Top 20 Reddit AMAs That Hugely Backfired

#20: Bad Luck Brian

Not even Reddit legends are safe from a moderator’s wrath. Kyle Craven—more officially known as Bad Luck Brian—initially gained popularity thanks to his endearingly awkward yearbook photo going viral in the early 2010s. He soon became the global face of misfortune. He took to r/IAmA in 2012 to answer any queries people might have about becoming a popular meme. It was removed shortly afterwards, causing him to unintentionally live up to his namesake. The mod explained that the post broke their rules by not being unique enough, earning them unending backlash from the community. Craven was then contacted by r/AdviceAnimals to host a Q&A there, where he was greeted with open arms and plenty of personal questions.

#19: Paul Alves

There’s a piece of advice that constantly floats around the web: don’t feed the trolls. Paul Alves learned that lesson too late. He ran for city councillor in 2014, and as an avid Redditor, decided to reach potential viewers through the Toronto board. He dodged questions asking him about his political views, instead focusing on one that accused him of being similar to and an apologist for Canada’s controversial mayor at the time, Rob Ford. Alves calmly responded by accusing them of slander and working for the opposition, even implying that he would dox and sue them. Needless to say, that made things worse. He ended up only getting 272 votes— and even if the AMA didn’t cause it, it certainly didn’t help.

#18: EA “Star Wars Battlefront II”

Create a predatory microtransaction in a game, win stupid prizes. That's not the exact quote, but it's the best way to describe this 2017 AMA. They arrived at the fan subreddit to answer questions about their newest release, “Star Wars Battlefront II,” but they didn’t get the chance. Instead, the comments mostly focused on one topic: the addition of a lootbox mechanism that allowed players to exchange real money for in-game progression and items. From demanding the developers justify themselves to bluntly telling them it would take years to unlock everything without paying, the fans didn't hold back. Most of the responses– even those sympathizing– were severely downvoted. The fallout was so severe that the concept was dropped just before the game was released.

#17: John Rocker

This is the perfect example of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. Though John Rocker was an accomplished baseball player for the Atlanta Braves, he gained more notoriety for his behavior off the field. His unapologetically controversial statements earned him a negative reputation, which continued even after he retired. He kept that energy for his Q&A in 2013, where he went head-to-head with irate members of r/mlb. He ignored several questions actually pertaining to baseball, instead mocking users who attempted to confront him. Not even the snarkiest Redditor was a match for Rocker. He had no qualms about roasting people for camping out in a comment section on a Tuesday, even though he was doing the same thing.

#16: Mike Will Made It

Go girl, give us nothing. Despite the fact that Mike Will Made It has worked with some of the most influential celebrities of his generation, their charisma seems not to have rubbed off on him. He ventured into r/hiphopheads to promote his album “Ransom 2,” and from the very beginning, it seemed he would rather be doing anything else. Most of his answers ranged from one to three words, leading to an easy experience for himself and a frustrating one for everyone else. It didn’t take long for all of his responses to get ratioed, mostly by people sarcastically commenting on their quality or others straight-up calling him out. It’s clear that the one thing Mike Will couldn’t make was a strong impression on Redditors.

#15: Scott Stapp

Given Creed’s reputation both on and offline, it should’ve been clear from a mile away how this was going to end. Still, Scott Stapp braved the members of r/music to advertise his solo album, “Proof of Life.” It backfired on him almost immediately, with several of the top comments asking about a physical fight the singer had with members of the rock band 311 in 2005. Stapp seemingly went out of his way to avoid any and all inquiries about the incident. Instead, he waded through the rest of the hate and insults to reply to those asking good-faith questions. Of course, Redditors made sure to upvote all the remarks he didn’t respond to, making it clear just how many people he’d ignored.

#14: Rachel Maddow

As someone involved in the political sphere, you’d think she’d be a master in handling complex questions. Yet, in the twenty or so that Rachel Maddow took on in her 2013 AMA, only a few delved beyond surface level. The standard Reddit fare quickly rose to the top, making the more biting queries she avoided stand out even more. The deeper ones she did respond to hardly scratched the surface of what they were asking. It was clear she hadn’t come to engage in any debates. However, her fans and dissenters alike had been hoping she’d at least take an interest in the more heavy-hitting comments, rather than those about her morning routine.

