Top 30 Times Celebs Were CAUGHT Lying

If people already love you for your music, there’s no need to lie just to impress them. R&B singer SZA told fans she had never owned a TV, only for a picture to emerge of her supposedly with one she owned. Then, she said her freckles were natural (they weren’t), and that she wasn’t “a cake or pie person,” but had been photographed enjoying a birthday cake. That all paled in comparison to her claim of earning a degree in Marine Biology from an Ivy League school. In reality, she had enrolled in Delaware State University for that program, but dropped out to pursue music. Considering how well that worked out, it’s a mystery why she felt the need to tweak the story.

Architectural Digest’s “Open Door” series gives fans an inside look at their favorite celebrities’ homes. In March 2020, viewers got a peek inside Dakota Johnson’s stylishly private abode, complete with vintage sofas, a serene backyard oasis and a gorgeous green kitchen with a bowl of limes. While giving the tour, Johnson pointed out the limes and professed her undying love for them. However, it turns out that was a bold-faced lie. Apparently, the fruits had been placed there as set dressing without Johnson’s knowledge, and because they were too hard to ignore, she just went along with it. In fact, not only does she not love limes, she’s actually mildly allergic to them.

After giving birth to her first son in 1999, fans noticed something had changed about Victoria Beckham. Her bust size had gotten dramatically bigger. Sure, motherhood comes with a myriad of physical changes, but this one seemed a little too enhanced. Back then, Beckham shut down rumors of cosmetic surgery, insisting that she was “completely natural.” According to the former Spice Girl, her increased bust size was as a result of support tape and push-up bras. The denials continued until 2005 when her lawyers let it slip that she had actually undergone breast augmentation. But it would take until 2014 for Beckham to finally confess herself, revealing that she had removed the implants and regretted ever having them in the first place.

Getting into a prestigious university can be tough. Unless, of course, your wealthy, well-connected parents are willing to grease a few palms. The daughter of fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli[a] and actress Lori Loughlin, Olivia Jade was at the center of a scandal in 2019 due to her parents paying to get her admitted into the University of Southern California. Prosecutors charged them with fraud and bribery, and uncovered a fake athletic profile that painted Jade as a champion rower, despite never having played the sport. The deception also included staged pictures of Jade and her sister, Isabella, posing on rowing machines. Although both girls initially secured spots at USC, their enrollment didn’t last long once the truth emerged.

This former “Daily Show” correspondent was a shoo-in to take over as host until The New Yorker published an article accusing him of embellishing the stories in his stand-up routines. In Minhaj’s special “The King's Jester,” he recounted receiving an envelope of white powder he initially believed was anthrax. The powder then spilled on his daughter and he rushed her to the hospital only to learn it was harmless. He detailed another story about an FBI informant infiltrating his mosque and physically assaulting him. The New Yorker claimed that both stories were exaggerated, which Minhaj more or less acknowledged. However, in a YouTube video, he called the article “needlessly misleading,” insisting that his embellishments weren’t deception, but only a storytelling technique.

Born Hillary Lynn Hayward-Thomas in Boston, Massachusetts, this yoga instructor and entrepreneur eventually reinvented herself as Hilaria. In 2020, after noticing that Hilaria Baldwin had been misrepresenting herself as Spanish, one Twitter user compiled a thread exposing her. This included a clip from the “Today” show where Baldwin appeared to forget the English word for “cucumber” and various interviews of her speaking in a Spanish accent. This thread unleashed a wave of more inconsistencies, like her agency’s website falsely listing her birthplace as Mallorca and her willingness to let people believe she was half-Spanish. Baldwin eventually apologized for the falsehoods, explaining that though she was raised with both American and Spanish cultures, she should have been clearer about her actual roots.

