10 Anti-Woke Celebs Who Faced Massive Backlash
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VOICE OVER: Ryan Wild
WRITTEN BY: Jordy McKen
Buckle up for a wild ride through Hollywood's most outspoken personalities! We're diving deep into the world of celebrities who dared to challenge politically correct narratives and faced serious consequences. From social media meltdowns to career-threatening backlash, these stars refused to back down from their controversial statements. Which celebrity's stance shocked you the most? Watch as we break down the most explosive moments of celebrity rebellion against "woke" culture. Prepare for some jaw-dropping revelations and unfiltered opinions that shook the entertainment world! Don't forget to share your thoughts in the comments below!
10 Anti-Woke Celebrities Who Faced Massive Backlash
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we’re diving into some of the most infamous times when well-known figures with a reputation for opposing ‘woke’ topics found themselves facing public ire.
Hulk Hogan
Once a pro wrestling icon, Hogan has seen his reputation fall in recent years. Starting back in 2015, he was fired from the WWE after he was recorded uttering a racial slur. In 2024, shortly after speaking at the Republican National Convention to endorse Donald Trump, Hogan went to a club in Medina, Ohio. He addressed the crowd, asking them if they wanted him to bodyslam Kamala Harris. Hogan went on to make other inappropriate and derogatory remarks about the former Vice President, before performing an outdated and stereotypical greeting associated with Native American culture. The crowd was noticeably less enthusiastic. If Hogan thought his anti-woke behavior would be fine at “WWE Raw” in 2025, he was very mistaken, as he was greeted with a chorus of boos.
Gina Carano
After making the transition from mixed martial arts to acting, Carano’s career was taking off. After all, she was cast in “Deadpool” and got a recurring role in “The Mandalorian.” However, away from the screen, Carano’s views were often problematic. She mocked people choosing their own pronouns, criticized the Black Lives Matter movement, spread voter fraud theories, and belittled mask mandates. The tipping point was a post she made in 2021 where she compared the treatment of individuals with certain political views to the persecution of Jews during the Holocaust. This sparked the hashtag “#FireGinaCarano”, which trended on social media. Soon after, Carano was fired from “The Mandalorian.” She issued a lawsuit against Disney for wrongful dismissal, which is set to go to court in 2025.
Sharon Osbourne
Since joining “The Talk” in 2010, Osbourne soon became known for her outspoken views. In 2021, on social media, she decided to defend Piers Morgan over his comments about Meghan Markle. After being asked by the other hosts on the show how she could support and validate him, given his racist stance, Osbourne got incredibly heated and victimized herself. Due to her behavior and the negative response from viewers, CBS distanced themselves from Osbourne, who left the show shortly after. Since then, she has popped up in interviews to attack woke people and the language used in those spaces.
Laurence Fox
Best known for his 9-year stint on the UK show “Lewis,” Fox’s acting prospects vanished in 2020 during an appearance on the debate show “Question Time.” Fox dismissed claims that Meghan Markle faced racism from the British press, labeling such assertions as “boring.” He also accused an audience member of being racist for referring to him as a “white privileged male.” These remarks led to substantial public backlash and Fox was dropped by his talent agency. He subsequently ventured into politics, founding the Reclaim Party in 2020, which focuses on opposing “woke” culture. This landed Fox a platform on GB News in 2022. In September 2023, during an appearance on Dan Wootton’s show on GB News, Fox made misogynistic and crass remarks about a female journalist. Evidently, Fox’s public standing and professional engagements have taken significant hits.
Megyn Kelly
Nowadays, Megyn Kelly is telling Netflix not to quote, “woke-ify” the “Little House on the Prairie” reboot. In 2017, Kelly left Fox News to join NBC, where she hosted “Megyn Kelly Today.” In October 2018, during a segment discussing Halloween costumes, she questioned why dressing in blackface for Halloween was considered inappropriate, referencing its acceptability when she was younger. Following widespread criticism, Kelly issued both an internal email and a public on-air apology. Despite this, NBC canceled her show shortly after the incident, and she departed from the network in January 2019.
Piers Morgan
According to Morgan, he was friends with Meghan Markle until she, in his words, “ghosted” him after meeting Prince Harry. From this incident, he began to publicly criticize Markle, accusing her of hypocrisy and attention-seeking. In 2021, while hosting “Good Morning Britain,” Morgan belittled Markle’s mental health struggles that she detailed on “Oprah with Meghan and Harry.” This sparked colleague Alex Beresford to verbally lay into Morgan on air. In response, the controversial host walked off stage. Later that day, Morgan quit the program in disgrace. As well as writing a book against woke and cancel culture, Morgan has used his talk show “Piers Morgan Uncensored” to complain about it.
