Many of these stars had a hard time reaching the
A-list status and their infamous unfiltered moment left them with a damaged career and a reputation
in limbo. Who spilled the beans too far? John Mayer became famous as the crooning man
with a guitar and lyrics about heartbreak and romance. But following a messy interview
with Playboy Magazine in 2010, Mayer was left with a reputation as a racist,
sexist, and simply not a nice person. In the interview, the singer gave an
unfiltered portrait of his personal life and had a lot to say about his sex
life — especially with Jessica Simpson. He referred to their relationship in the bedroom
as "sexual napalm" and called her a drug to him. If that wasn't odd enough, the singer went
on to drop the n-word in an answer about his relationship with the Black community.
He went on to discuss his dating history with even more racist references. When asked
about dating Black women, Mayer confessed: "I don't think I open myself to
it. My d–k is sort of like a white supremacist. I've got a Benetton
heart and a f–in' David Duke c–k." With many people like Ice T and Talib Kweli
expressing outrage about his racially charged comments, Mayer was forced to apologize and
retreat from the public eye. He went on a two-year hiatus from music before returning. As
most celebrities do when coming off a controversy, he took a trip to "Ellen" and spoke
about how he's changed, saying: "I did some couple of really dumb
interviews and then it kind of woke me up.” If you're a star in Hollywood, one lesson you learn quickly is to never badmouth a
project you're starring in. In 2008, Katherine Heigl did an interview with
Vanity Fair that damaged her career forever. Heigl spoke about the film "Knocked
Up" and confessed to hating the movie, saying this about the film’s writing: "It was a little sexist. It
paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it
paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys. It exaggerated the characters,
and I had a hard time with it, on some days." “It is a good plan until her water breaks all over Robert De Niro’s shoes. ‘My shoes!
Hey there’s all this baby goo on it.’” Heigl went on to say how difficult it was to
love her character in the film. Her co-star Seth Rogen later admitted to Howard Stern that
he felt betrayed hearing her comments, saying: "We were funny together. I was having a really
good time, and then when I heard afterward that she didn't like it, that she seemed to not
like the process, and she did not like the end product either. I think when that happens
— also your trust feels somewhat betrayed." Following her "Knocked Up" comments,
Heigl's rising career took a hit. In an interview with The Washington Post, the actress
recalled feeling shunned by Hollywood, adding: "I knew that whatever they felt I had done
that was so awful, they would overlook it if I made them money — but then my films
started to make not quite as much money.” If you think of stars who gained popularity on
social media, you have to mention Tila "Tequila" Nguyen. After starting on MySpace, she became
one the earliest examples of a social media star. She's not new to making headlines but in 2013, she
made the news for all the wrong reasons. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Nguyen took to her blog
and confessed to being a Hitler sympathizer. Her posts were filled with Nazi praise despite
insisting she is not anti-semitic, saying: "Hitler was a good man and it takes some
f—ing balls for someone to say this out loud this day and age, especially
for a public figure like myself..." In the same year, the star posted a
photoshopped image of her outside of Auschwitz, per TMZ. Despite these alarming posts,
"Celebrity Big Brother was apparently" unaware of her past when they cast her in
2015. Following just one day in the house, Entertainment Tonight announced that
producers booted her off the show, explaining: "The views Tila had expressed, and permitted to
remain uncorrected, are totally unacceptable and, accordingly, her continued involvement
in the program was untenable." In a statement to the outlet, Nguyen
apologized for her past remarks and claimed it was a terrible mistake. A
year later she would be banned from Twitter after posting a photo
of her doing the Nazi salute. After starring in one of the most
family-centered shows in the early 2000s, many were shocked to hear Stephen Collins confess
to doing the unthinkable. According to People, during a family therapy session in 2012, the "7th Heaven" actor confessed to previously
sexually abusing three underage girls. Collins' ex-wife, Faye Grant
who could be heard on the tape, was secretly recording the session but denied
being behind the leak to the press, per Page Six. After the tape made the tabloids, the LAPD
re-launched a 2012 investigation into Collins. Following the shocking confession, Entertainment
Tonight confirmed the actor was fired from his role in the upcoming film "Ted 2". He
was also dropped from a recurring role in the ABC series "Scandal" per The Hollywood
Reporter. Two months after the news broke, Collins released a statement to
People about the incident, saying: "Forty years ago, I did something terribly wrong that I deeply regret. I have been
working to atone for it ever since.” He revealed he apologized to one of his victims
but decided it was best to not approach the other victims, in fear of "opening up old wounds".
