From tearful apologies to explosive interviews, celebrities have responded to their scandals in various ways. Watch as we examine how these public figures handled their moments of crisis, from defensive outbursts to humble admissions of guilt. Some tried to save face, while others made things even worse.
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00:00I didn't do this stuff! This is not me, y'all! I'm fighting for my f***ing life!
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at celebrities who faced major backlash over shocking scandals,
00:11and how they personally responded, for better or worse.
00:14What the hell were you thinking?
00:17Michael Richards.
00:19You guys have been talking and talking and talking!
00:23I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!
00:25After a shocking racist tirade during a 2006 stand-up set at the Laugh Factory was recorded by an audience member and distributed online,
00:32Michael Richards, best known as Kramer on Seinfeld, faced immediate public scrutiny.
00:37Just days later, in a surprise move, Richards appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman to address the scandal.
00:42And I asked him if he would come on the show tonight, so that he could explain what happened.
00:48During a segment with Jerry Seinfeld, Michael was brought in via satellite.
00:52I lost my temper on stage.
00:54However, the appearance felt awkward, with the studio audience initially laughing, thinking it was part of a bit.
00:59Richards acknowledged that the platform may not have been ideal for his apology, but firmly insisted.
01:04I'm not a racist, that's what's so insane about this.
01:07I don't...
01:08And yet...
01:09It's said.
01:11It comes through, it fires out of me.
01:13Ellen DeGeneres.
01:14So, uh, consider me your professor, this is like Kindness 101, so pay attention.
01:19After years of being known as TV's Queen of Nice,
01:21Ellen's world came crashing down when, in the summer of 2020, her daytime talk show became the subject of multiple reports of a toxic workplace culture.
01:30Accusations included intimidation, racism, and even indecent misconduct involving executive producers.
01:36So when Ellen says she's not aware of this, uh, environment, you don't think that rings true?
01:41It's a lie.
01:42When her show returned that fall, Ellen opened the season with an emotional monologue addressing the controversy.
01:47The comedian said, in part, I learned that things happened here that never should have happened, and apologized.
01:52So my hope is that we can still be a place of happiness and joy.
01:56I still want to be the one hour a day that people can go to escape and laugh.
02:00I want to continue to help all the people that we help every day,
02:03and I'm committed to making this the best season that we have ever had.
02:08However, the damage had already been done, and the show's reputation never fully recovered.
02:12So, let me give you some advice out there. If anybody's thinking of changing their title or giving yourself a nickname,
02:17do not go with the Be Kind Lady. Don't do it.
02:22Hugh Grant.
02:22In the mid-90s, Hugh Grant was seemingly on top of the world with a slew of romantic comedy hits.
02:27But, in June 1995, his image took a hit when he was arrested in Los Angeles after police found him engaging in a lewd act with a sex worker in his car.
02:35The timing couldn't have been worse, as Grant was promoting the film nine months,
02:39and had no choice but to react to the scandal five days later on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
02:44What the hell were you thinking?
02:47In the infamous chat, Grant admitted...
02:49I did a bad thing.
02:50...the sheepish actor's honesty and self-deprecation shockingly turned the tabloid scandal into a redemptive PR move.
02:56You know, I was under pressure, or I was overtired, or I was lonely, or I fell down the stairs when I was a child, or whatever.
03:03Leah Michelle.
03:04I just got you on the cover of New York Magazine!
03:06In the background. You were practically glowing about it.
03:09That's because I accomplished something. It had nothing to do with you.
03:12No, see? It actually has everything to do with me.
03:14Leah Michelle rose to stardom thanks to her portrayal of Rachel Berry on the hit series Glee.
03:19But her support for the Black Lives Matter movement drew backlash from former co-stars, who accused her of hypocrisy.
03:25This included Samantha Ware, who claimed Michelle was a bully and exhibited traumatic microaggressions on set.
03:30I believe you told everyone that if you had the opportunity, you would bleep in my wig.
03:34What followed was a social media storm and Glee co-stars speaking out.
03:39With many questioning whether Leah's real-life persona mirrored that of her on-screen character, the actress responded to the drama via Instagram.
03:46Leah referenced Samantha's claims on Instagram, writing that the responses she received have made her reflect on her own actions.
03:53However, her choice of words, calling it perceived behavior, sparked even more backlash.
03:58Critics accused Michelle of downplaying the accusations and being evasive by taking little to no personal accountability.
04:04You get great grades. You're a fantastic singer.
04:07Everybody hates me.
04:08Shia LaBeouf.
04:09When actor Shia LaBeouf released a short film called HowardCantor.com in 2013, he was quickly called out for plagiarism by artist Daniel Close.
04:16L.A., but LaBeouf's new short film went live online Monday, and now the actor is facing allegations of plagiarism.
04:24The fallout and media attention over the scandal was swift, leading LaBeouf to respond with an apology on Twitter.
04:29However, it turned out his statement, which was widely circulated, was copy-pasted from a Yahoo Answers post.
04:35Yep, LaBeouf, who was accused of plagiarism, had plagiarized his apology.
