Fame might seem easy on the outside, but 2025 showed that celebrity life is not just rainbows and puppies. Some scandals burn up in a week, while others smolder slowly, releasing all sorts of noxious gases. This year had a mix of everything: courtroom dramas, embarrassing social media moments, tone-deaf displays by wealthy people, and PR choices that make you question if anyone in the room thought twice about doing something stupid.
1. Leonardo DiCaprio
Being a climate activist is challenging when you (partially) own a luxurious hotel in Tel Aviv. Not only is it bad for DiCaprio’s karma to have a stake in a huge, juicy money magnet like that, but he’s also basically indirectly throwing his voice into the whole Israel/Palestine situation. A lot of his fans found it quite tone-deaf. Then, he attended Bezos’s Venice wedding in a freaking jet of all things, which resulted in his “climate activist club” card being shredded to pieces.
2. Rachel Zegler
Disney’s live-action Snow White was a flop, but for some reason, Disney was acting like people were dumb for hating on it. Zegler faced backlash from multiple directions, including casting complaints and criticism of the 1937 original. Then she cracked her knuckles and started saying all sorts of things on social media, including a Trump diss, and showing support for Palestinians. When the film flopped like a dead fish, it was clear that it was not what a $270 million remake is supposed to look like. Bad remake aside, it’s weird how technically being right can still tank your popularity if you start shouting at people on Twitter.
3. Blake Lively
If 2025 had a “Most Likely To Be Settled And Somehow Got Worse” award, Blake Lively’s legal saga would’ve been the only nominee. Her lawsuit against Justin Baldoni carried over from 2024, and Baldoni’s January 2025 countersuit basically argued that both of these knucklehead stars used their influence to seize control of a project, then tried to play dumb when things went sour. Then came yet another lawsuit, plus some other stuff, and in the middle of it all, she still landed a Time “most influential” nod, and publicly kept her comments short. You can tell she was trying not to ruin everything by saying too much.
4. Katy Perry
Katy Perry had two big problems last year: the internet’s attention span and the internet’s mean streak. First came the “space trip”—an eight-minute Bezos-funded flight framed as a celebration of women in aeronautics, which we the people were supposed to find “inspirational.” Then her album 143 and tour struggled to hit the pop-cultural dominance people expect from peak Katy. She responded in a long, heartfelt message that basically translated to: she’s human, she’s trying, and the internet turning her into a piñata says more about the internet than about her. But hey, at least she did start dating Justin Trudeau!
5. Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez
If reading the room were a sport, Bezos and Sánchez’s Venice wedding would have resulted in a red card and disqualification from the tournament. This lavish event served as a catalyst for the escalating pressures of society. Extreme wealth, private jets, locals feeling pushed aside, and the vibe of a city being treated like a rented set—all that and more did not make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. The entire event transformed from a “fairytale wedding” to a “billionaire-themed season finale.”
6. David Harbour
David Harbour’s reputation took a hit by association with… an album? Yes, that’s right. Lily Allen’s West End Girl was supposed to be “inspired by real events,” but the lyrics described an open marriage that felt like a slow-motion betrayal montage. When asked to clarify the details, David said that pain and mistakes are part of a path you take, so it’s better for you to accept them. Meanwhile, a separate report about alleged bullying and harassment involving a Stranger Things co-star went viral, adding even more smoke to an already headline-heavy year. Even if nothing “official” happened on that front, the combination was enough to keep his name in the “uh-oh” zone.
7. Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s downfall at this point is nothing short of legendary. By 2025, he was dubbed the “most unpopular public figure in America” in a Gallup survey. But then DOGE happened, after he poured a ton of cash into Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, and a controversial incident that sparked widespread backlash during a live TV broadcast. It felt like giving a derranged monkey a grenade, and the backlash didn’t just stick to Musk personally. Tesla’s brand (and more importantly, stock prices) took a hit too. And to that we say: well-deserved.
8. Sydney Sweeney
Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ad, intended to be a playful wordplay between “jeans” and “genes,” quickly veered out of control. Apparently, some people didn’t appreciate the pun and got too hung up on the subtext. Critics also argued the spot was overly sexualized for an awareness-driven campaign, which it wasn’t. Calm down. Sweeney responded by stating that she genuinely loves jeans (who doesn’t?), but 2025 demonstrated that, at times, public opinion cannot be easily overridden, especially when the most vocal minority consists of individuals with misguided views.
