20+ Wild Celebrity Fails From This Past Year We Can’t Forget

This article appeared in Ballercap and has been published here with permission.

20+ Wild Celebrity Fails From This Past Year We Can’t Forget

Let’s be honest — we all make mistakes sometimes. For celebrities, though, those missteps are put under a microscope and displayed to the world. Some of these blunders are deserving of the criticism they’ve received, while others were blown way out of proportion. Take a look at the biggest celebrity fails of 2022 and decide for yourselves who truly deserved the backlash.

Adam Levine

Adam Levine is known to have been a womanizer, but everyone thought he’d changed when he met Behati Prinsloo. Unfortunately, the new-and-improved Adam Levine was short-lived. He was recently busted for sending intimate texts to a TikToker who then pretended that she was the victim.

Tiktok // @sumnerstroh

Adam then inexplicably tried to name his unborn child after the girl he was having an affair with. Really, the only innocent person in this story is Behati — Adam hasn’t changed and random TikTok girl needs to stop blaming other people for her actions.

Kim Kardashian

Billionaire Kim Kardashian tried to give advice to us little folk by saying, “Get your […] up and work. It seems like nobody wants to work these days.” Of course, Kim has never been employed in the types of jobs that most of us do, so she’s not really in a position to judge.

Twitter // @PopBase

Sure, there are those who can also get rich by “accidentally” releasing intimate tapes of themselves online. If that’s what Kim considers “work,” then she’s right — a lot of us don’t want to “work” at all.

Kylie Jenner

Kylie Jenner posted an Instagram photo of herself and her partner, Travis Scott, standing between two private jets with the caption, “You wanna take mine or yours?” People immediately began attacking the couple for boasting about having two private jets during both a financial and a climate crisis.

Twitter // @melaurdrama

While the post was insensitive, we can’t really blame Kylie for bragging about her wealth when that behavior has served her well in the past. Was she wrong? Yes. Is this the hill we’re willing to die on? Definitely not.

Jimmy Kimmel

Jimmy Kimmel decided to do an entirely unfunny bit at the Emmys in which he’d lay on the stage during the entirety of Quinta Brunson’s acceptance speech, completely stealing her thunder.

Twitter // @furyofthegodz

While the comedian doing something that simply isn’t funny didn’t shock anyone, people were (rightfully) disgusted that he made Quinta’s win all about himself. To be fair, Kimmel has since apologized and expressed regret. However, that’s a moment that Brunson will never get back.

Ned Fulmer

Ned Fulmer of The Try Guys was expelled from the group when leaked videos showed that he’d cheated on his wife with a colleague. What made this particularly scandalous was that Ned had marketed himself as the “wife guy” of the group, and constantly gushed about his family.

Instagram // @tryguys

Fulmer apologized by saying, “Family should have always been my priority, but I lost focus and had a consensual workplace relationship.” Don’t you just love how he says “lost focus” like blowing up his marriage is comparable to inadequately studying for a test?

Nick Cannon

We have to be honest — Nick Cannon didn’t actually do anything wrong. However, his actions just don’t sit well with us. The TV personality has 11 kids (and counting) with six different women, and four of those women were pregnant at roughly the same time.

Yahoo // Chance Yeh

While it’s pretty gross, all of those women were consenting and rumor has it that Nick is an excellent father. We guess it’s not really scandalous to enjoy procreating with everyone — we just wouldn’t want to be involved in the messiness.

Liam Payne

While Harry Styles is undeniably the most successful member of One Direction, Liam Payne insists that he was the intended star of the boy group. Liam says that Simon Cowell told him he’d created the band around Payne.

Twitter // @DaiTeDice

“He started with my face and then worked around the rest.” We have no idea what Simon did or didn’t tell Payne, but footage from The X Factor clearly shows that Nicole Scherzinger used Niall Horan as the basis for the band. Well, that’s awkward!

Kim Kardashian (Again)

Kim Kardashian wore Marilyn Monroe’s dress to the Met Gala, which required the reality star to lose 16 pounds in 21 days. Naturally, people were appalled that Kim was promoting her swift weight loss. We agree that Kardashian should’ve just worn a dress that fit her.

Twitter // @15zanaz

However, it’s Kim’s body and she can do what she wants with it. As for the claims that Kim’s rapid weight loss is a bad influence on young girls… they’re right. But, she’s a Kardashian — young girls should be directed elsewhere for body acceptance.

