In 2022, newlyweds Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari—who tied the knot about a month prior—dressed up as billionaire J. Howard Marshall and American model Anna Nicole Smith. The couple was famous for their extensive age gap which was a subject of much controversy and met with claims that Anna Nicole Smith was a gold digger.
Yawn. Year after year, C-list celebrities don this inappropriate costume—to the point where it's more boring than inappropriate. It's time to find a new offensive costume idea, guys. This one was just tasteless, however, given that Anna Nicole Smith had been dead for five years, making a joke of her when she can't even defend herself.
The concept of a Dr. Fauci costume alone isn't offensive...but the way Brody Jenner did it just has "YIKES" written all over it. As you can see, Brody Jennifer is wearing an absolutely terrifying Dr. Fauci mask while carrying a Covid shot filled with what looks to be blood.
Between Trump and Kanye's recent, extremely public antisemitic statements, this is just not a good look, Bro(dy). Read the room. Halloween is supposed to be a time for fun, not a time for making uncomfortable political statements - leave that for the table at Thanksgiving dinner, where we won't know about it.
Jeff Ross dressed as Queen Elizabeth II, who recently passed away at the age of 96. The costume itself wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the surprise in Jeff's Instagram video, as the camera pans over to a casket with "Prince Phillip" inside. Too soon, dude. Too soon.
And his publicity stunt has aged poorly considering the death of the queen in 2022. Would he have made the same joke if they both died that year? Probably, to be honest. This low-tier comedian has to do something to get people's attention and stay relevant, so what better way than to shock people by exploiting someone's death?
Super-model Heidi Klum has become sort of a Hollywood legend for her extensive and ornate Halloween costumes over the years. As a matter of fact, most of the time you can’t even tell who is behind the makeup or masks. For many, this time, Heidi Klum had gone much too far with it.
Heidi’s idea to dress up as the Goddess Kali fell flat as Hindus around the world took offense in 2008. Hmmm... Maybe it was the severed heads, or the knife-wielding that did it...or the fact that she took a sacred Hindu diety and turned it into joke. One of those.
If anyone wondered where Katy Perry and her husband Orlando Bloom, stood on the whole vaccine debate, they made it pretty clear on Halloween 2021. The couple dressed up as "Dr. DILF" and a "Katy & Perry" vaccine. Fan reactions were mixed. As paranoia about the vaccine was at an all-time high, these costumes didn't help.
Some loved the couple's costume and commented things like, "RELATIONSHIP GOALS" on Perry's Instagram post. Some, however, were skeptical about the inspiration behind the costume. Some questioned whether Bloom was really dressed up as "Dr. DILF" or the now-controversial figure Dr. Fauci. One user commented, "Wow how much money did you get paid for this? Lmao."
Ah yes, another Anna Nicole Smith costume. How can people be so dense? This costume is tasteless on so many levels. Although Bebe calls Smith an "icon" in her Instagram caption, this feels more like poking fun at someone who passed away tragically (and under mysterious circumstances) than it does a tribute.
And who on earth is the old guy in the photo? Her grandfather? A paid actor? She gave credit to the photographer, makeup artist, hairdresser, stylist, flowers, and production—but not to the old guy! Hopefully she paid him, because he didn't even get a tag. The irony is that Anna Nicole Smith was more of an icon than she is.
Steve-O took a turn for the utterly disgusting with his Sasquatch costume. The actor posted this photo on Twitter with the caption, "Thanks so much to about 100 dudes who donated their [hair] to my epic Halloween costume! Sasquatch lives!!! Woohoo!!!" The world laughed and was disgusted all at the same time.
If we were wearing other people's hair, not so sure we'd be that excited. But to each their own, Steve-O. But the question remains - is that all really other people's hair? With it being Steve-O, there's a high probability. In all honesty, however, we really don't want to know at all.
In 2016, actress Hilary Duff and then boyfriend, Jason Walsh, donned sexy matching Pilgrim and Indian costumes. Pretty insensitive at the time, considering that the North Dakota pipeline protests were growing more and more volatile. And then you also have to take into consideration the cultural appropriation aspect of it all.
They won the prize for being the first celebrities to apologize for a Halloween costume faux pas in 2016, considering they released their apologies on their separate Insta accounts on All Hallows Eve. Hopefully, someday, people will realize that dressing up as another race is not really a costume. But, probably not.
