not being invited to her party, which led to that very humbling call out and eventual cancellation of her entire career.
#12
Elon buying Twitter to stop people from being mean about him.
Lukas (fuck/transphobes) 20 hours ago
Did you know using the word "cis" is considered a slur? I've seen so many actual slurs and horrible insults on "X", yet I got a warning about "hateful content" when I used the word "cis"- Not even in reference to an actual person! I was talking about a character who is canonically cisgender. "Cis" and "Cisgender" are not slurs, literally all they mean is a person isn't transgender.
#13
Tom Cruise discussing his Scientology beliefs. I his was during the couch-jumping era.
Cruise fired his excellent publicist who told him to keep that weird stuff quiet…. and put his sister in the role. He then went public….
#14
Prince Andrew thinking that BBC interview would clear his name is the gold standard for backfires. He really tried to use a Pizza Express in Woking as a legal alibi.
#15
Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis writing a letter of character support for their friend Danny Masterson who is serving 30 years.
#16
Bill Cosby told the Internet to make a meme of him, which ultimately led to the allegations becoming common knowledge.
#17
Kendall Jenner Pepsi commercial.
xv_boney:
Kendall Jenner resolves institutional racism and police brutality with second-place soda.
OkArmordillo:
Pepsi made an ad during the height of the 2020 BLM protests where Kendall Jenner walks into a protest, hands out pepsis to the protestors and cops, and they all drop what they’re doing to start partying together and have a good time.
#18
Remember when Kanye interrupted Taylor Swift at the VMAs? Yeah, that didn’t go as planned.
#19
For Australia it would be Ben Roberts Smith. Newspapers and television programs raised points about the possibility of him committing war crimes. He sues them and loses. He appeals the decision and lost again.
He was then arrested and formally charged with committing war crimes.
Daisydaisy 3 hours ago
But our wannabe next Prime Minister Pauline (Donald) Hanson insists he's a hero
#20
I wonder if anyone remembers Geraldo Rivera's live Al Capone vault or him drawing a map in the sand on live TV during the invasion of Iraq.
#22
Jennifer Grey changing her nose, never seen again after that….
visacrum 11 hours ago
Jennifer Grey stepped back from the spotlight following a tragic 1987 car crash in Ireland and elective nose jobs in the early 1990s. While the accident caused severe neck injuries and survivor's guilt, her surgeries drastically altered her iconic appearance, leading to an identity crisis that *temporarily* (emphasis mine) stalled her career. Grey has since rebuilt her life and made a career resurgence, balancing personal milestones with major projects.
#23
David Blaine spending a month in a glass box suspended above the River Thames, and discovering in the process that Brits really don't go in for the sort of celebrity worship that he was used to back in the US. Not only were most Londoners distinctly unimpressed by the stunt, they came out in force every evening to openly ridicule and torment him.
Loosey Goosey 16 hours ago (edited)
London really wasn't the best place for such a stunt. Maybe somewhere like Las Vegas or Los Angeles would have been better? He intended for it to be a serious "art" exhibit but he obviously didn't know anything about British people if he thought that was going to happen. It ended up being a complete circus. People were hitting golf balls at the box, using mirrors to reflect sunlight in his eyes, pelting it with eggs, turning up in the early hours and playing drums to keep him awake. 😂
#24
Jonah Hill texting his girlfriend a list of rules about what she could and couldn't post, who she could hang out with, what she could wear. He'd spent years building this wholesome 'therapy bro' image talking about boundaries and mental health. The screenshots went viral and basically ended his public career overnight.
#25
Kevin Spacey coming out as gay to deflect on his SA allegations.
Beak Hookage 4 hours ago
Nice job of adding to the homophobic misconception that gay = rap1st, you sociopathic waste of skin.
#26
Lea Michele's tweet to support George Floyd. Then her black costar accused her of being a racist bully. And it broke the dam of other costars and extras claiming she's a POS. A different costar defended her by saying she's not racist because she bullies everyone regardless of race.
#27
Neil Gaiman trying to explain that his exploitation of his nanny was totally consensual. Also trying to blame it on his autism.
Few-Gap-2350:
He blamed it on his AUTISM! I was such a huge fan of his work and when the news dropped, I packed my collection all away but to blame it on autism. I don’t know how that makes it worse, but it does.
#28
Blake Lively and her lawsuit against Justin Baldoni.
bachelorandcats:
What she did to ruin his life with the lawsuit was diabolical and it ended up tanking her career. No director will work with her for fear of being accused of god knows what and sued by her and Ryan, she’s finished in Hollywood.
