Being a celebrity doesn't make you exempt from consequences, and it shouldn't. After making racist comments or being involved in racist situations, many celebrities have had to face the consequences of their actions and found their careers affected by the things they said or did to people of color. Not only have many celebrities had to face public backlash, but they've also lost their television gigs or sponsorships after they were caught exhibiting racist behavior.
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Many companies have taken a stand and let go of talent who expressed racist views or had done so in the past. Celebrities like Rodner Figueroa and Paula Deen were fired from their jobs for comments that got called out for being racist. Society and fans are putting their foot down and demanding that companies hold their talent accountable for the remarks they say and things they have done that have hurt other people. Scroll through to see which celebrities have lost their jobs or have faced consequences for alleged racism.
Gina Carano was booted after sharing a horrible post on social media.
She played the role of Cara Dune on The Mandalorian for two seasons. Then in February 2021, she shared a social media post that compared being a Republican nowadays to being Jewish during the Holocaust and was promptly fired.
“Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future,” a Lucasfilm representative shared in a statement. “Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”
Nick Cannon was fired for making anti-Semitic statements.
In 2020, Nick Cannon was fired from the VH1 show Wild ‘N Out for anti-Semitic statements he made on his podcast Cannon’s Class. At first, Nick wouldn’t apologize for his comments, but after meeting with Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean at Simon Wiesenthal Center, and Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, and others, he apologized via Twitter and "committed to deeper connections, more profound learning and strengthening the bond between our two cultures today and every day going forward." Since then, the production of Wild ‘N Out has resumed with Nick as the host. MTV Entertainment Group explained its decision to work with Nick again with a statement saying that he has "taken responsibility for his comments" and "worked to educate himself."
Rodner Figueroa was fired for a comment he made about Michelle Obama.
Rodner was fired from Univision's show El Gordo y La Flaca for a comment he made when a makeup artist transformed himself into Michelle Obama. “Well, watch out, you know that Michelle Obama looks like she’s from the cast of Planet of the Apes, the movie,” Rodner said. After a forced hiatus of two and a half years, he announced that he would be part of the cast of Telemundo's Al Rojo Vivo with María Celeste Arrarás.
Jessica Mulroney lost two gigs.
TV personality and Meghan Markle's best friend Jessica Mulroney was said to have used her privilege to silence an Instagram influencer, a Black woman named Sasha Exeter. The influencer accused Jessica of threatening her on Instagram after Sasha posted a call to action regarding the Black Lives Matter. Canadian network CTV canceled Jessica's upcoming reality series, I Do, Redo, and she resigned from her job on Good Morning America.
Megyn Kelly was fired from NBC.
Megyn Kelly was fired from NBC after making controversial comments defending blackface and Halloween costumes during an episode of the Today show. “Megyn Kelly Today is not returning,” an NBC statement said. “Next week, the 9 a.m. hour will be hosted by other Today co-anchors.” The host claimed that blackface was acceptable when used in Halloween costumes, saying it was “OK when I was a kid as long as you were dressing like a character.” Yikes.
Roseanne Barr's show was canceled.
Roseanne's use of Twitter cost her her career. ABC canceled her sitcom series revival Roseanne in 2018 after she compared President Barack Obama’s top adviser Valerie Jarrett, who is Black, to an ape. The spinoff The Conners was picked up without her.
Paula Deen's contract with the Food Network was canceled.
Paula Deen came under fire for admitting to saying the N-word during a deposition in a discrimination lawsuit brought by a former employee, which caused the Food Network to not renew her contract. The celebrity chef and cooking show host then was in hot water again for her son using brown face in 2015 when she posted a photo to her official Twitter and Facebook accounts showing her and her son Bobby dressed up as Lucy and Ricky Ricardo from I Love Lucy. Bobby's skin was painted a dark shade of brown to try to imitate the character of Ricardo, who was Latino.
David Ponce was suspended from his novela.
Telemundo suspended five actors, including David Ponce, and two presenters for making an offensive gesture after South Korea's win against Germany at the 2018 Russia Soccer World Cup in July of that year.