Okay, so maybe this one isn’t so much controversial as just in bad taste. The sight of OJ alone is enough to make some people cringe but aside from that, this costume was just plain creepy. The ex-con dressed as a gynecologist named Dr. Seymour Bush. Ah yes, so classy that is...
O.J. Simpson, formal football super-star-turned-con, is most commonly known now for having killed his wife and her lover and for the most part got away with it. His costume was gross to be sure, but instead of being offended by the costume, bar guests lined up for selfies and autographs.
As if he didn’t have enough controversy in the media already at the time, in 2012, Chris Brown made headlines once again. This time it was for his choice of Halloween costume. Brown and a bunch of his friends thought it would be cute to dress up as Muslim terrorists for Halloween in 2012.
The internet did not agree. And luckily, we can all agree on what we would like to do if he ever touches Rihanna again. Seriously, someone needs to get this guy out of our sight and moreover, out of the public spotlight.
In 2014, then honorary Kardashian, Scott Disick thought it would be fun to play Arab Sheik for Halloween. He posted a pic of himself in costume with the caption, “We getting Arab money tonight.” And the results of such a scene should be pretty clear to the rest of us.
While many didn’t see any harm in the costume, there were many who were disappointed with the reality star’s choice of cultural appropriation. Disick never apologized for the costume, but eventually, Khloe Kardashian did once she realized their faux pas. But hey, what is life but not one lesson after another?
In 2013, Orange Is the New Black hit Netflix and the world had a new obsession. Apparently, Julianne Hough was also obsessed and decided to portray one of her favorite characters of the show for Halloween that year—complete with blackface makeup. She may have been too ignorant to see what she'd done, but it didn't get past anyone else.
Another celeb who arrived at the party at the same time tried to get to Hough quickly to tell her to take off the blackface makeup before photos were taken, but alas, she was too late. The photos of the celeb in blackface quickly made the rounds on social media and Hough was forced to post a formal apology the next day.
This one is still debatable. In 2016, when High School Musical alum, Ashley Tisdale, attended gal pal Vanessa Hudgens's Halloween bash dressed up as a sugar skull, the Internet was set on fire immediately. Her lack of understanding of the Day of the Dead and the fact she's wearing makeup like it's a costume are the biggest issues here.
Many were angry at the actress for cultural appropriation. Still, many defended the actress, stating that it was considered a costume in Mexican culture as well. And despite the popularity of Day of the Dead imagery during Halloween time, it's important to remember that Day of the Dead is not Halloween, it's just a holiday the day after it.
In 2018, Olympic gold medalist, Shaun White, attended a Halloween party dressed as Simple Jack from the 2008 film Tropic Thunder. Almost immediately the Special Olympics blasted the Olympian for setting a bad example. They made a statement to Huffpost.com, “…Disability is not a joke, nor should it be a punchline…”
The three time Olympic champion apologized almost immediately. His response was, "I owe everyone in the Special Olympics community an apology for my poor choice of Halloween costume the other night," White said in a statement on social media. "It was a last minute decision. It was the wrong one. The Special Olympics are right to call me out on it."
If you know Jeff Ross, you probably aren't surprised to see him on this list again. Okay so this wasn’t for Halloween, but it’s pretty controversial. Jeff Ross showed up to Roseanne Barr’s comedy roast dressed as Jerry Sandusky—or more commonly known to Penn State fans as JoePa—with two boys dressed in nothing but towels and football helmets.
The comedian, who admitted his costume was controversial, claimed that he was making a statement. We think the statement may have been lost, here. And we also doubt that Jeff Ross cares about children as much as he cares about making a shocking scene. Ultimately, that's all it really comes down to.
In 2008, Chrissy Teigen and John Legend attended a Halloween party, Legend as a cowboy and Teigen in full Native American regalia. This immediately sparked outrage across the interwebs. Given that Chrissy Teigen is not Native American, we have yet another case of cultural appropriation. Luckily, she sees that now.
Although it sparked controversy, Teigen stated that “It was, to me, very cute, but now thinking back I’d never do it again. Bad idea, Chrissy, bad idea!” I think though, it's just about time we retired the whole Cowboy and Indian imagery at this point. John Wayne is dead and it's no longer the 1950s.
In 2013, Tia Mowry decided to dress as a traditional Japanese Geisha for her Halloween party. Many of her Insta followers were not impressed by the blatant display of cultural appropriation. One user commented “My race and the races of others are not a costume for a cheesy holiday.”