#29
Rita Ora dropping new song, but then claimed she was hacked.
Le-other-boleyn-girl:
Her tweet/re-tweet, a beautiful thing to behold
#30
Ja Rule dissed Eminem's daughter and drowned his entire career.
Loosey Goosey 19 hours ago
Don't get into a battle with Eminem unless you want to be publicly humiliated. Especially stay away from anything to do with his daughter. Machine Gun Kelly tried that. It went about as well as you'd expect.
#31
Gina Carano. All she had to do was shut up on social media and she could have had a career as an actor.
#34
Ted Danson wore black face and said racial slurs while dating Whoopi Goldberg.
#35
Deep cut and very British;
In 2000 Anthea Turner and her husband Grant Bovery used their wedding to promote Cadbury Snow Flake chocolate bars. They claimed it was not a promo but just Google the pics.
Despite their claims that they had no idea it would be a promo and they were just eating chocolate, they also had sold the rights to their wedding to a magazine for a lot of money (Turner claims it was 120k. Other reports say it was up to 300k. Who knows). They claim the magazine made a side-deal with Cadbury without their knowledge. Oh also, said magazine gave people a free Snow Flake with the issue that covered the wedding.
I remember this being huge in the UK at the time and everyone found it really crass and disingenuous. It had a negative impact on her career as a TV presenter at the time, which relied on people finding her trustworthy.
Knowing the British public, I think most people were more bothered that they tried to claim it wasn't deliberate. By all means sell your wedding if you want to but don't insult our intelligence about your selling out.
Loosey Goosey 19 hours ago
Their relationship had already created a big scandal because they were both married and left their spouses for each other. Eventually, he left her for another woman as well.
#36
U2 releasing an album on iTunes.
TheRealtcSpears:
forcibly releasing an album on itunes.
You got whether you wanted it or not.
And if I recall correctly you couldn't delete/remove it at first, apple had to come out with an ipod/iphone/itunes update to allow you to delete it.
thingpaint:
If memory serves you could delete it but iTunes just put it back.
This was one of the final straws that made me switch to Android.
C .Hunger 19 hours ago
Oh this was bad. Really bad. Although from what I read, they didn't mean it be bad, more like, "this is what we think the future in music could be - let's give our stuff away for free Let's make a "U2" Ipod.." The big problem was, it was a bear to gid rid of. If they just put up an option in there, " Do you want this for free, yes or no?' it would have been totally fine.
#37
I think the newly minted Ethan Slater “I’m leaving my marriage for a pop star and fame, never mind it’s just loss of my family and career” debacle is appropriate.
hannahbahngswife 21 hours ago (edited)
Didn't they just break up too? Left his wife and baby for his pop star girlfriend only for them to end things.
#39
Morgan Spurlock self-MeToo’d and immediately lost his career.
Loosey Goosey 18 hours ago
He also failed to disclose that he was an alcoholic when filming Supersize Me, which meant that his findings were very inaccurate.
#41
Remember when John Travolta mispronounced Idina Menzel's name at the Oscars? The internet never let him live that down.
#42
Garth Brooks releasing an album as alter ego Chris Gains.
Renae Dougherty 19 hours ago
It didnt do anything to him. Everyone listened to that in the 90s lol
#43
Tara Reid's cosmetic surgery.
#44
P-diddy and his parties really was a mess.
TotallyNOTAFox 21 hours ago (edited)
"Wake up in the mornin' feelin' like P Diddy" - That lyric from Kesha's "Tik Tok" didn't really aged well...
#45
When Ned Fulmer tried to restart his career with a podcast that was just 2 hours of his ex-wife ripping into him for being an adulterous jerk.
#46
Drake making a diss track against Kendrick Lamar probably couldn't have gone any worse for him/better for Kendrick.
#47
Michael Jackson did the Bashir interview.
#48
How th has no one Mentioned Here Logan Paul's Suicide Forest Stunt.
Parts da Problema 13 hours ago
That was the first I ever heard of him and he's still around. They "career" did he actually have? I have always known him as tabloid fodder.
#49
When Colleen Ballinger was accused of grooming and harassment, she released an ill-advised, self-pitying and mocking video of her playing the ukulele and singing about her deniability.
#50
Ashley Tisdale and the mom drama. She wrote that essay thinking everything would feel bad for her, and while she got a little of that, I don’t think it was the majority opinion.
#51
Katherine Heigel withdrew her Emmy nomination and badmouthed her show, ended her career.