Roseanne Barr
After starring in the sitcom “Roseanne” from 1988 to 1997, Barr was one TV’s biggest actors. In 2018, a revival of the show began airing. However, within days of the first episode, Barr tarnished her and the sitcom’s reputation after tweeting a racist comment about Valerie Jarrett, a former advisor to President Obama. While she later apologized, the damage had been done and “Roseanne” was canceled. It was rebooted as “The Connors,” with Barr’s character having been killed off. After struggling to find work in the entertainment industry, in 2023, Barr released her standup special in which she criticizes cancel culture. She was also cast in the animated series “Mr. Birchum,” which follows a politically incorrect teacher.
Mel Gibson
As far back as the early ‘90s, Gibson was uttering anti-woke statements – before they had that moniker – when he made homophobic comments. Three years later, he followed up by arguing against ordaining women to the priesthood and claimed the Rhodes Scholarship was created to promote Marxism. In 2006, the actor was arrested for a DUI during which he uttered anti-Semitic remarks. Any shred of a reputation still left was tarnished in 2010 when Gibson was recorded issuing threats and racial slurs at his then-partner, Oksana Grigorieva. He was subsequently sentenced to 36 months of probation, along with community service and domestic violence counseling. Despite finding industry success in 2016 with “Hacksaw Ridge,” Gibson has hitched his support to anti-woke figures, like Trump, earning himself the title “Special Ambassador to Hollywood”.
Kanye West
In early February of 2025, the former-beloved rapper went on a tirade on X, uttering one slur after another during a rant against everything and anyone he deemed an issue towards his views. This resulted in West deactivating his own account. Back in 2022, his problematic views became a big issue. While appearing on the controversial Alex Jones show “InfoWars,” West, wearing a full head-covering, went on an anti-Semitic rant, denying the atrocities of the Holocaust and declaring his admiration for Adolf Hitler. With so much retaliation, on top of a brief X ban, Adidas ended its partnership with West’s Yeezy brand.
Elon Musk
As a self-described “free-speech absolutist” and a vanguard against the quote, “woke mind virus,” Musk has focussed a lot more on the culture war in recent years than anything else. This has led to accusations he’s gone down a conspiracy rabbit hole and taken more extreme views. While conducting a speech at a rally for Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration, the billionaire seemingly issued a very particular salute, not once, but twice. Connected to Hitler during his reign, the gesture was condemned everywhere. Musk did not explicitly deny the nature of the gesture but criticized the comparisons as politicized attacks, making uncomfortable jokes about the incident. His supporters claimed he was sending his heart out to those who supported him.
Which other anti-woke celebrities who received backlash did we miss? Former footballer Matt Le Tissier? Musician Azealia Banks? Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe? Or someone else? Let us know.
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we’re diving into some of the most infamous times when well-known figures with a reputation for opposing ‘woke’ topics found themselves facing public ire.
Hulk Hogan
Once a pro wrestling icon, Hogan has seen his reputation fall in recent years. Starting back in 2015, he was fired from the WWE after he was recorded uttering a racial slur. In 2024, shortly after speaking at the Republican National Convention to endorse Donald Trump, Hogan went to a club in Medina, Ohio. He addressed the crowd, asking them if they wanted him to bodyslam Kamala Harris. Hogan went on to make other inappropriate and derogatory remarks about the former Vice President, before performing an outdated and stereotypical greeting associated with Native American culture. The crowd was noticeably less enthusiastic. If Hogan thought his anti-woke behavior would be fine at “WWE Raw” in 2025, he was very mistaken, as he was greeted with a chorus of boos.
Gina Carano
After making the transition from mixed martial arts to acting, Carano’s career was taking off. After all, she was cast in “Deadpool” and got a recurring role in “The Mandalorian.” However, away from the screen, Carano’s views were often problematic. She mocked people choosing their own pronouns, criticized the Black Lives Matter movement, spread voter fraud theories, and belittled mask mandates. The tipping point was a post she made in 2021 where she compared the treatment of individuals with certain political views to the persecution of Jews during the Holocaust. This sparked the hashtag “#FireGinaCarano”, which trended on social media. Soon after, Carano was fired from “The Mandalorian.” She issued a lawsuit against Disney for wrongful dismissal, which is set to go to court in 2025.
Sharon Osbourne
Since joining “The Talk” in 2010, Osbourne soon became known for her outspoken views. In 2021, on social media, she decided to defend Piers Morgan over his comments about Meghan Markle. After being asked by the other hosts on the show how she could support and validate him, given his racist stance, Osbourne got incredibly heated and victimized herself. Due to her behavior and the negative response from viewers, CBS distanced themselves from Osbourne, who left the show shortly after. Since then, she has popped up in interviews to attack woke people and the language used in those spaces.