Another commented, “Please do some research on cultural appropriation. Geisha costumes are not cool, girl.” However, the actress wasn’t daunted because she never removed the post nor apologized for it publicly. Has her career suffered from it or improved? I'd say neither because I still don't know who she is.
Okay, so this one wasn’t Halloween either, but it’s pretty offensive. During the 2014 Ebola pandemic the EDM-pop duo, The Chainsmokers, dressed up as “Ebrola” health care workers while playing at a frat house. The pun may have seemed like a good idea after a few beers or twenty, but nobody else liked it.
The epidemic at that point had so far claimed more than 5,000 lives and was nothing to sneer at. However, these guys found a way to turn it into a joke and never apologized. Diseases aren't funny - plain and simple. Get it together, celebrities and have some empathy.
Real Housewife Luann de Lesseps landed herself in a pot of boiling hot water in 2017 when she attended fellow Housewife, Dorinda Medley’s Halloween party. Indeed, in the episode, another fellow Housewife can be overheard saying that, “Luann’s costume is so disrespectful.” Good thing she spoke up or they'd all be in hot water.
What set off her fellow castmates? Luann dressed up as Diana Ross, complete with a giant, black afro. The former Countess apologized and said, “I’m horrified! I never meant to hurt anybody’s feelings.” The costume was definitely tasteless, and we cannot fathom what she was even thinking. Do these celebrities really not understand how blackface is offensive?
And once again, we have another white woman dressed up as a Native American like its a costume. In 2014, singer Ellie Goulding made a faux pas by not only dressing as a Native American, but also by posting a now-deleted photo of herself on Instagram dressed up with the caption saying, “Chief.”
She then posted a second now-deleted photo wearing a large tribal headpiece that included beading and feathers. Her followers were quick to criticize the star and she quickly deleted the photos. She then defended herself, saying, “I only wore that beautiful unauthentic headpiece for about 5 minutes,” but then also agreed to donate to a Native American charity.
In 2010, Bill Murray hosted the Crossroads Guitar Festival in Bridgeview, Illinois on June 26th, 2010. Unfortunately, he chose to show up dressed as Jimi Hendrix in full blackface. Maybe not as egregious as some of the cases on this list but you can tell he definitely darkened his skin a bit.
Although this took place before celebs were shamed across social media, when the photo of Bill as Jimi did make its rounds on the interwebs, the backlash was minimal and many took it in the spirit in which Bill probably intended in the first place. Nevertheless, he seems to be facing worse allegations now that he likely won't escape.
Ummm. Like… Duh. Apparently big sister didn’t learn from little sister’s mistake from 2010 because in 2015, Nicky dressed up as a Native American at the 2015 Casamigos Halloween Party. We wish we could say this is the end of all the Native American celebrity costumes, but we don't want to lie to you.
You would think that with the world becoming more multiculturally diverse and aware that celebrities (who are supposed to be role models) would be a little more sensitive to the subject. But evidently, they are not and think they are immune to such criticisms. Just because you donate to charity here and there, doesn't mean you can be racist.
This one is pretty gross and we say that not because we have any great love of Kanye. Colton Haynes of Teen Wolf fame has a long history of intricate Halloween costumes, sometimes they’re weird, sometimes they’re funny, and sometimes they’re just downright offensive. For this Halloween, he'd taken things way too far for his costume.
In 2011, Haynes had thought it would be cute to wear a long, gold chain, black sweatsuit, and gold-rimmed sunglasses, complete with blackface to dress as Kanye West. Then he turned around the next year and put on blackface again to dress up as Mahatma Gandhi! Celebs never really learn...
There's so much going on here as it is but Jason Aldean's costume still doesn't get by us. In 2015, Jason Aldean dressed up as Lil Wayne, complete with blackface, dreadlocks, and bling and headed out on the town in Nashville with a group of friends. The Internet reacted swiftly and angrily.
Eleven months later, the country singer issued an apology that was not an apology at all. “In this day and age people are so sensitive that no matter what you do, somebody is going to make a big deal of it… If that was disrespectful to anyone, I by all means apologize.”
Yeah...that doesn't sound like an apology though...
Kate Hudson got some major backlash after she dressed up for Halloween as the Rajneeshees. It is a cult that was featured in the Netflix documentary, Wild Wild Country. She posted the Instagram picture with the caption from the cult's leader, "Don't be worried about the future. Live this moment so totally that the next moment comes out of it golden."
