'Canceled' celebrities: where are they now?
After allegations of s-xual misconduct surfaced in 2017, Kevin Spacey's career suffered greatly. He was removed from the popular TV series 'House of Cards' and his role in the completed film 'All the Money in the World' was recast and reshot with Christopher Plummer.
In July 2023, a London jury cleared him of nine charges of s e x u a l assault. Even so, he has gone from one of Hollywood’s most successful actors to what The Telegraph in 2024 described as a ‘pariah.’ More allegations are being made and none of his recent films have had theatrical releases.
She faced severe backlash after posting a racially insensitive tweet in 2018. ABC responded by canceling her successful revival of the TV show 'Roseanne,’ and later created a spinoff, 'The Conners', without her involvement.
In 2024, she celebrated the launch of ‘Mr. Birchum,’ a politically incorrect animated show that made her return to TV sitcoms six years after her own cancellation. In a related interview with Newsweek, she promised a lawsuit against ABC and a tell-all book about her former co-stars from the show.
His high-profile legal and personal battles with ex-wife Amber Heard, which included allegations of abuse, led to significant public fallout. Depp was asked to resign from the 'Fantastic Beasts' movie franchise by Warner Bros.
In 2023, he was in Cannes for his movie ‘Jeanne du Barry,’ which opened the prestigious film festival. He has also been touring widely with his band Hollywood Vampires. In 2023, People reported that he was turning things around and was doing "fantastic."
Kanye West has faced backlash several times for his controversial statements and actions. His remarks on slavery, political choices and the Jewish people have drawn criticism, impacting his partnerships with fashion brands and music labels.
In 2024, he told TMZ he was just two months from declaring bankruptcy after he was 'canceled' for his antisemitic remarks the year prior. However, he credited fans for making his latest album ‘Vultures 1’ successful. It reached the number one spot in at least 100 countries on the Apple and iTunes charts, even though it was independently produced and wasn’t initially available on Spotify and YouTube.
The actress was fired from the 'Star Wars' series 'The Mandalorian' by Lucasfilm in 2021 due to her controversial social media posts on topics like COVID and pronouns, which were viewed by some as offensive and promoting misinformation.
In 2024, she officially filed a lawsuit against Disney and Lucasfilm for discrimination and wrongful termination with a bit of help from tech billionaire Elon Musk. She told 'The Post Millenial' that she had felt like she’d been alone in the desert, but now feels like she’s fighting for all those who had been canceled and gaining fresh momentum.
The 'Harry Potter' author has faced significant backlash due to her comments on transgender issues, leading to public criticism from fans and even actors from the 'Harry Potter' films.
While Rowling is still writing books and cashing in on ‘Harry Potter’ projects, she is also still in the thick of social media battles. In May 2024, when a random person commented "your downfall is so sad," she retweeted saying: "You’ve seen nothing yet. Wait til I hit rock bottom. It’s going to be spectacular."
After admitting to several incidents of sexual misconduct in 2017, Louis C.K. faced a major fallout. His movie 'I Love You, Daddy' was pulled from distribution and he was dropped by several major networks and production companies. He also had many appearances canceled.
While he may not be the most popular comedian in the world as he once was, a documentary about him called 'Sorry/Not Sorry' discussed how he was relatively quickly 'uncancelled' and how the women who came out against him faced backlash. Indeed, he did go back on a very successful tour, even selling out a 2023 performance at Madison Square Garden.
Dave Chappelle has faced criticism and calls for cancellation due to jokes in his comedy specials being perceived as transphobic by some audiences. Indeed, he faced at least one last-minute cancellation of his show over the remarks.
Today, many describe Chappelle as 'uncancellable' because he emerged relatively unscathed from the drama. Even fellow comic Jerrod Carmichael, who had criticized Chappelle in the press, apologized in 2024 for his remarks, calling Chappelle "genius" and "more important than ever" on a podcast.