Celebs & Athletes Who Aren’t As Angelic As You Thought

Published

4 years ago

June 1, 2020

Financially+ Staff

Admittedly, celebrities and athletes have a rough life, having to be in the spotlight all of the time. But being famous doesn’t give you permission to be hostile or rude just because you are a popular figure. And there’s many notable icons that aren’t necessarily on their best behavior.

Whether they’re out after a game, or leaving the Hollywood set, celebrities have to mingle with the general public at some point, and the following stories are moments when they lost their cool, just a little bit. Click “Start Slideshow” to learn who’s naughty during their time off.

Pierce Brosnan

When James Corden was asked to name a celebrity that was rude to him on his show, he told the story of how Pierce Brosnan shoved him deliberately at a U2 concert.

Aaron Rodgers

Not only has he had some pretty rocky relationships with former race car driver Danica Patrick and actress Olivia Munn, but Aaron Rodgrers is estranged from his entire family. That’s a pretty dire decision, considering he’s one of the NFL’s best. But they can live without him, apparently.

Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey is one to embrace her diva label, but most of those who are close to her say she can be very over the top. She’s known for saying she “has no idea who that is” about Jennifer Lopez and many others, and she’s gotten feisty with her staff on a number of occasions, especially after her infamous lip sync incident.

Conor McGregor

Whether you follow MMA fighting or not, you know that Conor McGregor and trouble go hand-in-hand. He’s been accused of sexual assault in Ireland, he threw a dolley at a bus, and even went to jail for breaking a fan’s phone. Oh, and he’s said racist things publicly. Ouch.

Tom Cruise

Most people know Tom Cruise is a Scientology fanatic, but the outburst on the topic have brought out his edgy side. He’s been hyper-critical of many other celebs over the years, and is over-controlling on the set. But in 2005, he crossed the line for criticizing Brooke Shield’s career, blaming her prescription meds for her stifled success.

Phil Mickelson

Phil Mickelson may be great on the links, but his attitude off of them is not. He’s known to talk trash to fellow players and fans alike, and often snubs the latter during autograph signings. Making things worse, he apparently has huge gambling debts and participates in insider trading.

Julia Roberts

Julia Roberts has been a Hollywood Golden Girl for years, but as time passed, people have come to realize that she’s a bit of a drama queen. Steven Spielberg noted that during the filming of Peter Pan, she would lock herself in her trailer for hours and show up extremely late, landing her the nickname “Tinkerhell.”

Pete Rose

No surprise to see Rose on this list, as he was effectively banned from baseball after being caught betting and fixing games. The former Reds star was a menace, and constantly put himself before others, like his buddy Ray Fosse, who he took out during the 1970 All Star game.

Katy Couric

Katie Couric is a familiar face in many homes, but she has a long history of lacking kindness or even manners with her fellow coworkers. In a book called The News Sorority, journalist Sheila Weller claimed Couric would criticize the way her fellow anchors would dres

Tom Brady

Tom Brady hasn’t been the classiest of Super Bowl Champion QBs, as he’s gotten in trouble during his time with the Patriots in the infamous deflategate controversy, as well as the recording scandal. Oh yeah, then he packed up and moved to Tampa Bay just because.

Mel Gibson

Actor and director Mel Gibson has made quite an impression in Hollywood, but not all good. He famously made a racist rant to cops when arrested for a DUI in 2006, and belittled the arresting officers as well. In another controversial video, he claimed men and women aren’t equal. C’mon Mel.

Dustin Johnson

Golfers aren’t typically the controversial sports figures, but a few top ones, like Dustin Johnson for instance, are guilty. Before his marriage to Paulina Gretsky, Johnson was known to abuse drugs and get flirtatious with other golfers wives, which is an obvious no-no.

Charlie Sheen

This Two and a Half Men actor went from being the highest paid on TV to fired when he publicly insulted the producer, wishing him “nothing but pain,” and insult the CBS network and Ashton Kutcher, who replaced him. He also had his famous “winning” and “tigers blood” rant, and is even a 9/11 denier. This doesn’t even include his numerous misogynistic statements.