In a sit-down interview with Katie Couric, the actor confessed to his crimes and insisted
he was not attracted to underage girls. In 2009, Megan Fox was riding high on the
success of the "Transformers" franchise. However, during one interview she confessed her true
feelings about director Michael Bay, saying: "He's like Napoleon and he
wants to create this insane, infamous mad man reputation. He wants to
be like Hitler on his sets, and he is." Fox went on to compliment the director,
but the comments still rubbed people the wrong way. One person offended by the
comments was director Steven Spielberg. Bay revealed that it was he who demanded
that Fox be fired from the franchise. “You’re such a little girl.” “I’m gonna have ten seconds of silence right
now. I’m not talking to you for ten seconds.” Following the backlash, the star
took an extended hiatus from films, with many wondering if she was blacklisted,
explaining to The Washington Post: "I was so lost and trying to understand, like, how am I supposed to feel value or find
purpose in this horrendous, patriarchal, misogynistic hell that was Hollywood at the
time? Because I had already been speaking out against it and everyone, including other women,
received me in a very negative way for doing it." In 2013, she returned to action films with none
other than Bay. The two reconciled and reunited for the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"
reboot, telling Entertainment Weekly: "I've always loved Michael. We've
had our battles in the past but even when I've been really outspoken
about difficulties we've had, I've always followed up by saying that
I have a particular affinity to him." Some of the wildest celebrity confessions come
from their lengthy press tours for upcoming projects. In 2019, while promoting the film
"Cold Pursuit," Liam Neeson learned that press junkets are not the place to confess to almost
committing a murder. According to The Independent, Neeson recalled a close friend of his being
raped and his own pursuit of revenge, explaining: "She said it was a black person. I went up and
down areas with a cosh, hoping I'd be approached by somebody — I'm ashamed to say that — and I did
it for maybe a week, hoping some 'black bastard' would come out of a pub and have a go at me about
something, you know? So that I could kill him." “I will find you. And I will kill you.” After disclosing this, Neeson expressed remorse
for his actions but a media firestorm quickly erupted. Many called his comments racist and
were baffled that he confessed to wanting to kill an innocent person. With an upcoming
release, Neeson was forced to clear the air. The actor appeared on Good Morning America in an
attempt to further explain himself, explaining: "I had never felt this feeling before
which was a primal urge to lash out. It shocked me and it hurt me ... I
did seek help, I went to a priest.” Milli Vanilli were a music duo with a
scandalous confession. The German R&B duo became popular in the late '80s and even
received critical acclaim for their work. They famously won a Grammy for Best New Artist
in 1990 but scandal soon followed and they were forced to return the trophy. According to
Variety, nine months after their big Grammy win, the group and their manager were forced to
confess the secret surrounding their success: Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan were
not the voices on their own album. The pair had not sung a single note on their
hit records like "Girl You Know It's True," and even were caught lip-syncing during one
live performance. After confessing and even holding a press conference to discuss the
scandal, the two had their Grammy revoked and were shunned by the music industry.
Pilatus confessed to the Los Angeles Times: "We were afraid for two years that this day
would come. We've cried about it sometimes, that the secret might come out. But
deep inside, we wanted it to happen." After finally confessing, the two were endlessly
ridiculed and their careers were never the same. Despite having their own talents, the duo was
forever seen as talentless and fraudulent. The duo later released an album with their own
vocals, which only sold two thousand copies, per The Guardian. It was a far cry from the
seven million copies they sold as Milli Vanilli. One of the best features of Twitter is
that celebrities have the freedom to reveal their deepest thoughts on the most random
topics, like the Earth's shape. In 2016, rapper B.o.B. confessed to believing
in the flat earth theory, writing: "A lot of people are turned off
by the phrase 'flat earth' ... but there's no way u can see all the
evidence and not know... grow up.” The artist even posted pictures of "evidence" and
argued with his followers, tweeting to one fan: "Have u been to the edge? Or is that
what your science book told you?" During the debate, we're sure B.o.B. didn't expect astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson
to join in and shut down his claims. “You think you’ve thought them through. The-They
will often crumble under rational analysis.” Tyson's tweets debunking his theories would later force the rapper to later
make a diss track, saying: "Duude — to be clear: Being
five centuries regressed in your reasoning doesn't mean we
all can't still like your music.” Following that debacle, and many other odd tweets,
the rapper stepped away from the spotlight. In an interview with Billboard, he admitted to
regretting his response on Twitter, adding: "It definitely gets exhausting
with people. When your inbox goes from girls sending you nudes to
people sending you philosophy essays, it definitely takes some of
the fun out of a cell phone." In 2004, Jude Law was one of the select few
heartthrobs on the big screen. He was even named People's Sexist Man Alive. In 2005, the
headlines surrounding Law were no longer about his swoon-worthy looks or films. The actor
found himself in a cheating scandal that sounded straight out of an episode of
your grandmother's favorite soap opera. “I’ve always loved you. I hate hurting you.” Law's nanny for his children with ex-wife Sadie
Frost did an exclusive interview with Sunday Mirror detailing their hookups. The problem? The
actor was engaged to Sienna Miller at the time. According to the nanny, the two
had a passionate affair and slept together multiple times. During one
hookup the two were caught by one of Law's children. The child later told
Frost, who promptly fired the nanny. As the affair unraveled in the tabloids, Law
came clean. He confessed to the affair in a statement and apologized to Miller. Their
relationship fell apart and his career suffered. His complicated personal
life began to overshadow his work. His heartthrob status also took a hit with many
seeing the actor as a cheater. The actor has worked hard to be known more for his work rather
than his scandals and looks, telling The Guardian: "I just want to be seen doing my work and I'm
just a bit tired of being talked about for what I'm wearing, or what I'm not wearing, or what my
hairline is doing, or who I've been seen with.”