Carmen Aub was part of the group.
Actors Carmen Aub, David Ponce, Alejandro Félix, Iván Arana, and Antonio López Torres from the series El Señor de los Cielos were suspended after pulling their eyes to the side as they celebrated the Korean team's 2-0 victory in July, which allowed Mexico to advance to the knockout stages in the championship.
Chef James Tahhan was suspended from his job.
Chef James Tahhan wasn't fired, but he faced a three-week suspension. The Telemundo personality was suspended from his job as a host on Un Nuevo Dia after he and his co-worker, meteorologist Janice Bencosme, made what appeared to be racist gestures against the Asian community on live TV during coverage the 2018 World Cup.
Janice Bencosme also faced the consequences.
After three and a half weeks, Chef James Tahhan and Janice Bencosme returned to Un Nuevo Día after they were suspended for making gestures considered racist by the Asian community living in the US. “The two will return to their work on Un Nuevo Día on Monday,” said a company executive in July 2018.
Samantha Ware claimed Lea Michele was hurtful to her on the set of 'Glee.'
Actress Samantha Ware claimed she was mistreated by the actress while on the set of Glee. Lea Michele addressed the situation and said she didn't remember the exchanges with the actress. "What matters is that I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people," she said. HelloFresh ended its partnership with her. "HelloFresh does not condone racism nor discrimination of any kind. We are disheartened and disappointed to learn of the recent claims concerning Lea Michele," the company posted on Twitter. "We take this very seriously, and have ended our partnership with Lea Michele, effective immediately."
Hartley Sawyer was fired from 'The Flash.'
The actor was fired from the CW superhero show after three seasons, after a series of his old tweets resurfaced that date back to 2012 to 2014. The messages referenced assault, misogyny, homophobic slurs, and racism, according to The Hollywood Reporter. In a statement, CW producers Warner Bros. Television, Berlanti Productions, and Eric Wallace confirmed that he would "not be returning for Season 7" of the show. "Words matter. The CW is committed to making our social pages a safe place for our fans and talent. We will not tolerate and will block racist or misogynistic comments as well as any hate towards the LGBTQ+ community," the network wrote in a message on Twitter.
Stassi Schroeder was fired from 'Vanderpump Rules.'
Vanderpump Rules cast members Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute were let go from the Bravo reality show. The firings come after Faith Stowers, who also appeared on the show, revealed that the women, who are original cast members, had taken what she said were racist actions against her.
Kristen Doute was also let go.
During an Instagram Live chat in June, Faith Stowers brought up a 2018 incident in which she said her castmates called the police to report her for crimes that she didn't commit. "Bravo and Evolution Media confirmed today that Stassi Schroeder, Kristen Doute, Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni will not be returning to Vanderpump Rules," a Bravo spokesperson told CNN at the time.
Abby Lee Miller was accused of racism.
Abby Lee Miller’s tenure at Lifetime came to an end in June 2020 following accusations of racism in an Instagram message by Adriana Smith, mother of Dance Moms Season 8 dancer Kamryn, that she posted in response to the TV personality’s Blackout Tuesday Instagram post in support of Black Lives Matter. The network announced it will not be going forward with a planned competition reality series that was announced in April. She also won’t be returning to Dance Moms.
MTV cut ties with Dee Nguyen.
MTV announced in June that it was cutting ties with Dee Nguyen, a star of its reality competition show The Challenge, over some insensitive tweets she wrote about the Black Lives Matter movement, which fans and co-stars said were offensive. "At this time our team wanted to kindly state we stand strong behind our fellow MTV client @deenguyen. We respectfully ask your outlet or business organization to let our team conduct an internal review as this situation unfolds," her management company BLVK Management wrote in a statement. "Our team is as shocked as you could imagine and would like to affirm that BLVK does not tolerate any form of racism what so ever we also have an obligation and duty to our clients to ensure their voices are heard and if any of them have made a mistake allow them to have the opportunity to fix it or clarify it – we are working on this as we speak and ask for some patience before any further decision is made. Thank you."
