- 4 days ago
Times have changed, and so have our standards! Join us as we examine famous figures whose past actions would face serious backlash in today's world. From controversial relationships to racist remarks and allegations of violence, these celebrities enjoyed success despite behavior that would be career-ending today. Which of these shocking revelations surprised you most?
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00:00Years ago, you did an interview, which may come back to haunt you. You know what I'm going to say, right?
00:04No.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for famous people who wouldn't survive cancel culture today.
00:11These public figures have a relatively good standing with the public, but their past behavior would not fly now.
00:16The scandal continued to haunt Jerry Lee for four long years.
00:21Gwen Stefani
00:22Back in the day, when discourse about cultural appropriation wasn't as prominent as it is now,
00:28the Hala Batgirl singer got away with a lot.
00:31Getting really close.
00:33Aw, super kawaii.
00:35She went from wearing bindis and exploiting Japanese and Native American cultures to seemingly cosplaying Frida Kahlo.
00:41She was promptly called out, but the backlash had no major impact on her career.
00:45Time passed, and she stood by her creative choices.
00:48So shuku girls, you got the wicked style.
00:51I like the way that you are.
00:53I am your biggest fan.
00:55She even claimed that her Harajuku girls era, when she almost exclusively performed with four Japanese and Japanese American dancers, was cultural appreciation.
01:05Gwen went as far as to assert that she herself was Japanese in a 2023 interview, sparking major outrage.
01:11In an interview with Allure magazine, she claimed twice that she is Japanese.
01:16It probably would have earned her just a side eye in the past, but not anymore.
01:19John Wayne, he was an icon of Hollywood's golden age, but his political and personal views were so controversial, they would get him blacklisted in the industry today.
01:28I wanted naturally to be a virile American man on the screen and certainly have healthy and lasty scenes with ladies.
01:39Besides being staunchly Republican and anti-communist, he was also alarmingly racist and homophobic.
01:45His infamous Playboy interview from 1971 was chock full of discriminatory remarks against African Americans, Native Americans, and the queer community.
01:55I think it was no secret that John Wayne held extreme right-wing views.
02:01This was part of his personal persona.
02:04When this interview resurfaced decades later in 2019, it prompted activists to call for a renaming of the John Wayne Airport.
02:11Students from the actor's alma mater, the University of Southern California, also successfully displaced an exhibit dedicated to Wayne on campus.
02:18My father made a mistake that some people make in interviews by repeating the language that the interviewer used.
02:25So that's where the term white supremacy came out.
02:28Mark Wahlberg.
02:29The rapper turned actor is one of the most prominent stars in Tinseltown, with multiple Oscar and Emmy nominations under his belt.
02:35I'm from the wrong side of the tracks, I think.
02:38You know, I'm trying to work my way into good graces.
02:40Yet, no matter how celebrated he is, his achievements will always be tainted by his troubling past.
02:45In his teenage years, he reportedly committed several hate crimes against black children, harassing, attacking, and hurling slurs at them.
02:53I was a young kid and I was a follower.
02:56And the day I woke up in prison, I had to say, you know what, do I want to continue to be a follower?
02:59Do I want to change my life and become a leader?
03:01And that's what I decided to do.
03:03He violently assaulted two Vietnamese-American individuals, one of whom was rendered senseless.
03:08Wahlberg ended up serving time for 45 days.
03:10Fast forward to the 90s, and he was already carving out a place for himself in Hollywood.
03:14However, when he tried to clean up his criminal record by seeking a pardon in 2014, the move was heavily criticized, and he dropped his request.
03:22That I've been committed to turning my life around and becoming a productive person in the community.
03:26Anthony Kiedis.
03:27The Red Hot Chili Peppers rocker earned his legendary status singing about life in the fast lane.
03:31Love in LA, sex, and substance use feature prominently in the band's music.
03:42Unfortunately, his real life was much more scandalous than his lyrics.
03:46In his 2004 autobiography, Scar Tissue, he admitted to having inappropriate relations with a minor.
03:52His song, Catholic Schoolgirl's Rule, is apparently about his victim.
03:56If that wasn't bad enough, he allegedly dated actress Ione Skye in the 80s, and she reportedly fell pregnant with his child while she was underage.
04:09Skye opened up about allegedly terminating the pregnancy in her 2025 book, Say Everything, driving renewed attention and anger toward the Californication singer.
04:17Editing the book, I would rush through certain parts, and I would realize, oh, that's because those were the parts that are kind of, like, hard to relive.
04:24Sean Connery.
04:25The OG James Bond's dreamy on-screen romances made him a sex symbol.
04:30I admire your luck, Mr. Bond.
04:35James Bond.
04:36However, actor Sean Connery's outlook on women wasn't very kind in real life.
04:41Speaking with Playboy in 1965, he reportedly opined that he didn't think there was, quote, anything particularly wrong about hitting a woman.
04:49In 1987, journalist Barbara Walters grilled him about it, and he doubled down on his statement.
04:54I think that it depends entirely on the circumstances and if it merits it.
04:58With stern conviction, he claimed it was, quote, absolutely right to slap a woman if the situation, in his view, called for it.
05:05When his remarks were brought up again in a 1993 Vanity Fair interview, he said that they had been taken out of context.
05:11The controversy followed him for years, but didn't dampen his success, something that would be unthinkable today.
05:16So I'm obviously okay.
05:18Jack Nicholson.
05:19The three-time Oscar winner may have retired, but his shining reputation as an unparalleled actor has not faded.
05:25In fact, his success is so grand, it often veils the many allegations of questionable behavior that have been made against him over the years.
