Rihanna's Pro-Palestine Mess
Celebrities are still figuring out how to communicate through social media without destroying their career in one fell swoop. Platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are still in their infancies, which means that celebrities, like all of us, are still learning how transparent they can be with their fans on a global scale.
For some, they've learned the hard lesson of what one horrible social media post can do. Here's a list of 25 celebrities who almost ruined their career thanks to a couple of controversial, ill-conceived, or outright offensive comments on social.
R&B singer Rihanna is known for her light pop hits, but in 2014 she got surprisingly political on Twitter when she tweeted the hashtag #FreePalestine during the Gaza conflict. The tweet quickly gained traction, causing the singer to delete her post after she was accused of being "pro-Palestine." She later apologized via Twitter stating, "Let's pray for peace and a swift end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict!
Dean McDermott Gets Himself In The Dog House
Is there any hope?" Apparently, there isn't hope when it comes to celebrities thinking before they tweet.
Remember when Tori Spelling's husband Dean McDermott accidentally tweeted out a nude photo of Spelling? If you didn't, it's because once he realized he shared the photo to the world, he deleted it. He originally intended to show off his son Liam but didn't seem to realize that his wife was in the background nursing their daughter.
Ashton Kutcher Learns A Lesson In Context
What a snafu!
Ashton Kutcher was once known as the King of Twitter after becoming the first person to reach a million followers. But in 2011, his followers turned on him when he tweeted his support of coach Joe Paterno, who was fired from his job for not intervening in assistant coach Jerry Sandusky's sexual abuse of boys.
Justin Bieber's Shady Tweet
After he realized why Paterno was fired, he later deleted the tweet and handed his Twitter over to his reps.
Growing up in the spotlight isn't easy, especially when celebrities are now under watch 24/7 thanks to social media. Pop sensation Justin Bieber has learned a few tough lessons for acting out in public. When it comes to his behavior on Twitter, he's suffered a few personal blows as well.
Kim Kardashian's Blinged-Out Gun
The singer once tweeted how he wished his label, Def Jam, would work harder on his projects and how record labels are "shady." He later thought better of dissing his label and deleted the tweet.
When it comes to Kim Kardashian, she's the queen of self-branding. She's made a whole career for herself by building a powerful empire through social media. That said, the Keeping Up with The Kardashians star has taken a few missteps with social media.
Alison Swallows A Large Pill
In 2012, she posted a photo to Instagram of a diamond-encrusted handgun and was later accused of glamorizing violence. She later lent her voice to a campaign to end gun violence, but not before she deleted her eyebrow-raising photo.
The Newsroom star Alison Pill kept her sense of humor when, in 2012, she accidentally tweeted out a topless photo of herself. The photo was shared on Twitter before she realized the error of her ways. After deleting the photo, Pill tweeted a funny non-apology, "Yep. That picture happened.
Katy Perry's Bare Face Revealed
My tech issues have now reached new heights, apparently. How a deletion turned into a tweet..Apologies." Most of her followers assumed the photo was for her then-boyfriend, Canadian actor Jay Baruchel.
The Internet was shocked to learn that underneath Katy Perry's elaborate makeup is apparently a completely different person. In 2010, her then-husband Russell Brand wanted to show off his wife's bare face but soon after he tweeted the photo, the drastic change in her appearance made the sweet sentiment into a viral sensation.
Cee Lo Green's Huge Mistake
Brand later deleted the photo but it still lives on in infamy.
Cee Lo Green's career hasn't been without controversy. In 2014, his career all but stopped when he was accused of slipping someone a date rape drug.
Denise Richards Exposes Herself
The singer made matters worse when he angrily tweeted, "Women who have really been raped REMEMBER!!!" After receiving backlash, he later apologized for his "comments being taken so far out of context." It was essentially a non-apology and his career never recovered.
What's worse than sharing your nude pictures with the world? Sharing your phone number, of course! Actress Denise Richards accidentally tweeted out her phone number to the world and then quickly realized what she had done once she started receiving dozens and dozens of calls.
Mary J. Blige In Need Of A Spellcheck
She later deleted the tweet and wrote, "OK, number is changed! Won't make that mistake again."
While this Twitter blunder from Mary J. Blige might seem tame in comparison, it sure is humorous. In 2012, Mary tweeted that people shouldn't underestimate her intelligence. The problem?
50 Cent Lands Himself In Hot Water
Her tweet was barely literate, posting, "Why is that people always try to understand estimate my intelligents?! They should never do that!" Come again?
Some celebrities have accidentally posted some revealing photos of themselves on Twitter that have landed them in hot water. When it comes to 50 Cent, he revealed an ugly side of his personality when he tweeted out, "I don't want no special ed kids on my timeline.
Anthony Weiner's Headline Writes Itself
Follow some body else." Another tweet he sent out to a fan said, "Yeah, just saw your picture fool you look autistic." He wound up deleting both tweets.
