Top 10 Celebrities Who Were Banned From Social Media

This rapper is perhaps best known as half of rap duo Black Star, opposite Mos Def. He has also collaborated as a solo artist with the likes of Kanye West and Pharrell Williams. In July of 2020, Kweli was banned from Twitter after sending countless messages to a woman named Maya Moody. As Twitter told Jezebel, Kweli was banned for “repeated violations of the Twitter rules...Violence, harassment and other similar types of behaviour discourage people from expressing themselves.” After Moody commented on his marriage to a light-skinned woman - as well as the marriages of several other rappers - Kweli accused Moody of sympathizing with white supremacists and repeatedly sent her tweets over the course of 14 days. His actions eventually caused others to message Moody as well, and some of her personal details were publicly posted through Twitter, including pictures of her parents.

There are few public voices today as controversial as Milo Yiannopoulos. Yiannopoulos served as an editor and writer for the far-right outlet Breitbart News, while his writing has criticized concepts like social justice, political correctness, and feminism. Yiannopoulos often leaned into his troll persona, referring to himself as “the most fabulous supervillain on the internet.” In July 2016, Yiannopoulos was permanently banned from Twitter after taking part in the online intimidation of Leslie Jones following the release of “Ghostbusters”. Three years later, he was removed from Facebook in a mass ban that included other controversial figures, having been declared a “dangerous individual.”

This American businessman made headlines in 2015 when his company, Turing Pharmaceuticals, obtained the manufacturing license for Daraprim - a drug commonly used in the treatment of individuals with HIV/AIDS - and hiked its price from $13.50 to $750 per pill. Shkreli was later jailed and sentenced to seven years under a charge of securities fraud, though this wasn’t connected to the Daraprim price hike. Prior to incarceration, Shkreli was permanently suspended from Twitter in 2017 after his inappropriate online behavior towards freelance journalist Lauren Duca. This included photoshopping his own head onto a photo of Duca’s husband, Michael Scott style. He also sent Duca a DM inviting her to Donald Trump’s inauguration, writing, “hey, i have a +1 to the inaug if u wanna be my +1”, to which Duca replied “I would rather eat my own organs.”

#7: Rihanna

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Not even one of the most popular artists of our time can get away with posting racy photos on social media. In 2014, Rihanna continuously posted provocative photos of herself on Instagram, some of which came from the French adult magazine Lui - essentially the French version of Playboy. This blatantly went against Instagram’s no nudity policy, and Rihanna’s page went missing. Following fan outrage, Instagram restored Riri, saying, “This account was mistakenly caught in one of our automated systems and very briefly disabled. We apologize for any inconvenience.” However, the page soon disappeared again, and it would be six months until Rihanna returned, posting a cute doodle of herself shaking hands with the Instagram logo.

Likely the most infamous American conspiracy theorist, Alex Jones is best known as the founder of the far-right website InfoWars. His conspiracy theories target many historic events, including 9/11 and the moon landing. Not surprisingly, his controversial opinions have earned him widespread bans from social media platforms. In September 2018, Jones was permanently banned from Twitter for “tweets and videos...that violated [their] abusive behavior policy.” This was after he and InfoWars were already banned from Spotify, Apple, and YouTube. Just eight months after the Twitter ban, Jones and InfoWars were booted off Facebook and Instagram in the same purge that took out Milo Yiannopoulos.

An alt rock and grunge icon, Courtney Love has released four studio albums with her band, Hole, and one album as a solo artist. She is also known for her very public marriage to Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, which ended with his death in 1994. More recently, Love made headlines in 2011 as the first celebrity to be subjected to a major defamation trial over comments made through Twitter. After being sued by fashion designer Dawn Simorangkir, Love had her Twitter account suspended as a result of the trial and controversial comments. Love eventually settled the case for $450,000. However, she was sued yet again by attorney Rhonda Holmes over hostile tweets, but this was a case Love actually won.

Perhaps one of the most famous YouTubers in the world, PewDiePie has often found himself the target of extensive media coverage owing to his controversial content. Even those who don’t follow YouTube culture are sure to know PewDiePie simply based on the headlines. Back in 2016, PewDiePie unverified himself on Twitter and joked that he and @Jack_Septic_Eye had joined a criminal organization and that was why they “both got unverified.” This joke quickly caught the attention of the Twitter algorithm and Pewds’ account was briefly banned for mentioning “organisations and individuals associated with promoting hate.” After realizing that it was just a joke, the account was reinstated a few minutes later. However, the damage was done. A few years later, PewDiePie called Twitter “a cesspool” and took himself off the platform.

This actress was once best known for her roles in the likes of “Scream” and “Charmed”, but today she is most famous for her activism. Known as one of Silence Breakers, McGowan has publicly spoken out against Harvey Weinstein and misconduct in Hollywood, leading Time to declare her one of their Persons of the Year in 2017. In October of that same year, however, McGowan was briefly suspended from Twitter after posting a personal phone number. She was banned yet again in April 2021 after posting an art piece depicting a realistic-looking Bill Clinton being sensually massaged by a blonde woman. Despite it being a work of art, Twitter banned McGowan for posting “privately produced/distributed intimate media of someone without their express consent.”

This rapper released one studio album, three mixtapes, and two EPs throughout the 2010s, but it’s not the music that has earned Banks fame. No, that’s her social media game. Banks is widely known for her provocative social media style and outspoken views. And those views have often gotten her in trouble. In May 2016, Banks was suspended from Twitter after making racist and homophobic tweets aimed at Zayn Malik. Two years later, her account was deactivated yet again after Banks went off on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” contestant Monét X Change. Banks’s account was struck down for a third time in October 2020 after she made some horribly crude and transphobic comments.

#1: Donald Trump

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Really, it was only a matter of time before Donald Trump was banned from social media. But it was the Capitol riot of January 6, 2021 that proved the last straw. The attack was spurred by Trump, who gave a speech to encourage his supporters to fight against President Biden’s election victory. His supporters proceeded to storm the Capitol, resulting in five deaths, at least 138 injured police officers, and $30 million in damages. Trump was subsequently locked out of various social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. His suspension has been upheld as of March 2021, and Trump’s adviser Jason Miller told Fox News that Trump would be returning through “his own platform” in the near future.