As you can imagine, people weren't a fan. Critics accused Hudson of being insensitive and noted that the cult has committed several crimes over the years, including poisoning local townspeople. Emulating a group that's committed bio-terrorism just isn't okay, Kate. Then, quoting the man as if he was a good person? That's gonna be a no from us.
Overall, this was just a bad decision. Rachel Dolezal by herself is offensive. She was an equal rights activist who presented herself as a black woman despite the fact that she was born to two white parents. Being that she's pretty controversial, Kelly Osbourne dressing as her for Halloween landed her in some hot water.
It doesn't help that a week prior to that, Kelly Osbourne posted a photo of Dolezal when she was younger (with very light skin and blonde hair) next to Dolezal today. This meant that Osbourne knew what Dolezal was doing, but decided to throw on a curly wig and call it "#CallMeRcahel"
We're not sure what's worse about this one: the fact she did it at all or the fact it happened on TV. Kenya Moore, famous for her role in The Real Housewives of Atlanta, went on the show dressed as a "warrior princess." It was complete with a full outfit and a headdress.
Later, after she was called out, she posted a Twitter post that stated, "I want to apologize for inappropriately wearing the Native American headdress as a costume. I now realize that this was both disrespectful and insensitive." Wait, she needed to be told that it was awful to do?
Just days before Halloween in 2016, Chris Hemsworth shared his biggest costume faux pas — his Native American costume. This came during a post with Taika Watiti where he held a sign saying he "stands with those at Standing Rock." In the description of the post, he brought up when he attended a "New Year's Eve" party that was themed after the Lone Ranger.
He humbly admitted, "I was stupidly unaware of the offence this may have caused and the sensitivity around this issue. I sincerely and unreservedly apologise to all First Nations people for this thoughtless action." At least he told everyone about it before we pulled it up from the dust.
This one may seem like a stretch, but it really isn't (and we'll tell you why). Back in the early 2000s, Gwen Stefani went through a phase when she loved Asian culture, specifically Harajuku culture. That being said, she went a little overboard with it, turning real live people into dolls. That's why she's on this list, as she used them as part of a costume.
Even the women, who were later dubbed Love, Angel, Music, Baby, admitted that Stefani didn't treat them with respect and that they felt more like part of a costume that fetishized their culture. For that reason, we're putting her on this list. That being said, she also dressed up in Harajuku attire, so she just overall crossed the line.
Comedians definitely risk crossing the line, but something like this should have been obviously bad. Jimmy Kimmel — yes, the late-night TV show host — once dressed up as famous basketball player Karl Malone during a skit on The Man Show. Even back then we knew that blackface was poor taste, so why did he do it?
We're sure that people threw out the excuse of "boys will be boys," but that's not really gonna fly here. Jimmy Kimmel apologized for his skit, but he honestly never should have done it in the first place. That's just a line you don't cross, comedically or otherwise. Just plain gross.
So the Jewish people aren't really unfamiliar with being treated awfully, but this? This has gone too far. Many Jewish fans have come out to criticize Macklemore for his anti-Semitic caricature. There's zero excuse for this move. Macklemore said he "chose the costume pieces at random" in an attempt to surprise fans.
Well, he certainly shocked a lot of his fans. There was no way that these pieces were chosen at random. We don' know if it was a joke gone badly or what, but Macklemore decided to defend his position. Although, eventually he did apologize for offending anyone. Just look in the mirror before walking out on stage, man.
You're telling us that at no point, Lili looked at herself or these photos and went "wait...there's something wrong here." She never should have gotten this close to the idea. Let's discuss the situation. Her Halloween costume this year was this little "demon" that was the "color of her soul." After posting it on Twitter, she got tons of backlash.
People immediately began accusing her of blackface in an awful way. Many people argued that she didn't have anything to apologize for, but she still went ahead and posted an apology on her Twitter. She stated, "I did not mean for my tweet to come off that way. I can see how it was interpreted as being insensitive, completely."
Mark Wright faced a ton of backlash in 2021 when he posed as rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine for Halloween. This comes only a few years after Tekashi was charged in 2015 for the use of a child in a inappropriate performance. Wright claimed the Halloween costume was inspired by his 2020 video "Goomba," but that doesn't mean it isn't in poor taste.
Soon after the backlash started, Wright disabled comments on his photo, which was captioned "Happy Halloween," while tagging 6ix9ine in the photo. Now, he deleted it, but the internet doesn't forget. Later, he apologized for the photo and costume altogether. Have we forgiven him? Kinda, but only because we forgot about him.
