10 Celebs Who Would be Cancelled Today for What They Did Then

10 Celebs Who'd be Cancelled Today for What They Did Then

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for famous people who wouldn’t survive cancel culture today. These public figures have a relatively good standing with the public, but their past behavior would not fly now.

Gwen Stefani

Back in the day, when discourse about cultural appropriation wasn’t as prominent as it is now, the “Hollaback Girl” singer got away with a lot. She went from wearing bindis and exploiting Japanese and Native American cultures to seemingly cosplaying Frida Kahlo. She was promptly called out, but the backlash had no major impact on her career. Time passed, and she stood by her creative choices. She even claimed that her “Harajuku Girls” era, when she almost exclusively performed with four Japanese and Japanese-American dancers, was cultural appreciation. Gwen went as far as to assert that she herself was Japanese in a 2023 interview, sparking major outrage. It probably would’ve earned her just a side-eye in the past, but not anymore.

John 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. Besides being staunchly Republican and anti-communist, he was also alarmingly racist and homophobic. His infamous Playboy interview from 1971 was chock-full of discriminatory remarks against African Americans, Native Americans, and the queer community. When this interview resurfaced decades later in 2019, it prompted activists to call for a renaming of the John Wayne Airport. Students from the actor’s alma mater, the University of Southern California, also successfully displaced an exhibit dedicated to Wayne on campus.

Mark Wahlberg

The rapper-turned-actor is one of the most prominent stars in Tinseltown, with multiple Oscar and Emmy nominations under his belt. Yet, no matter how celebrated he is, his achievements will always be tainted by his troubling past. In his teenage years, he reportedly committed several hate crimes against Black children, harassing, attacking, and hurling slurs at them. He violently assaulted two Vietnamese-American individuals, one of whom was rendered senseless. Wahlberg ended up serving time for forty-five days. Fast forward to the nineties, and he was already carving out a place for himself in Hollywood. However, 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.

Anthony Kiedis

The Red Hot Chili Peppers rocker earned his legendary status singing about life in the fast lane. Love and L.A., sex and substance use feature prominently in the band’s music. Unfortunately, his real life was much more scandalous than his lyrics. In his 2004 autobiography “Scar Tissue”, he admitted to having inappropriate relations with a minor. His song “Catholic School Girls Rule” is apparently about his victim. If that wasn’t bad enough, he allegedly dated actress Ione Skye in the eighties, and she reportedly fell pregnant with his child while she was underage. Skye opened up about allegedly terminating the pregnancy in her 2025 book “Say Everything”, driving renewed attention and anger toward the “Californication” singer.

Sean Connery

The OG James Bond’s dreamy on-screen romances made him a sex symbol. However, actor Sean Connery’s outlook on women wasn’t very kind in real life. Speaking with Playboy in 1965, he reportedly opined that he didn’t think there was, quote, “anything particularly wrong about hitting a woman”. In 1987, journalist Barbara Walters grilled him about it, and he doubled down on his statement. With stern conviction, he claimed it was, quote, ‘absolutely right’ to slap a woman, if the situation, in his view, called for it. When his remarks were brought up again in a 1993 Vanity Fair interview, he said they had been taken out of context. The controversy followed him for years, but didn’t dampen his success – something that would be unthinkable today.

Jack Nicholson

The three-time Oscar winner may have retired, but his shining reputation as an unparalleled actor has not faded. In fact, his success is so grand, it often veils the many allegations of questionable behavior that have been made against him over the years. Besides being a known womanizer, he was once involved in an alleged assault case. According to reports, a sex worker by the name of Catherine Sheehan once sued him for allegedly hiring her and then refusing to pay. What’s worse, she claimed “The Last Detail” actor got aggressive when she demanded her payment. The lawsuit reportedly cost him around $40,000 in settlement back then, but Sheehan sued him again, her lawyer claiming her injuries had become fatal.

Charlie Chaplin

Throughout his illustrious career, “The Great Dictator” star was surrounded by controversy. It 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. He was reportedly suspected of transporting a woman across U.S. state lines for immoral purposes. Though he was acquitted, scandals followed him because of his relationships with much younger women. His first two wives were reportedly underage when he married them, and his widow, Oona O'Neill, was eighteen when she tied the knot with a fifty-four-year-old Chaplin. Sure, 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.

Steven Tyler

The Aerosmith frontman’s legacy is marred by sexual misconduct allegations. In his twenties, he allegedly had an inappropriate relationship with a minor, whom he supposedly had guardianship of. The woman, Julia Misley, who previously went by the name Julia Holcomb, sued him for alleged indecent assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She also claimed the rocker got her pregnant and forced her to terminate the pregnancy. Tyler denied her allegations, and the IIED claim was dismissed. Another woman, Jeanne Bellino, also sued Tyler for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was underage. The case was dismissed, reportedly because it was filed too late and the alleged misconduct didn’t pose a ‘serious risk of physical injury’. Such allegations would be career-ending for any artist now.

Jerry Lee Lewis

This Grammy winner’s personal life was extremely contentious, especially his seven marriages. He first got married when he was a minor. Before that marriage ended, he reportedly wed another woman. His third wife was his underage cousin, who gave birth to their son while she was a minor. She later claimed Lewis was violent and psychologically abusive toward her. Their controversial union damaged the “Wild One” singer’s reputation. His fifth wife reportedly passed away due to substance use, but Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Richard Ben Cramer claimed Lewis may have been involved in her death. In addition, Jerry also ran into trouble with the IRS and was once arrested for public intoxication. Saying he would’ve been cancelled in today’s socio-cultural climate is an understatement.

Elvis Presley

The King of Rock and Roll’s romance with Priscilla Presley has been glamorized for eons now. However, their relationship was also incredibly controversial, especially considering that the pair got together when she was a minor. This aspect has been dramatized in films like Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” and Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla”. Priscilla herself claims that she didn’t have an intimate relationship with the “Jailhouse Rock” singer when they first started dating. However, she admitted in a People essay that he, quote, ‘molded (her) into his woman’. Speaking with Barbara Walters, Priscilla once revealed that Elvis apparently grew distant from her after their daughter Lisa Marie was born because Priscilla’s ‘little girl’ image was no more. He was allegedly unfaithful, too. Their story was clearly no fairytale.

Which name on this list surprised you the most? Tell us in the comments!