10 Anti-Woke Celebs Who Faced Massive Backlash

WatchMojo

Get ready for a controversial countdown of celebrities who took a stand against "woke" culture and discover what happened as a result. Which one stands out to you the most? Share in the comments.

Transcript

00:00The fallout continues for Ye, formerly known as Kanye West,

00:04whose recent anti-Semitic comments have caused public outrage.

00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're diving into some of the most infamous times when well-known

00:13figures with a reputation for opposing woke topics found themselves facing public ire.

00:20It's important that there be both the reality and perception of trust for a wide range of viewpoints.

00:30Hulk Hogan Once a pro-wrestling icon,

00:32Hogan has seen his reputation fall in recent years.

00:47Starting back in 2015, he was fired from the WWE after he was recorded uttering a racial slur.

00:54In 2024, shortly after speaking at the Republican National Convention to endorse Donald Trump,

01:00Hogan went to a club in Medina, Ohio. He addressed the crowd,

01:04asking them if they wanted him to bodyslam Kamala Harris.

01:13Hogan went on to make other inappropriate and derogatory remarks about the former Vice

01:18President before performing an outdated and stereotypical greeting associated with

01:23Native American culture. The crowd was noticeably less enthusiastic. If Hogan thought his anti-woke

01:30behavior would be fine at WWE Raw in 2025, he was very mistaken, as he was greeted with a chorus

01:38of boos. Gina Carano

01:48After making the transition from mixed martial arts to acting, Carano's career was taking off.

01:54After all, she was cast in Deadpool and got a recurring role in The Mandalorian.

02:08However, away from the screen, Carano's views were often problematic. She mocked people

02:14choosing their own pronouns, criticized the Black Lives Matter movement,

02:18spread voter fraud theories, and belittled mask mandates.

02:32The tipping point was a post she made in 2021 where she compared the treatment of individuals

02:38with certain political views to the persecution of Jews during the Holocaust.

02:43This sparked the hashtag FireGinaCarano, which trended on social media. Soon after Carano was

02:49fired from The Mandalorian, she issued a lawsuit against Disney for wrongful dismissal, which is

02:55set to go to court in 2025. Sharon Osbourne

03:10Since joining the talk in 2010, Osbourne soon became known for her outspoken views.

03:27In 2021, on social media, she decided to defend Piers Morgan over his comments about Meghan Markle.

03:34After being asked by the other hosts on the show how she could support and validate him,

03:39given his racist stance, Osbourne got incredibly heated and victimized herself.

03:54Due to her behavior and negative response from viewers,

03:56CBS distanced themselves from Osbourne, who left the show shortly after. Since then,

04:02she has popped up in interviews to attack woke people and the language used in those spaces.

04:09Lawrence Fox

04:19Best known for his nine-year stint on the UK show Lewis,

04:22Fox's acting prospects vanished in 2020 during an appearance on the debate show Question Time.

04:39Fox dismissed claims that Meghan Markle faced racism from the British press,

04:51labeling such assertions as boring. He also accused an audience member of being racist

04:56for referring to him as a white privileged male. These remarks led to substantial public backlash,

05:07and Fox was dropped by his talent agency. He subsequently ventured into politics,

05:12founding the Reclaim Party in 2020, which focuses on opposing woke culture. This landed Fox a

05:18platform on GB News in 2022. In September 2023, during an appearance on Dan Wooten's show on GB

05:27News, Fox made misogynistic and crass remarks about a female journalist. Evidently, Fox's

05:33public standing and professional engagements have taken significant hits.

05:50Nowadays, Megyn Kelly is telling Netflix not to, quote,

05:54Woke-ify The Little House on the Prairie reboot. In 2017, Kelly left Fox News to join NBC,

06:02where she hosted Megyn Kelly Today. In October 2018, during a segment discussing Halloween

06:15costumes, she questioned why dressing in blackface for Halloween was considered

06:19inappropriate, referencing its acceptability when she was younger.

06:27Following widespread criticism, Kelly issued both an internal email

06:31and a public on-air apology. Despite this, NBC cancelled her show shortly after the incident,

06:37and she departed from the network in January 2019.