#13: Bill Nye

It’s been said that you shouldn’t meet your heroes— and that definitely extends to Reddit. Bill Nye is an icon to multiple generations, particularly for his role in explaining scientific terms and concepts. He had done a more general AMA back in the early 2010s that went off without a hitch. However, another one went off the rails years later. Despite claiming he was determined to end anti-science beliefs, his answers on the subject were lacking at best. Those, coupled with his genuinely snarky remarks accusing people of wanting to complain and seemingly misunderstanding a request to perform the theme song, left several users wondering why he had returned at all.

#12: Priyanka Chopra

Celebrities often host these posts to promote their upcoming projects, but can never truly predict what the response will be. When Priyanka Chopra made her Reddit debut, it was clear she’d been expecting questions about her movies and music, not her stance on social issues in India. They only became more unhinged from there, from accusing her of faking her accent to lambasting her for her participation in beauty pageants and her father having a road named after him. She didn’t help things by engaging with the negative comments in a combative way, which only made the backlash even worse. Even her innocuous answers were downvoted into the ground, making it clear that some had gone into the post looking to stir the pot.

#11: Mike Cernovich

There are some posts that you can tell will be a disaster before they even begin. When conservative pundit Mike Cernovich launched his Ask Me Anything, it was obvious from the moment it was posted that it wasn’t going to go the way. Many slung insults disguised as regular questions, which seemed to go right over his head. Others brazenly asked about crass comments of his and previous allegations made against him, which he deflected or ignored entirely. The cherry on top was him live-streaming his answers, where he insisted that the negativity he was receiving was actually a good thing. Between his coping and his combative responses, it was clear that he was more concerned with expanding his brand than participating in good faith.

#10: Jose Canseco

When most celebrities participate in these posts, many users are left wondering how authentic the comments truly are. In baseball legend Jose Canseco’s case, it was clear his responses were his own, for better or for worse. He brought a level of unhinged chaos that not even Redditors could keep up with, from claiming to enjoy dog vomit to recounting alleged sexual encounters with other celebrities. However, none of his silly answers could make up for the sheer amount of people recounting unpleasant fan experiences they’d had with him as kids, which he ignored entirely. The post ended up validating most negative opinions held about him, but ended up being so much of a disaster that it circled back around to being unexpectedly funny.

#9: Morgan Freeman

This went down as one of the most disappointing days in Reddit history. Thanks to his immediately recognizable voice and talent, Morgan Freeman has become one of the most beloved actors of his time. When it was announced he’d be coming online to answer questions, users were overjoyed. That is, until the post went live. His responses were so straightforward that they crossed the line into being boring– the ultimate sin in an Ask Me Anything. For someone with such an iconic career, he had hardly anything to say about it at all. It was so devoid of personality that some began to accuse him of having a representative reply for him, leading to a mod making a follow-up post to clear the air.

#8: Ronda Rousey

Much like an elephant, a Redditor truly never forgets. UFC star Ronda Rousey learned that firsthand when she headed to r/SquaredCircle in 2024 to host an AMA. It backfired on her almost immediately. Practically every question eviscerated her for her previous support of a conspiracy theory that claimed that the 2012 attack on Sandy Hook Elementary School was fake. Peppered between those jabs were mini-roasts about other controversial comments she’d made and her usage of Kickstarter despite having a lucrative career. She ignored all of these in favor of those asking about pizza and anime, which made the situation even worse. The backlash was so intense that she released her first-ever apology on the matter, over a decade after it’d initially occurred.