The Cast of ‘Don’t Worry Darling’

The cast of Don’t Worry Darling made everybody worry in what was arguably the most disastrous promotional tour in history.

Shutterstock // BEI

In fact, the drama was so bad that people theorized there was no movie, and instead Don’t Worry Darling was really just a series of red-carpet shenanigans. It turns out there was a film, though, and it wasn’t nearly as interesting as what went on behind the scenes.

Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis

One of the many disastrous events that happened in Don’t Worry Darling’s media tour was that Olivia Wilde was served custody papers while on stage. Wilde called the incident “vicious.” She’s completely right, of course — although her ex, Jason Sudeikis claims that the move was completely unintentional.

Shutterstock // Chris Pizzello

Jason insists that he was unaware of the situation in which the papers would be served and he was “very, very sorry.” We don’t think anyone’s the jerk here, we think it’s just a sad situation all around.

Harry Styles

Don’t Worry Darling’s most ridiculous scandal was that of Spitgate. Upon seeing a photo of Harry Styles getting ready to sit down next to Chris Pine, fans insisted that Styles spit on his co-star.

YouTube // Entertainment Tonight

Both men assured the public that it was just a strange photo and no spitting took place. In fact, a representative for Pine called the story “a complete fabrication.” It seems that the real fail here is that of the media — in its desperate attempt to create something out of nothing.

Chris Pine

Chris Pine went viral for seemingly zoning out at a press junket for Don’t Worry Darling. Given all the drama that surrounded that movie, we really can’t blame the actor for going to his happy place rather than dealing with the trainwreck he was contractually obligated to.

Twitter // @ItsScarlettCole

Pine made this face when Harry Styles said, “You know my favorite thing about the movie? Like it feels like a movie.” Okay, yeah, we can’t blame Chris for mentally peacing out.

Matthew Morrison

Matthew Morrison was fired as a judge from So You Think You Can Dance for sending “flirty” messages to a contestant. So, what was this horribly offensive text? “Hey, it’s Matthew. If you don’t mind, would love to get your number and talk you through some things.”

Instagram // @usweekly

Yeah, that’s it. It seems that the rumor mill got out of hand with this one, as Matthew says he was going to offer the contestant a job as a choreographer. We believe him since there’s really nothing unprofessional in this message.

Tristan Thompson

We all knew that Tristan Thompson was cheating on Khloé Kardashian. Yet, the basketball player really thought that he had everyone fooled. It wasn’t until Maralee Nichols got the results of her child’s paternity test that Tristan finally admitted he was the father.

Twitter // @Phil_Lewis_

Thompson apologized by saying, “Khloé, you don’t deserve this. You don’t deserve the heartache and humiliation I have caused you.” We agree, and we also don’t think Maralee and her baby deserved for Tristan to deny paternity.

Hilaria Baldwin

Hilaria Baldwin, Alec Baldwin’s wife, went viral when she (a bilingual Spanish and English speaker) forgot the word ‘cucumber’ in English. This became controversial because people who knew Hilaria accused her of faking her Spanish roots. In fact, the yoga instructor was born in Boston and people say she was an “archetypal northeastern prep schooler.”

Shutterstock // Stephen Lovekin

Hilaria explained that she grew up with deep connections to Spain and went there annually. Truthfully, people blank out on words all the time, especially if they know multiple languages. Let’s let this one go.

Kendall Jenner

A lot of people seemed to have cucumber-related fails this year, and another victim of the vegetable was Kendall Jenner. Kendall tried to make a snack by cutting a cucumber and instantly went viral. It’s pretty clear that Jenner has never had to cook for herself, as the reality star had no idea how to cut a vegetable.

Twitter // @KendallJenner

She was able to laugh about it, though, calling the incident “tragic” and even dressing up as a cucumber for Halloween! We can appreciate Kendall for not taking this too seriously.

Noah Schnapp and Doja Cat

Fans can’t decide who’s the jerk here. Doja Cat messaged Noah Schnapp, expressing interest in one of his co-stars. 18-year-old Noah then posted the conversation on his social media, which 27-year-old Doja called him out on.

Twitter // @imnotpopbase

Team Doja feels that a private message should’ve remained private (true). Meanwhile, team Noah says Doja shouldn’t have started a feud with someone so much younger than her. The truth is, she didn’t call him out that badly because “to be fair, this is like a kid. Noah, I don’t know how old he is, but he’s not even like over 21. When you’re that young, you make mistakes…” according to the rapper herself.

