Top 10 Times Celebs Called Out Toxic Exes

Between 2010 and 2018, this duo was on and off dating. But in 2016, while they weren’t together, they still made headlines. At the time, Bieber was dating Sofia Richie. And some of his fans weren’t too happy with him quickly moving on from Gomez and made their feelings crystal clear. This caused the Canadian singer to criticize his Beliebers on Instagram. Gomez took the opportunity to defend his fans and take a shot at her ex for posting regular photos of him and Richie. Upon seeing this, Bieber got his own revenge against Gomez. In the same Instagram post, he claimed she was using him for attention before backtracking his previous message against his own fans.

After going public in 2000, Timberlake and Spears’s whirlwind and denim-covered romance ended in 2002. Shortly after, he drew the public’s ire by smearing his ex in the music video for “Cry Me a River.” In 2023, after the two mended bridges by apologizing, Spears released her memoir, which contained several anecdotes that don’t make Timberlake look great. In 2024, just before performing the 2002 song about Spears at a gig, Timberlake introduced it by explicitly saying he didn’t want to apologize to anyone. Yikes. Referencing the gig video of her ex, Spears, after deleting her apology on Instagram, took a shot at him by asking him to bring it to court or go home and cry to his mom like last time.

If you break up with a musician, there’s a good chance they’ll make a song about it. So when Lovato and Ehrich called off their engagement in 2020, Lovato put out “Still Have Me,” which seemingly referenced their time together. Then the two used social media to take shots at each other. To make it more uncomfortable, Ehrich appeared to really enjoy the publicity. In 2021, the documentary series “Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil” was released. In it, Lovato talks about rushing into the relationship and how his post-breakup behavior affected them. They spoke about mourning who he was when they were together and the realization that they didn’t know who he really was.

The roles he often gets make Jonah Hill seem like a goofy and likable guy. But Brady paints a different picture. They dated in 2021 and broke up the year after. In 2023, the surfer went public with Hill's controlling messages. By weaponizing therapy language, Hill allegedly demanded Brady remove photos from social media of her surfing, claiming some images were explicit. He also criticized her for having friendships with men and women and dictated his boundaries. In the original post, Brady called Hill “emotionally abusive” and a “narcissistic misogynist.” She also implored others to get an exit strategy if they can relate to Hill’s rants from their partners.

In 2007, Mel B married film producer Stephen Belafonte, beginning one of the most difficult periods in her life. In 2017, the two divorced, with the Spice Girls member accusing Belafonte of emotional and physical abuse. After splitting, Mel B was left with little in her bank account and had to move in with her mom. But by speaking out against her terrible experiences, she became a patron of the domestic violence charity Women's Aid. The cathartic icing on the cake was having a tattoo featuring Belafonte’s name surgically removed. She kept the inked skin in a jar in her wardrobe.

In 2016, Azalea’s engagement with Young came crashing down in a big way. A video recorded by Young’s then-LA Laker teammate, D’Angelo Russell, was released online. It showed the NBA star bragging about cheating on Azalea multiple times. A couple of months later, the relationship was over due to “trust issues.” Not long after, the Australian rapper confirmed that they split after Young was recorded on their home security cheating on her. When she appeared on “Watch What Happens Live! with Andy Cohen,” Azalea stated she went further with her revenge by wrecking his stuff. After chucking items in the pool, she then created a fire pit and burned his designer clothing while sending him a video of the chaos.

After meeting on the set of “Honey Boy,” Twigs and LaBeouf dated for around a year before it ended. In 2020, the English musician filed a lawsuit against the American actor over alleged abusive behavior. Twigs says that LaBeouf knowingly gave her an STD, would wake her up in the middle of the night to accuse her of things and assault her, kept a loaded firearm next to the bed, and was controlling. In the aftermath, LaBeouf admitted he had been abusive to people around him for years and apologized for his behavior. However, he then denied the allegations Twigs put forward and sought treatment. The lawsuit is set to appear in court in October 2024.

In 2021, Woods confirmed that she had been assaulted by Marilyn Manson while they were in a relationship. After meeting when she was 18 and he was 37, they became engaged but split up in 2010. Wood stated the musician brainwashed her while committing his abuse, which he denies. As well as Wood, several other women have also come forward with allegations against Manson. After being dropped from acting roles and by his label, talent agency, and manager, Manson sued Wood for defamation. After a judge threw out large portions of Manson’s suit, in 2024 he was ordered to pay Wood $300,000 in legal fees.

Ike helped Ann Bullock by giving her the name Tina Turner, one of the few positives of their relationship. They married in 1962 and divorced in 1978, with Tina keeping her stage name. In 1986, Tina released her memoir which detailed the terrible abuse she sustained at Ike’s hands for years. The legendary musician wrote about leaving him in 1976 after a violent fight. Tina stated she received many injuries from Ike’s violence. He confirmed he had hit her in his autobiography. Before he died in 2007, Tina claimed Ike had asked her to tour with him. While she forgave him, she refused to renew that collaboration.

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

Simpson Deleted His Email Following His 2010 Controversial Interview

Moakler Shamed Barker After His Insulting TMZ Comments

After His Affair Was Discovered, Madix Called Him Out

Edwards Responded to a Presumed Insult With a Brutal Little Mix Song

At one point, the duo was the power couple of music after dating since 2007. However, the relationship came to a sudden and violent end in 2009. Rhianna and Brown were set to perform at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards. However, they pulled out after Brown attacked Rihanna, causing her to be hospitalized. She described Brown as having “no soul in his eyes” during the assault. Before she could testify in court, Brown pleaded guilty to the charges. He was sentenced to 5 years of probation, a year of counseling, 6 months of community service, and was issued a restraining order against Rihanna. After briefly dating again, in 2015, Rihanna stated they were no longer friends.