Top 20 Times Celebs Were CAUGHT Lying

Top 20 Times Celebs Were Caught Lying

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most notorious moments in which celebrities weaved a tangled web of lies and were eventually caught in it. Politicians are exempt from this list because lying – or at least, the appearance of lying – seems to be the norm in that line of work.

#20: Tiger Woods

Needless to say, a successful marriage hinges on openness and honesty among all parties involved. Hence, it’s understandable why professional golfer Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren’s marriage fell apart when it was revealed that he engaged in extramarital affairs and lied about them. This shocking revelation came in 2009, after Woods crashed his car just outside his Florida home, triggering media scrutiny into his personal life. Subsequently, several women came forward alleging that they had had affairs with the golfer. Woods eventually owned up to the claims, admitting that he had lied to a lot of people, including himself. The fallout from the scandal not only cost him his marriage, but it also had significant consequences for his career.

#19: Star Jones

The long-running daytime talk show “The View” was designed as a platform for women to engage in candid discussions about various topical issues. But it turns out one of its original panelists, Star Jones, wasn’t so candid about her personal life. In 2003, Jones, who was once diagnosed as morbidly obese, began to lose weight in a rather dramatic fashion. According to her, this was the result of a strict dieting and exercise regimen. She also vaguely alluded to receiving a “medical intervention.” However, rumors persisted which seemed to suggest otherwise. Finally, in 2007, Jones confirmed the speculations, disclosing that she had indeed undergone gastric bypass surgery to help with her weight loss.

#18: Rick Ross

In 2008, a photograph emerged in the media showing Rick Ross dressed as a correctional officer. The rapper took offense to its publication, insisting that his face had been digitally manipulated onto someone else’s body by “online hackers.” In fact, he took things a step further by challenging anyone to provide solid proof that he ever worked in the prison system. Well, investigative website The Smoking Gun decided to take him up on the challenge. They unearthed his personnel record with the Department of Corrections, complete with his social security number and copies of his birth certificate. Faced with the overwhelming evidence, Ross confessed to his past job as a corrections officer in Florida between 1995 and 1997.

#17: Rebel Wilson

The film industry is often seen as a realm of smoke and mirrors– a reputation that was certainly not helped by Australian actress Rebel Wilson. Back in 2015, an Australian magazine alleged that Wilson had fabricated several aspects of her personal history. The actress had claimed to be 29 years old that year, and asserted that Rebel was her birth name. However, a former classmate countered this, stating that she was actually 36 at the time, and official records revealed her birth name as Melanie Elizabeth Bownds. In addition, Wilson’s claim of a rough upbringing in the quote-unquote “ghetto” of Sydney was debunked, as evidence pointed to a “very normal, upper-middle-class” background.

#16: Bow Wow

Sometimes, celebrities tell lies that seem understandable. Other times, such as in the case of Bow Wow, their fabrications are so ridiculous and unnecessary, they leave you wondering “why?” In 2017, Bow Wow shared a picture of a private jet on his Instagram, claiming he was flying to New York with the aircraft. Yet, shortly after, a fan spotted him seated in economy class on a New York-bound commercial flight. A quick reverse-image search revealed that the original picture Bow Wow posted was actually a stock photo from the website of a private transport service. This led to social media users ridiculing the rapper, sparking the #BowWowChallenge, in which they shared side-by-side pictures depicting a glamorous falsehood, alongside their mundane reality.

#15: Ryan Lochte

All eyes were on decorated swimmer Ryan Lochte at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. However, Lochte misused that attention and effectively derailed his career, after falsely claiming to have been robbed at gunpoint by individuals impersonating police officers. The incident generated international attention, but as more details emerged, it became apparent that Lochte and three other swimmers allegedly vandalized a gas station bathroom and were made to pay for the damages. Lochte eventually apologized for over-exaggerating his story and was charged in Brazil with falsely reporting a crime. Although the charges were later dropped, the repercussions to his career were severe: he lost multiple endorsements and received a 10-month suspension from competitive swimming.