Drake

After being hounded by paparazzi for years, Drake seems to have somehow become one of them. The rapper posted a photo of a random woman at a restaurant, on his Instagram with the caption, “Tried to AirDrop this woman a pic of herself cause she’s a dime.”

(Left) Instagram // @champagnepapi | (Right) Instagram // @drakedointhings

This poor woman was just minding her own business and wanted to enjoy her meal, without suddenly becoming internet famous. Not to mention that Drake’s actions were super creepy and cringe.

James Corden

No one seems to truly understand what happened between James Corden and the staff at Balthazar restaurant, except for whoever was actually there. The way Balthazar’s owner tells it, James is banned for life due to being the “most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago.”

BuzzFeed // Todd Williamson

Corden, however, insists that “I haven’t done anything wrong, on any level.” Both sides have reason to lie — Balthazar for publicity, James to save his reputation — so we’ll probably never know who’s right.

Kim Kardashian (Yes, Again)

We all know that the Kardashian family is a brand, so why were we all surprised when Kim Kardashian photoshopped Khloé’s daughter True onto a picture of Stormi’s body?

Instagram // @chicagawest

Kim explained that it was all for the sake of her Instagram aesthetic. Even the biggest Kardashian hater has to admit that the family is a genius in marketing. That being said, can we all agree that it’s gone way too far now?

Elon Musk

Literally, everything that happened regarding Elon Musk and Twitter has our heads spinning. He was buying Twitter, then he wasn’t buying Twitter. He made a bunch of changes, some of which were never implemented.

Twitter // V

Now, Elon has decided to make a business decision based on a public poll in which he’ll resign from his position as CEO as soon as he finds someone that’s “foolish enough to take the job.” Honestly, as messy and chaotic as this all is, Twitter is a private company that Musk bought fair and square, so he can turn it upside down as much as he wants to.

Lily-Rose Depp

Lily-Rose Depp is an actress and model but we all know that she got her start by being the daughter of Hollywood icon Johnny Depp. Therefore, it’s natural that Lily-Rose participated in the great “nepo baby” argument of 2022, in which people expressed frustration about how many celebrities succeed due to nepotism.

Shutterstock // Matteo Prandoni

Depp said the sentiment “doesn’t make any sense” and argued that no one seems to care about nepotism in non-entertainment professions. Truthfully, this debate is entirely unimportant and there are way bigger things to worry about in life.

Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence sat down for an interview with Viola Davis in which Jennifer patted herself on the back for being the first woman to star in an action movie, breaking the glass ceiling. Wait, what?! Apparently, Lawrence has only ever watched movies that she’s starred in, which is why she’s completely unaware of all the action-hero actresses who’ve come before her.

Twitter // @FilmUpdates

After some strong backlash, Jennifer explained that she misspoke because she was nervous about being interviewed by legend Viola Davis. This seems like an honest mistake, albeit a conceited one.

Amber Heard and Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp spent the last few years having his career and reputation ruined, due to allegations made against him by his ex-wife Amber Heard. The public virtually attacked Depp, despite not having any evidence.

(Left) Twitter // @PamelaAverette | (Right) Instagram // @24sedam_showbiz

When it was revealed that Heard was lying, the public expressed regret for what they did to Johnny. They then turned around and made the exact same attacks on Amber. So, to be clear, none of us have learned anything.

Ne-Yo

According to Crystal Renay’s Instagram, her husband Ne-Yo has been cheating on her, as she’s revealed in a scathing post in which she details the pain the singer’s caused. Crystal wrote, “8 years of unknowingly sharing my life and husband with numerous women who sell their bodies to him unprotected… every last one of them!”

People // Kevin Mazur

Ne-Yo responded to the post with, “Personal matters are not meant to be addressed and dissected in public forums.” Oooh, so now he doesn’t want other people involved in his marriage.

Ezra Miller

It’s safe to say that everything Ezra Miller did in 2022 was a failure. From run-ins with the police to attacking women, to abducting a teen, Miller has displayed an inability to take care of themself.

Twitter // @IndieWire

The actor has stated, “I want to apologize to everyone that I have alarmed and upset with my past behavior. I am committed to doing the necessary work to get back to a healthy, safe, and productive stage in my life.”

JoJo Siwa and Candace Cameron Bure

JoJo Siwa publicly referred to Candace Cameron Bure as the rudest celebrity she’s ever met, a comment which seemed completely unprovoked. Candace reached out to try and make amends, in which she discovered that JoJo had met her years earlier at a Fuller House premiere.