#7: James Corden

One day, you’re participating in a Reddit Q&A, and the next, you’re in a career spiral. In 2019, James Corden and other producers on “The Late Late Show” answered questions fans had about his most popular segment, Carpool Karaoke. The host himself only acknowledged a few comments and had the other team members respond to the rest. Several people asked about Corden’s alleged unsavory off-screen behavior. One highly upvoted and awarded remark in particular mentioned an incident where Corden supposedly mistreated the staff at a London restaurant. It was ignored at the time, but ended up inadvertently setting the stage for a similar event at a New York City eatery a few years later, which made headlines and shattered his previous nice-guy reputation.

#6: Westboro Baptist Church

Given their reputation for protesting everything that goes against their beliefs, it only makes sense that Reddit would’ve been on their hit list. Before taking to headquarters to picket the company, the Westboro Baptist Church decided to use the website as a way of promoting their sect. They were immediately treated to a healthy dose of trolling from the community, with plenty of pointed comments alluding to their homophobia and Bible verses that contradicted their beliefs. Several of the responses were flat-out ignored, while others received replies that were met with hundreds of downvotes. Their protest afterwards ended up being just as effective as their AMA, which is to say that it wasn’t at all.

#5: Ann Coulter

From the very first unfunny joke in her introductory post, it was clear this was going to be a mess. Known for her unapologetically controversial beliefs pertaining to all things liberal, Ann Coulter visited r/IAmA in 2014. It almost immediately devolved into a virtual battle between her and the website’s patrons. Redditors called out every possible view she had, from race to reproductive rights. Unlike other celebrities, she didn’t back down from the questions. Not to be outdone, users downvoted every comment of hers to the point where her answers had to be pinned at the top of the thread to be seen at all. The session didn’t do much other than highlight the inflammatory tactics that she’d utilized throughout her career.

#4: Perez Hilton

Throughout his career, he’s made it a point to relentlessly come for everybody, no matter who they may be. It only makes sense that Perez Hilton would get a taste of his own medicine, and what better place for him to receive it than his own Ask Me Anything? The top comment lambasted him for his remarks about Adam Sandler’s daughter, and it only spiraled from there. His attempts to atone for his past actions or justify his love for gossip were met with snarky remarks. One user laid out some of the most vile things he’d said, along with plenty of cutting insults that mirrored his own mean-spirited personality. It was exactly what some thought he deserved, and to others, it still wasn’t enough.

#3: u/spez

This may be one of the most controversial posts in the website’s history. Following the announcement that Reddit would be removing free programming tools, users revolted. The CEO and co-founder, Steve Huffman— primarily known online as u/spez— attempted to do some damage control in the form of an AMA. The result was a series of several in-depth questions that he either ignored completely or only answered certain parts of. It reached a boiling point when he accused a third-party developer of threatening the administrators. It was such a train wreck that some communities started their blackout early. Two days after the session took place, thousands of subreddits locked down all at once, making it clear just what they thought of him and his policy.

#2: Wyclef Jean

Just a general rule of thumb— if you’re going to allow strangers to ask you questions, make sure you don’t have any skeletons in your closet. Musician Wyclef Jean only ventured onto Reddit to mark the twentieth anniversary of “The Score” by the Fugees. Instead of celebrating, users called him out for the misuse of charity funds received by his foundation, Yéle Haiti, following the 2010 earthquakes. Despite all the money raised, $9 million of it went back into Jean and his associates’ pockets. The top comment alone broke everything down by price, including $600,000 alone to the charity’s now vacant headquarters. Countless others had similar complaints for him, and he only responded to one. Needless to say, it didn’t help his case one bit.

#1: Woody Harrelson

This is still the gold standard for a failed AMA. Woody Harrelson was reportedly new to the site when he hosted a Q&A to promote his 2011 movie, “Rampart.” He didn’t know that centering several of his replies around the film would make the website turn against him. It went off the rails immediately when he refused to answer a question about a one-night stand. After responding to just over a dozen comments, he split. Those who wanted to know pretty much anything else about him were left in the virtual dust. “Rampart” flopped at the box office despite getting good reviews. Considering that several Redditors swore to boycott it, it seems that the post may have been one of the reasons why.

Which of these celebrities do you think was the least prepared for their AMA? Let us know in the comments below!