Panda McPandaface 15 hours ago
It certainly didn't end her career, she has a fair few IMDb credits since Grey's Anatomy but she certainly didn't do herself any favours with her comments.
#52
Ariana Grande divorcing her ex husband for Spongebob.
#54
Ja-Rule and the Fyre Festival.
On a level, I get it. He's got music connections, his business partner had the funding and the customer base - Putting together a festival should have been.. I won't say straightforward, but certainly do-able.
But watching the various documentaries, he didn't treat it like a business venture - More like an overly ambitious startup director who's never been told 'No' & saw the whole process as a party and then rolled into the very short timeframe.. of course it was going to fold.
Throwing into it, the insane marketing - Getting top models for the videos, giving infuencers free tickets.. I mean, they REALLY got the buzz going but didn't think of the bigger picture.
Woodstock 99 was 18 years before, and there were SO MANY lessons to take from that - like considering infrastructure for that many people. I can't imagine it would have been that hard to get in touch with a few of the companies/people involved in that to help avoid or mitigate any pitfalls really early on.
Obviously it didn't help that the business partner (Billy McFarlane) was then taken to court for all sorts of fraud related to his other ventures.
#55
An oldie: Australian singer/actor Jason Donovan sued Magazine *The Face* for claiming he was gay.
Donovan's action was perceived as homophobic.
#56
Metallica siding with the label companies in the whole Napster controversy. Back in the ancient days of the early 2000s, a website like Napster where you could listen to music and download it for free without any kind of subscription service was revolutionary. Up until then, you either had to buy the whole album, or wait for it to come on either the radio or for the music video to play on one of a handful of music TV channels that were quickly getting rid of music videos. And most artists were cool with it, because the record company are the ones who made money off of record sales, especially in the rap genre. Recording artists made their money off of tours and appearances. So Napster was free advertising for people to come to shows, because no one had to pay for royalties to play it on the radio or on TV.
The suits at record companies were against it because it cut into their profits. And James Hetfield was against it because he was a massive jerk at the time. They lost fans over it, because you don't side with the corporations. Napster ultimately died, but Metallica eventually walked everything back, and the next couple albums didn't do as well. Music piracy continued, and while it comes with a subscription fee today, the ability to download and listen to music whenever you want without needing to buy an album lives on. I haven't paid for a single album since 2009. Pyrrhic victories.
Cuppa tea? 18 hours ago
Not so much James Hatfield as Lars Ulrich was most prominent in war against Napster. He even said that downloading album from Napster is same as stealing CD from store. All while trying to find new audience, with music than was so much different from their early era. Let's say, Metallica didn't really find new audience that time.
#57
Oscar Wilde suing the Marquis of Queensbury for libel, which uncovered evidence that put Wilde on jail.
#58
Lori Loughlin & Olivia Jade
“Olivia Jade Giannulli was at the center of the 2019 "Operation Varsity Blues" college admissions scandalbecause her parents—actress Lori Loughlin and fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli—paid $500,000 to fraudulently designate her and her sister as recruited athletes for the University of Southern California (USC) crew team, despite neither having any rowing experience.”.
#59
Pewdiepie could've chosen not to release that video where he had a bunch of Indian guys hold up a banner with an offensive slogan he didn't think they would actually make.
#60
When Jennifer Love Hewitt publicly shared that she had a crush on Adam Levine when she was on the Ellen DeGeneres show.
Ellen vowed to set them up. But when Adam was on the show and Ellen tried to ask him about Jennifer, he basically told Ellen he wasn't interested in her.
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What do you think ?
hannahbahngswife 21 hours ago
The dude who r***d people, pulled out racist, misogynistic, and homophobic moves, called his followers stupid, and more, I could go on. Oh wait. People somehow voted for him to become president, and he still is.
antoinette maldari 17 hours ago
Hopefully his "career" will come to an end sooner than later.
Load More Replies...
Anne Jones 15 hours ago
If I remember rightly, he was a stupid teenager at the time. In the UK people give a little leeway to the foolishness of youth.
Load More Replies... hannahbahngswife 21 hours ago
The dude who r***d people, pulled out racist, misogynistic, and homophobic moves, called his followers stupid, and more, I could go on. Oh wait. People somehow voted for him to become president, and he still is.
antoinette maldari 17 hours ago
Hopefully his "career" will come to an end sooner than later.
Load More Replies... Anne Jones 15 hours ago
If I remember rightly, he was a stupid teenager at the time. In the UK people give a little leeway to the foolishness of youth.
Load More Replies... 
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