#14: Brandy

In 2002, then 23-year-old singer Brandy appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” where she announced that she was expecting her first child with music producer Robert Smith. But that wasn’t her only big announcement. She also revealed that she and Smith had gotten married in a secret ceremony months earlier. However, it turns out only one of those statements was true. After their relationship ended, Smith admitted that they had actually never gotten married. This claim was later confirmed by Brandy to none other than Oprah herself. According to the singer, they had fabricated the marriage story to protect her innocent image, as she desired to maintain the perception of not having a child out of wedlock.

#13: The White Stripes

When Jack and Meg White first started gaining traction in the Detroit music scene as the indie rock duo The White Stripes, they made everyone believe they were siblings. This image persisted, even as the two rose to international fame. However, in 2002, a local Detroit paper did some digging and uncovered the truth: Jack and Meg were once married. They tied the knot in 1996, shortly before forming the band, and divorced in 2000, just as they began gaining widespread attention. Despite this revelation, they maintained that they were siblings. It wasn’t until 2005 that Jack publicly acknowledged the deception, stating that they had propagated the lie so as to be taken more seriously as musicians.

#12: Bill O’Reilly

Conservative journalist Bill O’Reilly has faced scrutiny over some of his exaggerated claims. In 2013, O’Reilly asserted in a book that he was present outside the home where George de Mohrenschildt fatally shot himself and had heard the shotgun blast. De Mohrenschildt had gained notoriety for his association with Lee Harvey Oswald before the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. However, this was later debunked as false. Then, in 2015, Mother Jones magazine published an article which disputed O’Reilly’s claims that he was on the Falkland Islands during the 1982 war. The controversy that ensued led O’Reilly to retract previous assertions that he had witnessed extreme violence during conflicts in El Salvador and Northern Ireland.

#11: Manti Te'o

In September 2012, Manti Te’o, the star Notre Dame linebacker gained public sympathy after choosing to continue playing, despite apparent news that his grandmother and girlfriend had died. Te’o’s girlfriend was supposedly a Stanford University student named Lennay Kekua, who succumbed to leukemia. However, whatever public favor the football player gained quickly evaporated when a media investigation revealed that Kekua never existed and the entire story was fabricated. Apparently, Te’o had been catfished by another individual and was the victim of an elaborate hoax. But he was also complicit, initially perpetuating the falsehood by claiming to have met Kekua in person, despite their relationship being solely online. The incident tarnished Te’o’s pristine reputation, and was later explored in a 2022 Netflix documentary.

#10: Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt

Though Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt would initially deny allegations of an affair, many did think it was a very big coincidence that the scandal broke out the same year that Pitt and then-wife Jennifer Aniston ultimately divorced. During the proceedings, Jolie would claim no infidelity took place and cited her father’s cheating on her mother as ample deterrent. And yet just a few months after the divorce was finalized, Jolie announced her pregnancy with Pitt’s child. So did they or didn’t they? Well, in 2008, both Jolie and Pitt would refer to “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” as the movie where they “fell in love” in 2 separate articles… so we guess that answers that.

#9: Lil' Kim

Some lies can get you jail time! That's what Lil' Kim found out during a court proceeding in 2005. She told a federal grand jury that her co-manager, Damion Butler, and bodyguard, Suif Jackson, were not involved in a 2001 shootout in front of radio station Hot 97 in New York. She also claimed to have not been on the scene or to know one of the suspects. But, Lil' Kim ran into big problems when security footage was released showing that not only was Kim there, but also, so were Butler and Jackson. This mis-recollection earned the rapper 366 days in prison, 30 days house arrest, and three years probation.

#8: Paris Hilton

After serving jail time, Paris Hilton appeared on “Larry King Live” to talk about the experience. During the interview, King asked the heiress if she had ever taken drugs, and twice she denied it, claiming all she's taken were meds for ADHD. Photos began to pop up showing Hilton smoking the green stuff though, and perpetrators of a 2008 robbery claimed to have found other narcotics in her Hollywood mansion. However, what cast the most doubt on Paris' drug-free claims was when she was arrested on suspicion of drug possession in 2010 – a suspicion cast due to 0.8g of the stuff being found in a handbag that also contained her credit cards, phone, and drivers license.

