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Sometimes a misplaced comment can overshadow a whole career. From live TV slip-ups to viral controversies, these celebrities said things at moments that made the fallout unavoidable. Whether it was a tragic blunder or a public meltdown, their words sparked outrage and changed public perception forever. Get ready to revisit some of the most unforgettable remarks made at the absolute worst times.
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00:00For 400 years? That sounds like a choice.
00:03Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the celebrities who chose the worst possible moment to
00:08make ill-conceived comments.
00:10If you kick every Latino out of this country, then who is going to be cleaning your toilet, Donald Trump?
00:16Number 10. Kathie Lee Gifford
00:18Few live TV moments turned awkward as quickly as this one did.
00:22You see, during a 2012 appearance on the Today Show, Martin Short was chatting about his career
00:27when Kathie Lee Gifford shifted the conversation into what she believed was a feel-good segment about his marriage.
00:32She praised his relationship and asked how he and his wife kept things strong.
00:36How many years now for you guys?
00:38We married 36 years.
00:40But you're still, like, in love?
00:42Madly in love. Madly in love.
00:43The issue? Short's wife Nancy had died of cancer in 2010.
00:47The comedic actor handled the situation with grace by not acknowledging the blunder,
00:52but the internet immediately seized on the clip.
00:54Why?
00:56Cute. I'm cute.
00:56Yes, that is true.
00:58Can you make each other laugh?
00:59Gifford apologized, recognizing how deeply uncomfortable the exchange had been.
01:04Number 9. Vanessa Hudgens
01:05This livestream quickly turned into a viral controversy.
01:09In March 2020, just as the world was locking down amid worsening COVID updates,
01:13including shelving that year's Coachella,
01:15Vanessa Hudgens went on Instagram Live and remarked that potential widespread deaths were inevitable.
01:21Even worse than what she said was how she said it.
01:23It's a virus. I get it. Like, I respect it.
01:27But at the same time, like, even if everybody gets it, like, yeah, people are gonna die.
01:35It's just terrible. But, like, inevitable?
01:39The issue wasn't only the insensitivity of the phrasing, though.
01:42It was that she said it at the exact moment when uncertainty and grief were reaching a peak.
01:47I don't know. Maybe I shouldn't be doing this right now.
01:49As governments were issuing emergency orders and public health messaging was pleading for seriousness,
01:54Hudgens came off as flippant, resulting in immediate backlash.
01:57Number 8. Megan Fox
02:06Chalk this up to a Hollywood cautionary tale.
02:09In 2009, while discussing her experiences working on the hit Transformers films,
02:14Megan Fox told Wonderland magazine that director Michael Bay behaved like Hitler on set.
02:19The harsh comparison would have raised eyebrows at any time,
02:21but the timing is what made the fallout so severe.
02:24It came as executives were preparing for Transformers Dark of the Moon,
02:27and Fox was still the franchise's It Girl.
02:30When her comments made the rounds, it was reportedly insisted that she be dropped.
02:34And, well, she was removed before production began on the third film,
02:37with Rosie Huntington-Whitley replacing her.
02:40I love you.
02:42You're the only thing I need in this world not do anything to make it up to you, I promise.
02:46I'm gonna hold you to that.
02:48Number 7. Kelly Osbourne
02:50Aiming to make a point against xenophobia,
02:52Kelly Osbourne instead ended up igniting outrage.
02:55During a 2015 episode of The View,
02:57Osbourne attempted to criticize Donald Trump's comments about Mexican immigrants,
03:01but worded it in the worst possible way possible.
03:04She said,
03:05If you kick every Latino out of this country,
03:08then who is going to be cleaning your toilet, Donald Trump?
03:11If her fellow co-host looked visibly alarmed at the statement,
03:13it's because her remark came right in the middle of heated national debates on immigration.
03:17Tensions and emotions were at a boiling point.
03:20No, I didn't mean it like that. Come on.
03:23Though Kelly quickly tried to clarify her intent,
03:25the moment had already landed, and not in a good way.
03:28Number 6. Christian Bale
03:30In early February of 2009,
03:32a now-infamous audio recording leaked of Christian Bale
03:35shouting intensely at cinematographer Shane Hurlbut.
03:38Taking place on the set of Terminator Salvation,
03:40Bale unleashed a lengthy, profanity-filled tirade
03:43after Hurlbut stepped into his eyeline during a scene.
03:46What don't you get about it?
03:50I was looking at the light.
03:52Oh, good for you!
03:54And how was it?
03:55The outburst itself was bad enough,
03:57but what amplified the damage was the timing.
03:59The audio surfaced while Bale was doing publicity
04:02for the very film he was shooting in the clip.
04:04I mean, I know it sounds ridiculous,
04:06but I, too, have gone off on people
04:09because if you're professional, you know what you're not supposed to do.
04:12His reputation at the time centered around professionalism
04:15and artistic passion,
04:17all of which clashed sharply with the meltdown heard around the world.
04:20Um, I think I wouldn't want to...
04:24Christian Bale is not the kind of guy you want to piss off.
04:28Bill ultimately had to issue a public apology
04:30in an attempt to put the controversy to rest.
04:33Number 5. Gilbert Gottfried
04:36Oh, boy! Was that stupid or what?