05:33Besides being a known womanizer, he was once involved in an alleged assault case.
05:37According to reports, a sex worker by the name of Catherine Sheehan once sued him for allegedly hiring her and then refusing to pay.
05:45What's worse, she claimed the last detail actor got aggressive when she demanded her payment.
05:50The lawsuit reportedly cost him around $40,000 in settlement back then, but Sheehan sued him again, her lawyer claiming her injuries had become fatal.
05:58Charlie Chaplin.
05:59Throughout his illustrious career, the Great Dictator star was surrounded by controversy.
06:03There's no doubting Charlie Chaplin's abilities. He was an unrivaled master of film and comedy, but he was also, in the words of one of his many lovers, the most baffling man who ever lived.
06:16It is said that the FBI seemingly carried out a smear campaign against him, which led to him being tried in court for allegedly violating the Mann Act.
06:23He was reportedly suspected of transporting a woman across U.S. state lines for immoral purposes.
06:28But before Chaplin's paternity trial, the federal government weighed in on the Berry case by indicting him for a violation of an obscure law, the Mann Act.
06:38Though he was acquitted, scandals followed him because of his relationships with much younger women.
06:43His first two wives were reportedly underage when he married them, and his widow, Ona O'Neill, was 18 when she tied the knot with a 54-year-old Chaplin.
06:51Sure, he was a genius, but there's no way he'd be idolized so zealously if he were an artist in today's world, or so we hope.
06:58He had to be understood as an untrained waif, a dream-endowed gammon, a delicate-minded gutter snipe, a leaf of paper with sacred writings on it, flown through the streets of a London slum.
07:13Steven Tyler. The Aerosmith frontman's legacy is marred by sexual misconduct allegations.
07:18But you were irresponsible. Were you not irresponsible?
07:21I was.
07:21Yeah.
07:22I was.
07:22In his 20s, he allegedly had an inappropriate relationship with a minor, whom he supposedly had guardianship of.
07:28The woman, Julia Meisley, who previously went by the name Julia Holcomb, sued him for alleged indecent assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
07:37She also claimed the rocker got her pregnant and forced her to terminate the pregnancy.
07:42I was just shocked. I couldn't imagine even thinking about having an abortion.
07:46I had thought I was going to get married and have a baby and start a family.
07:50Tyler denied her allegations, and the IIED claim was dismissed.
07:54Another woman, Gianne Bellino, also sued Tyler for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was underage.
08:00The case was dismissed, reportedly because it was filed too late, and the alleged misconduct didn't pose a serious risk of physical injury.
08:07Such allegations would be career-ending for any artist now.
08:10I get it. I see the picture.
08:11Yeah.
08:12I can own it.
08:12Jerry Lee Lewis.
08:14The Grammy winner's personal life was extremely contentious, especially his seven marriages.
08:19I am just what I am.
08:20Jerry Lee.
08:23F*** up Lewis.
08:24He first got married when he was a minor.
08:26Before that marriage ended, he reportedly wed another woman.
08:30His third wife was his underage cousin, who gave birth to their son while she was a minor.
08:34She later claimed Lewis was violent and psychologically abusive toward her.
08:38Their controversial union damaged the Wild One singer's reputation.
08:42It put an end to his tour.
08:44It put an end to his career for the next ten years.
08:47They came over and asked me very innocently who I was, and I told the truth.
08:52I didn't realize that there was such a difference in the ideas of London versus America,
08:59and they went crazy with it when they found out how young I was.
09:02His fifth wife reportedly passed away due to substance use,
09:05but Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Richard Ben Kramer claimed Lewis may have been involved in her death.
09:10In addition, Jerry also ran into trouble with the IRS and was once arrested for public intoxication.
09:16Saying he would have been canceled in today's sociocultural climate is an understatement.
09:20From the most humble roots to rocks, highs, and lows,
09:24Jerry Lee Lewis' life is the story of heartache, determination, and rock and roll.
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09:43Elvis Presley
09:46The king of rock and roll's romance with Priscilla Presley has been glamorized for eons now.
09:52You know, when you're in love, it's hard to fight.
09:54However, their relationship was also incredibly controversial,
09:58especially considering that the pair got together when she was a minor.
10:01This aspect has been dramatized in films like Baz Luhrmann's Elvis and Sofia Coppola's Priscilla.
10:07Priscilla herself claims that she didn't have an intimate relationship with a jailhouse rock singer when they first started dating.
10:12There was an agreement, I guess, he made with himself that the woman that he decided to take for his wife,
10:22he was going to keep her that way until he married her.
10:26However, she admitted in a People essay that he, quote,
10:30molded her into his woman.
10:31Speaking with Barbara Walters, Priscilla once revealed that Elvis apparently grew distant from her
10:36after their daughter Lisa Marie was born because Priscilla's little girl image was no more.
10:40He was allegedly unfaithful, too.
10:43Their story was clearly no fairy tale.
10:45You can just be so much to someone.
10:47I mean, I was everything to him.
10:49I loved him.
10:50I love him today.
10:52I couldn't help it.
10:53I mean, he was a wonderful person.
10:54But there's times that you have to think of yourself.
10:57And I didn't want to go along with the program anymore.
11:01Which name on this list surprised you the most?
11:03Tell us in the comments.
11:04I do feel sad for myself going.
11:06It was quite stressful.
11:08That was the sort of older scene, that chili pepper scene.
11:11And I do feel, like, sad for the kid.
11:13My kids, one of them is almost the age I was when I was dating him.
11:17So that was, like, a bit rough.
11:19So that was, like, a bit rough.
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