Former politician Anthony Weiner may not be your typical celebrity, but he turned himself into a headline when a picture of his junk landed on Twitter in 2011. We later found out that the photo of his underwear-clad junk was intended for a college girl.
Lindsay Lohan Airs Her Dirty Laundry
Although he apologized at a press conference to his pregnant wife, he was forced to resign from congress.
If you're a celebrity, it's probably not wise to air your dirty laundry out for the world to see, but in 2010 that's exactly what Lindsay Lohan did. At the time, she picked a battle with then-girlfriend Samantha Ronson in a series of tweets that said, "Funny how I'm rushing back to see @samantharonson when she says she's with her step bro alone - and 2girls?
Adam Jones' Immigration Scandal
That wasn't mentioned. Caught."
In 2010, Adam Jones, an outfielder for the Baltimore Orioles, took a road trip with his teammates to Toronto. However, he was stopped and got held up at immigration when his identity was mistaken. He tweeted about the whole incident, angrily detailing the ordeal for his followers to read.
Oprah's OWN Twitter Mistake
After realizing he was embarrassing the Orioles, he deleted the tweets.
Oprah Winfrey may be the most successful media mogul in the world, but in 2011, she was still figuring out Twitter. Winfrey got owned by Nielsen after she sent out a tweet telling everyone to turn their Nielsen boxes to OWN, her network which she was struggling to get off the ground. Nielsen heard wind of the poaching and immediately ordered her to take down the tweet.
Hayley Williams' Major Mistake
At the time, Winfrey apologized in a second tweet stating, "I removed the tweet at the request of Nielsen. I intended no harm and apologize for the reference."
Paramore's lead singer Hayley Williams exposed herself on Twitter for the whole world to see. At the time, her song "Airplanes" was a bonafide hit, and after exposing herself her fame almost came crashing down.
Reggie Bush's Nazi Problem
After she realized what happened, the singer deleted the tweet and claimed it was a mistake.
The Miami Dolphins running back Reggie Bush caused some giant backlash after he used the term "Nazi" liberally in a tweet. Back in 2012 Bush tweeted, "Shoot Drogba might even hit a Nazi chick tonight in Germany!
Rob Kardashian's Embarrassing Relationship Tweets
LOL." Fans in Germany weren't LOL'ing over this tweet. He later sent out a second tweet after deleting the first one stating people were being "a bunch of sensitive cry babies."
The first rule of being famous and in a relationship with someone who's also famous? Don't tweet about it! Rob Kardashian completely embarrassed himself when he tweeted the private details of his relationship with ex Rita Ora.
Susan Boyle's Album Promo Takes A Wrong Turn
In 2012, he angrily said, "She cheated on me with nearly 20 dudes while we were together. I wonder how many she will sleep with now that we apart . But I mean 20!?"
What's worse than having a name that won't work as a promo hashtag? Creating your own hashtag without realizing the embarrassing puns it'll cause. Singer Susan Boyle learned a hard lesson in online trolling when she created the hashtag #Susanalbumparty.
Bow Wow's DUI Goes Live
When her team realized it was being turned into "su's anal bum party" they took the tweet down, but unfortunately the damage was already done.
Rapper turned actor Bow Wow embarrassed himself when he tweeted about being drunk. After he was caught and charged with a DUI, Bow Wow decided it would be okay to post about his charge on Twitter.
Hulk Hogan Exposes His Daughter Brooke
While it wasn't confirmed that he was still drunk/high when he tweeted out about getting pulled over, the tweet was scrubbed from his account the next day.
What's worse than revealing yourself to the world? Having your father do it for you. WWE wrestler Hulk Hogan turned a few heads (and then some) when he posted a revealing image of his daughter Brooke online.
Azealia Banks' Racist Tweets
After Hogan realized tweeting out a revealing photo of your daughter for all to see is just gross, he decided to delete the tweet.
Rapper Azealia Banks found herself in huge (albeit familiar) controversy when she attacked One Direction's Zayn Malik on Twitter. In June of 2016, her account was suspended after she targeted Malik in a series of racially-charged tweets. The Pakistani singer barely retaliated and instead let Twitter handle the mess.
Kenneth Cole's Odd Promo
Although Banks has returned to Twitter, she's still very messy with her tweets.
Fashion designer Kenneth Cole wanted to promote his spring collection, but instead, he ended up causing an uproar when he took a chance on self-promotion in light of the Arab Spring protests. At the time he said, "Millions are in uproar in Cairo.
Courtney Love Talks About Her Vagina To Lana Del Rey
Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is not available online." Most accused Cole of being tacky and he later apologized.
Courtney Love is usually a walking controversy, but she took it to the next level during a tweet session with Lana Del Rey. The Hole frontwoman told Lana that the song she sang "Heart-Shaped Box" is actually about her vagina. At the time she tweeted, "You do know the song is about my vagina right?
Throw down your umbilical noose so I can climb right back on top of which some of the lyrics about my vagina I contributed." She then went on to tweet that the next time she covers the song, she should think about her vagina. Yikes.