04:38It was very stupid.
04:39I think I'm going to have a heart attack.
04:41Comedians are known to push boundaries,
04:44but maybe, just maybe,
04:45the middle of a real-time global disaster
04:47is not the best time to do it.
04:49As the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan,
04:53with news coverage showing catastrophic destruction,
04:56Gilbert Gottfried made a series of jokes about the tragedy.
04:58What made the situation spiral even faster
05:01was his connection to Aflac,
05:03a company that did a huge portion of its business in Japan.
05:06Aflac!
05:07His attempts at humor appeared wildly insensitive,
05:09as rescue operations were still ongoing.
05:12Aflac, meanwhile, reacted immediately,
05:15firing Gilbert and replacing him as the voice of its mascot.
05:18Uh, they fired me,
05:20got loads of free publicity out of it,
05:24and then hired a guy to imitate my voice
05:27for less money,
05:29thus bringing closure into a horrible tragedy.
05:32Number 4, Mel Gibson.
05:34It's probably best not to make offensive remarks
05:36during a traffic stop.
05:38Unfortunately, no one seemed to tell this to Mel Gibson.
05:41In 2006, after being stopped for a DUI in Malibu,
05:45Gibson launched into anti-Semitic remarks
05:47while officers were actively documenting the incident.
05:50His hateful words were recorded and eventually leaked.
05:52Are those anti-Semitic words?
05:55Oh, yeah.
05:56Yeah.
05:57Absolutely.
05:58Sounds horrible.
05:59And I'm ashamed of that.
06:01That came out of my mouth.
06:02And I'm not that.
06:03That's not who I am, you know.
06:04Gibson, who was experiencing a turbulent period
06:07in his personal life,
06:08naturally found himself in plenty of hot water.
06:10The fallout was enormous.
06:12Studios distanced themselves,
06:13and plans for future projects stalled.
06:16Mel has since spent years
06:17attempting to rebuild his embattled reputation.
06:22I don't know.
06:23Ask the guy that said it.
06:24It wasn't me.
06:25Number three, Roseanne Barr.
06:27Did you get the pain pills for my bad knee?
06:30Wouldn't be the Candyman without the sunshine, babe.
06:34Just as the revival of Roseanne
06:36was dominating television ratings,
06:38an overnight tweet brought everything crashing down.
06:41Yep.
06:41In May 2018, while her reboot was in full swing,
06:45Roseanne Barr posted an insult
06:46aimed at former White House advisory Valerie Jarrett.
06:49The timing was catastrophic.
06:51The show had just been renewed,
06:53advertisers were on board,
06:54and cast and crew were preparing for the next season.
06:57Within hours, ABC pulled the plug on the show,
07:00saying Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent,
07:03repugnant, and inconsistent with our values,
07:06and we've decided to cancel her show.
07:08Within hours, ABC leadership announced
07:10the series was canceled,
07:12citing the tweet as unacceptable and hateful.
07:14Despite attempts to apologize,
07:16Barr was immediately removed from the franchise,
07:18which eventually returned under its new name,
07:21The Connors, without her.
07:22Number 2.
07:23Michael Richards.
07:27I'm out.
07:31With Seinfeld in his rearview mirror,
07:33comedian Michael Richards turned back to his stand-up comedy
07:36Root in November of 2006.
07:38However, taking the stage at the Laugh Factory,
07:41Richards lost control during his set,
07:42when audience members heckled him.
07:44He responded in the worst way,
07:46by shouting discriminatory slurs at them.
07:48You guys have been talking and talking and talking!
07:53I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!
07:55The incident was recorded on early camera phones,
07:57and the clips circulated online at a time
07:59when viral video culture was rapidly growing.
08:02I, uh, I lost my temper on stage.
08:05The timing was particularly damaging,
08:07as his onstage meltdown replaced decades of comedic goodwill,
08:11with a scandal that overshadowed,
08:12well, everything.
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08:30Number 1. Kanye West
08:32No celebrity has delivered more shock value remarks
08:35at exactly the wrong moment than Kanye West.
08:38In fact, his track record is a series of controversies.
08:42At the 2009 MTV VMAs,
08:44he stormed the stage during Taylor Swift's acceptance speech,
08:47hijacking the moment
08:48just as she was reaching a major career milestone.
08:50I'm gonna let you finish,
08:51but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time.
08:57Nearly a decade later,
08:59he sparked outrage during a TMZ office interview
09:01by claiming that 400 years of slavery sounds like a choice.
09:04For 400 years?
09:06That sounds like a choice.
09:07From 2021 through 2022,
09:10he made repeated anti-Semitic remarks
09:12that led to severed partnerships from Adidas,
09:14Gap,
09:15and others.
09:16Every human being has something of value
09:19that they brought to the table,
09:20especially Hitler.
09:22How about that one?
09:23While he has since noted mental health challenges,
09:25each incident sees him spout the most controversial words
09:29at the exact moment when the stakes are at their highest.
09:31The former Yeezy project manager claims
09:34Kanye's alleged anti-Semitic tirades and conspiracies
09:36were a daily occurrence.
09:38Which jaw-dropping comment do you think had the worst timing?
09:41Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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