Antonio Brown

Antonio Brown’s antics that transpired during his fallout with the Steelers were wild, as he threw the literal entire team under the bus and demanded a trade. He then proceeded to be booted from the Raiders, and was arrested after a standoff between him and the police at his home.

Jennifer Anniston

Actor Jay Mohr recounted a saddening incident before the two’s role in the 1997 movie Picture Perfect, where when Anniston saw him on the set, she said “You’ve got to be kidding me! Six guys they screen-test! Six…The one guy I hate, that’s the guy they hire!” This led to Mohr crying on a regular basis, he revealed on his podcast. Not too nice, Jennifer.

Michael Jordan

Though he may be the greatest to ever play, the latest Jordan docu-series proved he was a savage obsessed with winning. He wanted nothing but to win every time he stepped on the court, and he let his teammates hear it. He also paid hush money to an ex-girlfriend once.

Jennifer Lawrence

Something that stands out about Jennifer Lawrence is that she admittedly acts mean on purpose, as stated in her 2017 interview with Ben Stiller for Variety magazine. Lawrence said she acts “incredibly rude” when in public to scare off fan attention she doesn’t want, and claims if you approach her at dinner or want a selfie, she’ll wag her finger or just say “no!” She calls it her way of defending herself.

Serena Williams

While her greatness isn’t controversial in the slightest, Serena has been known to have temper tantrums on the court, smashing rackets and even calling the refs “liars and thieves” in the 2018 US Open. Therefore, her destructive nature when losing lands her a spot on the list.

Ellen Degeneres

Ellen may be a superstar, but that doesn’t mean she’s immune to criticism. She’s often pegged as having a meaner personality outside the public eye, and that came to light after an investigation was launched into her mistreatment of staff. Many others have shared their stories, especially on one twitter thread, where someone claimed she asked a restaurant to fire a waiter over her chipped nail polish.

Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods reputation as a womanizer, along with his multiple affairs made him national news for all the wrong reasons while ago, but even before and after then, his temper on the course has never been too calm, with him having multiple club-snapping incidents over the years.

Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow, another proclaimed diva, has a pretty high maintenance lifestyle that asks a lot of those around her. She once refused dinner at a Michelin-star restaurant in London, opting for room service, and Life & Style magazine claims she demands someone clean and dry the shower when she goes to the gym because she can’t bathe in “somebody else’s shower water.”

Terrell Owens

Terrell Owens stirred the pot with opposing defenders and fans alike, from his obnoxious touchdown celebrations, to admittedly spitting in the face of Atlanta cornerback De Angelo Hall. He always found a way to get under people’s skin, but maybe that’s why he was so good.

Johnny Depp

It’s not new information to hear Johnny Depp is a controversial figure, from his domestic assault allegations with his ex-wife Amber Heard, his recurring drug and alcohol abuse, to abusing his bodyguards and suing his own managers and lawyers. He also has had recurring destructive nature, most notably when he ransacked a hotel room in 1994.

Nick Saban

Even Nick Saban isn’t one to call himself a nice guy, as his blunt and direct ways with the media has often shown. His forceful tactics may work with the players, but even fans have gotten the short end of the stick, when Saban refuses to high five or let players interact with them at all.

Cameron Diaz

Apparently Cameron Diaz doesn’t have the most friendly attitude, but it’s her fan interactions that have spoken volumes. Since she gives most fans the cold shoulder, Autograph Collector ranked her as the #1 worst celeb to ask for an autograph, as she’ll instead lecture you on why autographs are dumb.

Mike Myers

Everyone knows Mike Myers’ funny side, but many have gone on record to say that working with him is a nightmare. One being Amy Hill, who co-starred with him in The Cat in the Hat, claiming he had a man following him giving him chocolates, made the crew wait on him, ignored everyone on set, then micromanaged them anyway. And this is apparently common behavior.