#7: Beyoncé

In a 2008 interview with Marie Claire UK, Beyoncé appeared to imply that some of the lyrics to her 2006 single “Irreplaceable” weren't actually aimed at Jay-Z. Prompted by an on-stage claim that Bey wrote the song for her “ladies”, Ne-Yo came forward saying he had written the lyrics himself, for himself. Ne-Yo went so far as to express regret for giving the song up, although he acknowledged it was better suited to a female artist. The singer also confirmed that Beyoncé re-wrote the song's harmony and melody lines, and thus, did in fact earn her song-writing credit – just not for the lyrics.

#6: Stephen Rannazzisi

Given the profound tragedy of the September 11 attacks, it’s certainly not a good idea to falsely claim to be a survivor. If only someone had told that to Stephen Rannazzisi beforehand. The comedian and actor had previously described working as an account manager at Merrill Lynch in the South Tower on that fateful day. He claimed to have narrowly escaped the building shortly before the second plane hit, citing the experience as his motivation to move to Los Angeles to pursue an entertainment career. However, a New York Times investigation proved that it was all a bold-faced lie. Not only did Rannazzisi never work for Merrill Lynch, the company didn’t even have offices in either tower at the time.

#5: Milli Vanilli

They certainly can't blame this one on the rain. Milli Vanilli was hot in the late '80s, but soon after their lip-synching facade began to crack. Charles Shaw, one of the actual singers, came forward in 1989 and revealed he was one of three vocalists who recorded the tracks. As the vocals were attributed to Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus, this got messy, fast. Morvan and Pilatus had to ultimately relinquish their Grammy, lawsuits were sprung on them and Arista Records, citing consumer fraud protection laws. While Morvan recovered from the humiliation, Pilatus did not, as he grappled with substance use disorder until his death in 1998.

#4: Kim Kardashian

In 2007, when Kim Kardashian was only semi-famous, rumors emerged about a sex tape made by her and her ex, Ray J. In an interview with Complex magazine, she publicly denied that any sex tape was made. Even worse, she denied it to her then boyfriend Nick Cannon. When the tape finally got leaked, Nick called it quits, saying it was mostly the deception that pushed him away. Despite claiming she wouldn't release a sex tape for any amount of money, Kim is reported to have settled for a $5m payout from Vivid Entertainment, and has long battled arm-chair speculation that she herself was directly involved in the leak.

#3: Jussie Smollett

One of the most confounding celebrity lies ever told remains that involving actor Jussie Smollett. In January 2019, Smollett made headlines after claiming to have been the victim of a hate crime in Chicago. Smollett alleged that he was attacked by two individuals who hurled homophobic and racial slurs, doused him with an unknown chemical substance, and placed a noose around his neck. The news sent shockwaves throughout the country, with many high-profile figures expressing their support. But as the Chicago PD investigated the incident, several inconsistencies in Smollett’s story emerged. That was because it was all staged. Smollett was subsequently convicted of felony disorderly conduct for lying to the police, effectively derailing his career.

#2: Brian Williams

In 2003, while on assignment in Iraq, Brian Williams was traveling on a military Chinook helicopter when the chopper ahead was hit by RPG fire. Williams reported a story to this effect at the time, but as the years passed, the story morphed until he was no longer a mere witness, but a victim of the attack. Williams chalked up the mistelling as a “bungled” attempt to thank a vet involved in the incident... an explanation that seemingly overlooked his past re-imaginings of the event. The fallout was a 6-month suspension from the NBC Nightly News, and a serious blow to his professional reputation.

#1: Lance Armstrong

Cancer survivor and Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong always maintained that his legacy was drug-free. But in 2012, after years of denying charges to the contrary, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency determined that was a lie. By October of that year, Armstrong had forfeited prizes and awards dating back to 1998, he was stripped of all seven Tour de France titles, and he was banned for life from Olympic sports. The IOC would later delete Armstrong's Olympic results and take back his bronze medal. Additionally, he was forced out of the foundation that once carried his name, lost multiple sponsorships, and even saw the episodes of Arthur he appeared in be banned, all due to this one massive long-running lie.

What other celebrity tales smell fishy to you? Let us know in the comments below.