(Left) Shutterstock // Image Press Agency | (Right) Shutterstock // imageSPACE

Apparently, when JoJo asked to take a picture, Candace declined. It’s pretty hard to judge Bure, as she has every right to decline a photo. Therefore, it’s safe to say that Siwa blew things way out of proportion.

Selena Gomez

Selena Gomez recently claimed that bestie Taylor Swift is her “only” friend in the entertainment industry, seemingly forgetting about Francia Raisa. Francia donated a kidney to Selena due to the actress/singer’s lupus diagnosis.

Twitter // @CNN

Selena responded to the backlash with “sorry I didn’t mention every person I know.” While we agree Gomez doesn’t need to list everyone she’s ever been friendly with, some recognition for the person who gave you an organ seems like something that shouldn’t slip your mind.

Ye

Where do we even begin with Ye (formerly known as Kanye West)? Ye started the year by harassing his ex-wife Kim Kardashian and her then-boyfriend Pete Davidson. He then went on to make inappropriate and untrue comments about a certain group of people.

Twitter // @Neil_Druckmann

Toward the end of the year, the rapper went on Alex Jones’ podcast, in which he praised a universally despised historical figure. Throughout this whole mess, Ye has been nearly incoherent and often contradicted his own words. Can someone get him some help, please?

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry chose to step down from their royal duties, out of a need for privacy both for themselves and their children. The controversial decision was mostly praised, as people were sympathetic to the couple’s desire to get out of the spotlight.

Twitter // @rachmeghan

That sympathy turned to confusion and contempt, as Meghan and Harry released a documentary about their lives, titled Harry & Meghan. Because, you know, the best way to obtain privacy is to invite an entire camera crew into your home.

King Charles

Apparently, there’s a royal teddy bear! A source close to the royal family revealed that King Charles has an emotional support plushie. “He still travels with a childhood teddy bear. He’s had it since he was a very small child…”

Pinterest // @huffpostuk

The source continued, “The only person who’s been allowed to mend King Charles’s teddy bear is his childhood nanny, Mabel Anderson, who he remains very close to.” Is it a bit strange? Sure. Is it going to ruin anyone’s day? Nope!

Pete Davidson

Given Ye (formerly known as Kanye West)’s meltdown, it was easy for Pete Davidson to play the role of a victim of the rapper’s harassment. While there’s truth to that narrative, Pete was recently outed as provoking Ye.

Twitter // @9HoneyAU

Davidson sent Ye a photo of himself in Kim Kardashian’s bed along with the message, “In bed with your wife.” Pete also allegedly got a tattoo with Kim’s children’s names — the children she shares with Ye. While this behavior doesn’t excuse Ye’s actions, it certainly sheds new (unflattering) light on Davidson.

Scott Disick

Two of Scott Disick’s exes, Kourtney Kardashian and Sofia Richie, got married shortly after breaking it off with the media personality. While it’s undeniably a fail, Disick was able to get in on the joke.

Instagram // @letthelordbewithyou

He posted a photo on Instagram with the caption, “In the 305 just call me good luck chuck,” referencing the movie Good Luck Chuck in which everyone the protagonist dates get married after dating him. We almost felt sorry for Scott, but then we remembered that he cheated on both women.

Balenciaga’s Supporters

Fashion company Balenciaga had a disturbing photoshoot in which children posed with gear usually reserved for adults to use during intimacy.

Facebook // News.com.au 

In an era in which people get canceled left and right over a poorly worded sentence or an honest mistake, Hollywood was shockingly silent over this ad. What happened to all the indignation and fight for social justice? It seems that certain celebs aren’t interested in that when it’s their own who’s messed up.

Katy Perry

In true Katy Perry fashion, her fail is a lot more lighthearted than other celebrity fails of the year. In fact, Perry’s blunder is downright funny! The singer quite literally fell out of her chair while judging American Idol.

Facebook // American Idol 

To be fair, Katy was dressed as Ariel from The Little Mermaid so her movement was hindered by the fin. Naturally, Perry had a good attitude about it and posted “Flippin’ your fins you don’t get too far” as a caption on ABC’s video of her fall.

Caitlyn Jenner

We’ve all been in that situation in which someone gets on our nerves so much that we’re willing to upend our daily routine just to avoid them. Well, celebrities are no different, as we learned from an interaction between Caitlyn Jenner and Lady Gaga.