06:49Here's Morgan. According to Morgan, he was friends with Meghan Markle until she,

06:58in his words, ghosted him after meeting Prince Harry.

07:11From this incident, he began to publicly criticize Markle, accusing her of hypocrisy

07:17and attention-seeking. In 2021, while hosting Good Morning Britain, Morgan belittled Markle's

07:23mental health struggles that she detailed on Oprah with Meghan and Harry. This sparked

07:36colleague Alex Beresford to verbally lay into Morgan on-air. In response, the controversial

07:42host walked off stage. Later that day, Morgan quit the program in disgrace. As well as writing

07:48a book against woke and cancel culture, Morgan has used his talk show, Piers Morgan Uncensored,

07:53to complain about it. Roseanne Barr

08:04After starring in the sitcom Roseanne from 1988 to 1997, Barr was one of TV's biggest actors.

08:18In 2018, a revival of the show began airing. However, within days of the first episode,

08:24Barr tarnished her and the sitcom's reputation after tweeting a racist comment about Valerie

08:30Jarrett, a former advisor to President Obama. While she later apologized, the damage had been

08:36done and Roseanne was cancelled. It was rebooted as The Conners, with Barr's character having been

08:51killed off. After struggling to find work in the entertainment industry, in 2023, Barr released

08:58her stand-up special in which she criticizes cancel culture. She was also cast in the animated

09:03series Mr. Bircham, which follows a politically incorrect teacher, Mel Gibson. As far back as the

09:17early 90s, Gibson was uttering anti-woke statements before they had that moniker. When he

09:22made homophobic comments three years later, he followed up by arguing against ordaining women to

09:31the priesthood and claimed the Rhodes Scholarship was created to promote Marxism. In 2006, the actor

09:37was arrested for a DUI, during which he uttered anti-Semitic remarks. Any shred of reputation

09:43still left was tarnished in 2010 when Gibson was recorded issuing threats and racial slurs

09:49at his then-partner, Oksana Grigorieva. He was subsequently sentenced to 36 months of probation,

10:06along with community service and domestic violence counseling. Despite finding industry

10:10success in 2016 with Hacksaw Ridge, Gibson has hitched his support to anti-woke figures like

10:17Trump, earning himself the title Special Ambassador to Hollywood.

10:24Kanye West In early February 2025,

10:28a former beloved rapper went on a tirade on X, uttering one slur after another during a rant

10:34against everything and anyone he deemed an issue towards his views. This resulted in West deactivating

10:44his own account. Back in 2022, his problematic views became a big issue. While appearing on the

10:57controversial Alex Jones show Infowars, West, wearing a full head covering, went on an anti-Semitic

11:03rant, denying the atrocities of the Holocaust and declaring his admiration for Adolf Hitler.

11:09With so much retaliation, on top of a brief ex-ban, Adidas ended its partnership with West's

11:16Yeezy brand. Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to

11:33get notified about our latest videos. You have the option to be notified for occasional videos

11:38or all of them. If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on

11:42notifications. Elon Musk

11:46As a self-described free speech absolutist and a vanguard against the quote woke mind virus,

11:54Musk has focused a lot more on the culture war in recent years than anything else.

11:59This has led to accusations he's gone down a conspiracy rabbit hole and taken more extreme

12:10views. While conducting a speech at a rally for Donald Trump's 2025 inauguration, the billionaire

12:16seemingly issued a very particular salute, not once, but twice. Connected to Hitler during

12:28his reign, the gesture was condemned everywhere. Musk did not explicitly deny the nature of the

12:34gesture, but criticized the comparisons as politicized attacks, making uncomfortable

12:39jokes about the incident. His supporters claimed he was sending his heart out to those who supported

12:44him. Which other anti-woke celebrities who received backlash did we miss?

12:58Former footballer Matt Latizzi, musician Azalea Banks, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, or someone else?

13:04Let us know. Did you enjoy this video? Check out these other clips from WatchMojo,

13:09and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.

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