Top 10 Celebrity Boycotts of All Time

If you don’t stand for something… you’ll fall for anything. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Celebrity Boycotts.

For this list, we’ll be looking at celebrities who boycotted or who are still boycotting companies, organizations, awards shows, people and in one case, a U.S. state.

Stevie Wonder
Yes, music legend Stevie Wonder boycotted an entire state. The move came shortly after the highly controversial George Zimmerman acquittal back in 2013. You see Zimmerman, who shot unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin during an altercation the year before, got off on the Stand Your Ground law, which was citd in the jury instructions. The legal justification allows defendants to protect themselves via force if they feel they are being threatened. Wonder, who was staunchly opposed to the ruling and by extension the state in which it took place, was quoted as saying “I decided today that until the Stand Your Ground law is abolished in Florida, I will never perform there again.” The man’s certainly got conviction!

Danny Glover
Fashion house and Hollywood A-list suit provider Hugo Boss found itself in hot water back in 2010. The company was on its heels after a proposed pay decrease for a Ohio based manufacturing plant was rejected by the Workers United Union. Instead of reconsidering, Hugo Boss announced its intention to close the plant - which would result in a loss of employment to hundreds of workers. That is, until Danny Glover stepped in. The actor threw his support behind the beleaguered workers and called for all celebs planning on attending the 2010 Academy Awards to boycott the company. The move brought massive attention to the issue, and a new three year contract was awarded in 2012.

Elton John
In 2015, founders Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana caused considerable controversy when they said that they “oppose gay adoption” and that they are against in vitro fertilization in a magazine. Elton John, who is not only an openly gay man, but also the father of two children born through in vitro fertilization, immediately called for a boycott of the brand. #BoycottDolceGabbana was soon making the rounds on social media and many celebs were quick to side with the legendary pop singer. Not going down without a fight, Dolce & Gabbana fired back with the hashtag #BoycottEltonJohn. Really? Didn’t anyone ever tell them you’re not supposed to pick a fight with a rocket man?

Jay-Z
In 2006, Jay-Z and many other members of the hip-hop community fired back at Cristal and by extension its manufacturer Louis Roederer, after managing director Frédéric Rouzaud made inflammatory comments in regard to the champagne’s association with the musical genre. Jay-Z’s response was swift and unmerciful: “I view his comments as racist and will no longer support any of his products through any of my various brands… nor in my personal life." Never one to mince words, Jay-Z would diss the brand yet again in his song “On To The Next One”.

Miley Cyrus
In 2013, Abercrombie & Fitch came under fire for not offering women’s clothing above size 10. This awareness of the company’s “no plus sizes” policy brought attention to CEO Michael Jeffries’ 2006 claim that A&F was designed exclusively for the “cool” and “popular” kids. Yikes. Once the media got word, celebs were soon boycotting, including Miley Cyrus. The influential young popstar quickly made public her intention to burn her Abercrombie attire. Wouldn’t you know it, plus sizes were soon offered and Jeffries was out. Of course, A&F were hardly the first to equate “skinny” with “cool”. Urban Outfitters was boycotted three years earlier by Sophia Bush for a shirt that read “eat less”.

Multiple Celebrities
The hugely popular social media site came under fire in 2012 when they announced that they would be changing their terms of use, allowing them to sell users pictures without notifying them; or for that matter, paying them! People were understandably pissed; and some of those people, unsurprisingly, were famous. Pink, actresses Kate Walsh and Olivia Wilde, model Bar Refaeli and countless other celebrities all threatened to leave the site. The pressure ultimately forced Instagram to come out with a statement promising to revise the language in the terms of use and make it clearer that they would not be selling user photos, just potentially using them in advertising.

Multiple Celebrities
The Grammys and hip hop have a troubled history. Will Smith and a number of other rap artists chose not to attend back in 1989 when they discovered that the groundbreaking decision to include a rap award would NOT be televised. Sadly, things haven’t changed much, as Frank Ocean, Kanye West and many more boycotted the 2017 ceremony. Why? Well, to put it in Ocean’s words, the Grammys don’t “seem to be representing very well for people who come from where [they] come from”. Considering the popularity of rap and hip hop, the lack of diversity in nominations remains troubling.

Multiple Celebrities
We’re living in a new world, plain and simple. A world where women should no longer be afraid to speak up when they feel they have been harassed by men in positions of power. Leading the way in this movement is actress Rose McGowan. She was one of the first to publicly denounce defamed film producer Harvey Weinstein, often using Twitter as a means for disseminating information. However the company suspended her account after she released a tirade of angry tweets aimed at Weinstein and his actions. In response to her ban, people began using the hashtag #WomenBoycottTwitter and on October 13th 2017 many women did just that. The boycott included numerous celebrities.

Multiple Celebrities
It didn’t take long for people to notice a major issue when the nominations for the 88th Academy Awards were announced. For the second time in two years, all acting nominees, as well as many of the directorial nominees, were white. The hashtag #OscarsSoWhite quickly began trending on social media, and soon after, many celebs publicly announced their decision to boycott the awards show. This included Will Smith, whose performance in “Concussion” had been snubbed, his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, director Spike Lee and many others. The following year the amount of black actors nominated was enough to set a new Academy record, but many feel that there’s still work to be done.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are few honorable mentions:

A Segregated Concert
Ray Charles

John Galliano
Natalie Portman

Chick-fil-A
Ed Helms

Multiple Celebrities
Yes, even presidential inaugurations can be boycotted. Donald Trump learned this the hard way in early 2017, when a slew of public figures and dozens of celebrities refused to appear at the event. This was in stark contrast to the presidential inaugurations of Barack Obama, which were both star-studded events. Likely raising Trump’s ire even more was the fact that the 2017 Women’s March, which took place the following day, was overflowing with high profile attendees. Of course you wouldn’t hear it from him, as former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer infamously claimed that it was “the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period”. We have our doubts.