Facebook // The QPD

The two celebs had an extremely awkward interaction in which Caitlyn asked Gaga why she doesn’t see her around at their local Starbucks anymore, to which Gaga replied, “I’ve switched baristas.” Ouch!

Emma Hernan

After Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez got back together, Emma Hernan (of Selling Sunset fame) somehow inserted herself into their love story. The reality star claimed that she almost thwarted Bennifer’s reunion, as Ben hit on Emma through a dating app.

Harper’s BAZAAR // Mitchell Haaseth

Affleck’s team quickly stated that Hernan was lying. The app itself, Raya, said that Ben hadn’t had an active profile in years. Emma’s since clarified that this interaction took place in 2019, but that’d mean it had nothing to do with JLo, who reunited with Affleck in 2021.

Everyone Involved in Pam & Tommy

The entire production of Pam & Tommy is an epic fail and never should’ve happened. The miniseries is meant to portray Pamela Anderson being exposed without her consent — by exposing Pamela Anderson without her consent.

Twitter // @goldenglobes

Yes, the Hulu series tells the story of the intimate tape of Pamela that circulated without her permission, essentially making the actress/model relive the experience. Anderson called the series “very painful” while those close to her said the show has caused “complex trauma.”

Beyoncé and Kelis

Everyone knows Kelis’s iconic hit “Milkshake”, which is probably why Beyoncé wanted to sample it for her song “Energy”. Kelis, however, didn’t exactly feel honored by having her music used.

Twitter // @PoopB4se

While Beyoncé’s record company has legal rights to the sample, Kelis insists that she was young and unaware while signing the contract. We’re sympathetic to Kelis’ plight, but we don’t think it’s Bey’s responsibility. Regardless, Beyoncé has since removed the sample from her album.

Machine Gun Kelly

In 2022, Machine Gun Kelly found himself paying for some comments he made back in 2013. MGK referred to a then-underage Kendall Jenner saying she was his celebrity crush — in the grossest way possible.

Twitter // @anynewsgr

“I’m not waiting till she’s 18, I’ll go now. I’m 23, dog, like, I’m not like a creepy age, like, you know what I’m saying? I’m 23, bro, she’s 17 and she’s, like, a celebrity. Like, there’s no limits right there.” Um, yes, yes there are.

Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi Goldberg recently displayed her lack of knowledge about, well, everything. She insinuated that certain events in history had nothing to do with a particular group of people — and she was wrong. Apparently, Goldberg doesn’t know the difference between various cultures, nor does she know basic history.

Reddit // u/MarionCotesworthHaye

To top the year off, Whoopi recently doubled down on her opinions, despite being suspended from The View last time. Clearly, she wasn’t canceled hard enough the first time around. Here’s hoping for 2023…

Leonardo DiCaprio

While Leonardo DiCaprio technically hasn’t done anything wrong, a lot of people lost respect for the actor in 2022. 48-year-old DiCaprio broke up with his model girlfriend Camila Morrone when she turned 25.

Instagram // @mediaplatform001

Morrone seemed to be the final straw, and people began to notice that DiCaprio keeps getting older but his girlfriends don’t. In fact, Leonardo rarely stays with a woman past her 25th birthday. Again, he may not be doing anything wrong, but we certainly don’t see him the same way anymore.

Amy Roback and TJ Holmes

Good Morning America anchors Amy Roback and TJ Holmes were having an affair with each other, despite being married to other people. Both marriages were destroyed, and Holmes and Roback were both fired.

Twitter // @rod4short

We agree completely that what they did was horrible and we don’t blame their spouses for leaving them. That being said, we don’t think people’s personal infidelities should impact their employment, assuming they kept things professional at GMA.

Shakira

“More money, more problems,” proved to be true for Shakira. The singer ran into some legal trouble related to tax evasion with the Spanish government. Shakira, however, claims that she’s done nothing wrong.

Twitter // @elespectador

With the threat of eight years in prison, Shakira is pleading her case in court. “I’m confident that I have enough proof to support my case and that justice will prevail in my favor.” Hopefully, this will all get sorted out in 2023.

Will Smith

Will Smith got offended by one of Chris Rock’s jokes at the Oscars. So, naturally, Will did the very mature and reasonable thing of walking up to the stage to slap Chris in the face. Smith then proceeded to receive an award that same night.

Twitter // @DiscussingFilm

To be fair, Rocks’ joke wasn’t great and we can see why Will was unhappy with it. If only there were a mature, reasonable, non-violent way to respond to someone who has upset you…