Hulk Hogan may be a wrestling legend, but he’s also a master at rewriting history to make himself look cooler. Perhaps his most outrageous tale involved the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley. According to Hogan’s WWE-produced autobiography, Presley was a die-hard fan of his who would swing by to watch him wrestle live in Memphis. Sounds impressive, until you realize that Presley passed away in 1977, two full years before Hogan even set foot in a Memphis ring. That was far from his only lie. Hogan also claimed that both The Rolling Stones and Metallica wanted him as their bassist, and that he was Darren Aronofsky’s first pick for the lead role in “The Wrestler”. Both claims have since been debunked.

In arguably the most notorious scandal in figure skating, Olympian Nancy Kerrigan was ambushed in January 1994, leaving her with a bruised leg and her career in jeopardy. The attack was meant to sideline her from competing, and was eventually traced to Jeff Gillooly, the then-husband of Kerrigan’s rival, Tonya Harding. Naturally, suspicion fell on Harding. Although she denied prior knowledge of the attack, Harding later pleaded guilty to covering it up and earned a lifetime ban from the U.S. Figure Skating Association. For decades, she stuck to this story, until 2018 when she finally admitted, in an ABC special, that she knew about the plot beforehand. But of course, she maintained that she had nothing to do with actually carrying it out.

Prince Andrew shared a close friendship with disgraced financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein for years. During this period, he was accused of engaging in unlawful activities with Virginia Giuffre[d], allegedly with Epstein’s help. Following Epstein's death in 2019, Andrew sat for a disastrous interview with BBC’s “Newsnight,” where he denied having sex with Giuffre and claimed to have only met Epstein once after his 2008 conviction, to sever ties. That, however, turned out to be a lie. Court papers from a separate civil case revealed emails showing that Andrew arranged a meeting with Epstein in February 2011, despite his claims that their last encounter was in December 2010. Although he denied Giuffre’s allegations, he later settled with her, for a reported £5 million.

Back when “The Oprah Winfrey Show” ruled daytime TV, every author dreamed of making it onto Oprah’s Book Club. In September 2005, James Frey hit the jackpot when his memoir “A Million Little Pieces” got the coveted nod, turning it into a cultural phenomenon. The book detailed Frey’s experience with substance use disorder and journey to sobriety. However, a few months later, an investigative website accused Frey of fabricating multiple details in the book. Winfrey initially stood by Frey, but as the evidence mounted, she brought him onto her show and grilled him about the memoir’s authenticity. Frey ultimately admitted to embellishing parts of the story, leaving Winfrey and her audience disappointed. As a result, subsequent editions of the book included a disclaimer.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In addition to his roles in action films, Steven Seagal has also dabbled in reality TV, most notably the A&E series “Steven Seagal: Lawman.” The show trailed him as a reserve deputy sheriff in Arizona and Louisiana. During his work on the series, Seagal claimed to be a licensed law enforcement officer in California. But when the LA Times did a little research, they found no evidence of such certification in either California or Louisiana. In fact, his role as a sheriff’s deputy in Louisiana was purely ceremonial, handed to him by longtime sheriff, Harry Lee. Seagal has also claimed that he once helped train CIA agents, but shockingly, there’s no proof of that either.

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 two separate articles… so we guess that answers that.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 six-month suspension from the “NBC Nightly News,” and a serious blow to his professional reputation.

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.

[a]Giannulli = jee-uh-NOO-lee https://youtu.be/np_xXgI-bys?si=5TvruO_2FUBb5T5Z&t=55
LORE-ee LOCK-lin https://youtu.be/70pr0DzceiA?si=GLkiKaGt6mJHUSIh&t=6
[b]HUH-sun MIN-hawjjj https://youtu.be/nb_-5sspXwM?si=ehKsFQYAg_H4tCKe
[c]ee-LAWRRY-uh https://youtu.be/j9ULdRjmcww?si=Bli34ahVyTtfl0oz
my-YORE-kah https://www.dictionary.com/browse/mallorca
[d]joo-FRAY
£ = pound
[e]fry https://youtu.be/GKI5SlYdFN4?si=NxCvMBI9Sw_VPZ1X&t=4