Roger Clemens

Performance enhancing drug use wasn’t the only thing that made people form a gripe with Clemens. He also famously threw a broken bat at Mike Piazza in the World Series, and that doesn’t even count his off-field behavior, where he’s been accused of a number of affairs.

Richie Incognito

Incognito is one of the biggest bullies in NFL history, as he once nearly drove a teammate to harm himself while on the Miami Dolphins. He also had many physically violent incidents on and off the field, purposely stepping on players and even once threatening to shoot up a funeral.

Zooey Deschanel

People have been wondering why Zooey Deschanel hasn’t been in anything since New Girl, and it may be for one particular reason – she reportedly throws temper tantrums when she doesn’t get her way. One fan recounted that when she was elated to meet her “hero,” but called her “downright nasty and rude.” Her castmates have also pointed out that she’s very controlling.

Tonya Harding

Harding’s world-famous story is one that lives in infamy, as her husband was instructed to deliberately injure competitor Nancy Kerrigan so she could win. For this she was banned for life, but she turned her rage into boxing in the 2000s, which I suppose is a way to channel anger?

Tony Stewart

Stewart’s highly controversial incident on a dirt track a while ago ended in the tragedy that killed Kevin Ward Jr., which only took place after Stewart had already rammed him out of the race. When Ward confronted him on the side of the track, he swerved and hit him, regrettably.

Ray Lewis

Widely regarded as one of the best linebackers ever, Lewis was arrested for murder at a Super Bowl party in 2000, and got out of it by reaching a plea deal and paying a settlement to pre-empt the trial. All this despite the fact they had both clothes and blood evidence.

Steven Seagal

Steven Seagal surely embodies the strongman persona, but it was his behavior in the 90s that gave him a bad rap. He gave numerous public interviews that were extremely critical of those he worked with, and to make things worse, he’s considered one of the meanest Saturday Night Live hosts ever, after apparently berating the cast and writing staff alike for every little thing.

Aaron Hernandez

Hernandez committed not just one murder, but another double homicide years before when he played for the Florida Gators. His affiliations went widely unknown for some time, but it’s been tied back to gang violence and drug dealing, which is undeniably repulsive behavior.

Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Everyone knows Floyd Mayweather is a cocky dude, but his history of legal troubles regarding domestic violence is definitely concerning, especially considering he’s a professional boxer. What’s not lost on people is that he flaunts his money, which typically nobody likes.

Hope Solo

Hope Solo is another athlete who was arrested for her involvement in a domestic violence incident, but she was also extremely harsh on her US Women’s Soccer teammates and coaches. She was known to bully them and publicly belittle them in postgame press events.

Kevin James

Even though Kevin James appears lovable on screen, some would highly disagree. According to a Reddit thread, James treats anyone who’s not a star very poorly. He apparently swatted fans’ hands away at a meet and greet event, and refused to face others. He also dismissed his own security on set, telling them to “stay away” aggressively.

Tobey Maguire

Everyone welcomed Toby Macguire into their homes when he played the beloved Spiderman, but in a memoir written by Molly Bloom, a famous poker hostess, she called him both the “worst loser” and “worst tipper.” He apparently asked her to “bark like a seal who wants a fish” when offering her a thousand dollar chip tip, and when she declined, he didn’t back down, saying “I’m not kidding. What’s wrong? You’re too rich now? You won’t bark for a thousand dollars? Bark!”

Spike Lee

While he may be an incredible documentarian, Spike Lee doesn’t have the best reputation among the public. He’s known to have given many unenthusiastic speeches at colleges, and often belittles the crowd, refuses questions, and cuts time short. But most notably, he stormed out of the 2019 Oscars after hearing his film BlacKkKlansman didn’t win best picture, even though he’d already won Best Director. Oh, he also tried to interrupt their speeches from afar.

Lance Armstrong

Perhaps the sporting world’s greatest cheater of all time, his use of performance enhancing drugs to win all sorts of races, including the Tour De France, and even though he tried to fool us all with his charity, relinquishing his titles was something that simply had to be done.

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