04:39The actor first said that he, quote, got lost in the creative process, and that was his reason for not crediting this author for inspiring his film.
04:48In the days that followed, Shia continued posting sarcastic and cryptic apologies on social media, turning the incident into something of a surreal performance art piece.
04:56Lance Armstrong.
04:57After years of denial and heated accusations, cycling legend Lance Armstrong finally addressed the performance-enhancing scandal that had dogged his career.
05:05In a stunning tell-all sit-down with Oprah Winfrey, Armstrong would go on to admit to using performance-enhancing drugs.
05:11Yes or no, in all seven of your Tour de France victories, did you ever take banned substances or blood dope?
05:20Yes.
05:21Airing in January 2013, and viewed by millions, Armstrong confessed to a systematic doping operation that helped him win seven Tour de France titles.
05:29The first few minutes of Oprah was just riveting to finally witness him saying that he doped.
05:37While Lance reacted to everything head-on and came clean in the interview, his reputation as a star athlete was over.
05:43He later described the interview as a chance to say sorry.
05:46Will Smith.
05:47The feed goes silent, and so does the audience after Will Smith takes a swing at Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars.
05:55The 94th Academy Awards will forever be defined by a single, shocking moment.
06:00The slap heard round the world.
06:01During the live broadcast, Chris Rock cracked a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith.
06:05G.I. Jane 2, can't wait to see it.
06:07Triggering her husband, Will Smith, to storm the stage and strike the comedian.
06:11Smith then shouted obscenity-laced wardings at Rock from his seat.
06:14Clearly shaken and unsure how to proceed, Chris responds the best way he knows how, with another joke.
06:21A little more than an hour later, Will had the opportunity to react to the White Hot scandal.
06:32Accepting the Best Actor award, Smith apologized to the Academy and his fellow nominees for his actions.
06:36I want to apologize to the Academy.
06:39However, he noticeably left out Chris Rock.
06:41To do what we do, you gotta be able to take abuse.
06:48Under mounting pressure, he later took to social media with a more direct statement, calling his outburst unacceptable and inexcusable.
06:54There is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave in that moment.
07:04Logan Paul
07:05Before he became a WWE Superstar and unleashed Prime on the world, Logan Paul faced global outrage from Japan's Akoigara Forest.
07:13In 2018, the then 22-year-old YouTuber showed the body of a deceased man in one of his videos.
07:19He posted video of the body online with the face blurred, sparking an instant backlash.
07:24Some say Paul should be banned from YouTube.
07:27The incident was widely condemned for being exploitative and insensitive.
07:30Logan quickly removed the video and followed up with a tearful apology in the days that followed.
07:34He conceded that he should have never posted the video and apologized for what he'd done.
07:39I should have put the cameras down and stopped recording what we were going through.
07:45There's a lot of things I should have done differently, but I didn't.
07:48And for that, from the bottom of my heart, I am sorry.
07:52While some fans accepted the apology, others viewed it as nothing more than performative damage control.
07:57I don't expect to be forgiven.
07:59I'm just here to apologize.
08:00The scandal, and his reaction to it, continues to cast a shadow over Paul's career.
08:05Kevin Spacey.
08:06I know what you want.
08:08Once heralded as a respected actor in Hollywood, Kevin Spacey's legacy crumbled under a wave of disturbing allegations in 2017.
08:15The most high-profile accusation came from actor Anthony Rapp, who alleged that an adult Spacey acted inappropriately toward him when he was a teenager.
08:23In response, Spacey claimed he didn't remember the incident, seemingly blamed it on drunkenness, and chose that moment to come out as gay.
08:35That statement drawing fire, many saying addressing his sexuality was a tactic he was using to distance himself from the allegations of abuse of a minor.
08:44That wasn't all, though. Spacey would later release a video in character as Frank Underwood, his character from House of Cards.
08:50Released on Christmas Eve, the fourth wall-breaking video confused viewers.
08:53Like I ever played by anyone's rules before, I never did, and you loved it.
09:01Was he denying the allegations?
09:03Making a comeback bid?
09:04Or simply trolling us?
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09:26R. Kelly
09:27By 2019, singer R. Kelly was facing mounting legal trouble, including multiple counts of indecent abuse and human trafficking.
09:39His bodyguard handed me his phone number and said, R. Kelly, we'd like you to call him.
09:44Heck, there was even an award-winning documentary series about his alleged crimes, titled Surviving R. Kelly.
09:48So, how did R. Kelly respond to the scandal?
09:50Why, that would be with an explosive sit-down chat with Gayle King on CBS This Morning.
09:54I have been assassinated.
09:58I have been buried alive.
10:01But I'm alive.
10:02The instantly famous interview featured Kelly screaming, crying, and pounding his chest.
10:07All as he claimed,
10:08I didn't do this stuff.
10:10This is not me, y'all.
10:12I'm fighting for my f***ing life.
10:15Y'all are killing me.
10:16The erotic display did little to sway public opinion, however, as he would later be convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
10:21Which celebrity's reaction to their own scandal surprised you the most?
10:25Drop your thoughts in the comments below.
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