Laurence Fox
Best known for his 9-year stint on the UK show “Lewis,” Fox’s acting prospects vanished in 2020 during an appearance on the debate show “Question Time.” Fox dismissed claims that Meghan Markle faced racism from the British press, labeling such assertions as “boring.” He also accused an audience member of being racist for referring to him as a “white privileged male.” These remarks led to substantial public backlash and Fox was dropped by his talent agency. He subsequently ventured into politics, founding the Reclaim Party in 2020, which focuses on opposing “woke” culture. This landed Fox a platform on GB News in 2022. In September 2023, during an appearance on Dan Wootton’s show on GB News, Fox made misogynistic and crass remarks about a female journalist. Evidently, Fox’s public standing and professional engagements have taken significant hits.
Megyn Kelly
Nowadays, Megyn Kelly is telling Netflix not to quote, “woke-ify” the “Little House on the Prairie” reboot. In 2017, Kelly left Fox News to join NBC, where she hosted “Megyn Kelly Today.” In October 2018, during a segment discussing Halloween costumes, she questioned why dressing in blackface for Halloween was considered inappropriate, referencing its acceptability when she was younger. Following widespread criticism, Kelly issued both an internal email and a public on-air apology. Despite this, NBC canceled her show shortly after the incident, and she departed from the network in January 2019.
Piers Morgan
According to Morgan, he was friends with Meghan Markle until she, in his words, “ghosted” him after meeting Prince Harry. From this incident, he began to publicly criticize Markle, accusing her of hypocrisy and attention-seeking. In 2021, while hosting “Good Morning Britain,” Morgan belittled Markle’s mental health struggles that she detailed on “Oprah with Meghan and Harry.” This sparked colleague Alex Beresford to verbally lay into Morgan on air. In response, the controversial host walked off stage. Later that day, Morgan quit the program in disgrace. As well as writing a book against woke and cancel culture, Morgan has used his talk show “Piers Morgan Uncensored” to complain about it.
Roseanne Barr
After starring in the sitcom “Roseanne” from 1988 to 1997, Barr was one TV’s biggest actors. In 2018, a revival of the show began airing. However, within days of the first episode, Barr tarnished her and the sitcom’s reputation after tweeting a racist comment about Valerie Jarrett, a former advisor to President Obama. While she later apologized, the damage had been done and “Roseanne” was canceled. It was rebooted as “The Connors,” with Barr’s character having been killed off. After struggling to find work in the entertainment industry, in 2023, Barr released her standup special in which she criticizes cancel culture. She was also cast in the animated series “Mr. Birchum,” which follows a politically incorrect teacher.
Mel Gibson
As far back as the early ‘90s, Gibson was uttering anti-woke statements – before they had that moniker – when he made homophobic comments. Three years later, he followed up by arguing against ordaining women to the priesthood and claimed the Rhodes Scholarship was created to promote Marxism. In 2006, the actor was arrested for a DUI during which he uttered anti-Semitic remarks. Any shred of a reputation still left was tarnished in 2010 when Gibson was recorded issuing threats and racial slurs at his then-partner, Oksana Grigorieva. He was subsequently sentenced to 36 months of probation, along with community service and domestic violence counseling. Despite finding industry success in 2016 with “Hacksaw Ridge,” Gibson has hitched his support to anti-woke figures, like Trump, earning himself the title “Special Ambassador to Hollywood”.
Kanye West
In early February of 2025, the former-beloved rapper went on a tirade on X, uttering one slur after another during a rant against everything and anyone he deemed an issue towards his views. This resulted in West deactivating his own account. Back in 2022, his problematic views became a big issue. While appearing on the controversial Alex Jones show “InfoWars,” West, wearing a full head-covering, went on an anti-Semitic rant, denying the atrocities of the Holocaust and declaring his admiration for Adolf Hitler. With so much retaliation, on top of a brief X ban, Adidas ended its partnership with West’s Yeezy brand.
Elon Musk
As a self-described “free-speech absolutist” and a vanguard against the quote, “woke mind virus,” Musk has focussed a lot more on the culture war in recent years than anything else. This has led to accusations he’s gone down a conspiracy rabbit hole and taken more extreme views. While conducting a speech at a rally for Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration, the billionaire seemingly issued a very particular salute, not once, but twice. Connected to Hitler during his reign, the gesture was condemned everywhere. Musk did not explicitly deny the nature of the gesture but criticized the comparisons as politicized attacks, making uncomfortable jokes about the incident. His supporters claimed he was sending his heart out to those who supported him.
Which other anti-woke celebrities who received backlash did we miss? Former footballer Matt Le Tissier? Musician Azealia Banks? Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe? Or someone else? Let us know.
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