Why These Stars Got Banned from Entire Countries

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Entry DENIED! In this video, we're counting down 20 celebrities who were banned, deported, or denied entry into entire countries — whether due to past controversies, political reasons, or public backlash. From Claire Danes and Akon to Brad Pitt and beyond, these famous faces faced serious travel restrictions.  Some bans were temporary, others permanent — but all are shocking.  📌 Find out why these stars were turned away at the border — and decide for yourself: Were these bans fair or too extreme?  💬 Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!  #CelebrityBans #DeniedEntry #FamousBans #TravelBan #CelebrityControversy

Transcript

00:00Did you go to Manila again George? Oh no, I didn't even want to go that time.

00:03Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're looking at celebrities that are banned from entire

00:07countries. If she comes, she will die in Indonesia. For this list, we'll be looking at 20 famous

00:13people who have been denied entry into certain countries. This could be in the form of a visa

00:18rejection, deportation or an outright ban. We'll be considering permanent bans as well as temporary

00:24ones that were eventually overturned. Do you think any of these bans were justified? Let us know in

00:29the comments. Claire Danes, The Philippines. In 1998, Claire Danes was a fresh-faced 19-year-old

00:37actress, still riding the wave of her leading role in the 1996 film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.

00:43That year, she was cast in the movie Broke Down Palace and had to spend several weeks filming in

00:48Manila, the capital of the Philippines. I did it because I was foolish and because I was jealous.

00:55Danes later had very unflattering things to say about the city, painting a picture of a smelly

01:01and rat-infested place. And those are pretty kind words compared to how she described its people.

01:07Naturally, the Manila City Council was incensed and declared the actress persona non grata. She

01:13was prohibited from entering the entire country and all of her movies were banned from showing.

01:18If you are willing to serve her term and yours, your friend is pardoned.

01:26Martha Stewart, The United Kingdom. Martha Stewart packs quite a lot in her resume. A businesswoman,

01:32lifestyle guru, baker and an accomplished writer and TV personality.

01:36This is an odd dish because you'll never believe you can cook pasta in so little water with all the

01:42other ingredients. But unfortunately, her record also contains a felony conviction on charges related

01:48to stock trading fraud. In 2004, the successful entrepreneur was sentenced to five months in

01:54prison, but the consequences of her actions lingered much longer.

01:58If it was 2001, the food was expired in 1999. I mean, you would not want to eat that food.

02:04When she tried visiting Britain in 2008, it was reported that she was denied permission to enter

02:10because of her criminal record. Stewart was scheduled to make a speech at the Royal Academy and also

02:15planned to film episodes of her TV show. But those plans were given a great British chop.

02:21Tyler, The Creator. New Zealand. In 2014, New Zealand slammed its doors right in the face of

02:28sensational rapper Tyler, The Creator, and his hip-hop collective Odd Future. The group was billed as an

02:34opening act for a music festival headlined by Eminem, but had their visas revoked just one hour before the

02:40flight. Why, you ask? Well, it had something to do with a 2011 autograph signing session in Boston

02:47that became heated. I go to the airport two days later and cops show up like, hey, come here and

02:52put me in handcuffs and I'm like, oblivious. According to officials, Tyler and other members

02:57of Odd Future had incited violence at the session, and so they were deemed a threat to public order.

03:03I'm like, dude, why am I in handcuffs? Like, oh, because you started a riot.

03:08Fortunately, the ban was lifted in 2019, so not to worry Down Under fans, he's all yours.

03:14Gigi Hadid. China.

03:16In 2017, top American fashion model Gigi Hadid pulled out of the annual Victoria's Secret fashion

03:22show to the surprise of many. That is, except for social media users in China. A couple of months prior,

03:29Hadid had uploaded a video to her Instagram in which she was laughing while squinting her eyes,

03:34in imitation of a Buddha-shaped cookie. The clip quickly went viral, and the model was hit with a

03:39lot of backlash for what many deemed to be racially insensitive. She may have apologised and taken down

03:45the video, but what was done was done. Hadid was barred from entering the country and ended up missing

03:50the fashion show. Selena Gomez. Russia. LGBTQ plus rights have always been a very touchy subject in

03:57Russia. In 2013, the Eastern European nation enacted a federal law that was touted as a

04:03protection of traditional family values. But for many, this was deemed a crackdown on gay rights in

04:09the country. That same year, America's singer and actress Selena Gomez embarked on her Stars Dance

04:15tour in support of her solo debut album.

04:17However, the two shows she had scheduled in St. Petersburg and Moscow were cancelled after being denied

04:29a visa by Russian immigration. Gomez was reportedly prevented from entering the country due to her

04:36outspoken support and activism for the LGBTQ plus community.

04:41Martin Scorsese. China.

04:43Martin Scorsese films are usually shrouded in controversy for their glorified use of violence

04:49and drugs. But in 1997, Scorsese found himself in murky political waters with the release of the

04:55biopic Kumdun. The film, which was a spectacular failure at the box office, detailed the life of

05:01Tibet's 14th Dalai Lama and apparently portrayed China in a negative light. It was met with heavy

05:06backlash from Chinese authorities who effectively banned Scorsese. Together with the film's screenwriter

05:12and producers from ever stepping foot in the country.

05:15How has your stay been?

05:17Very interesting.

05:19Your factories are very impressive.

05:21It even caused a strong rift between China and Disney, who refused to stop distributing the film

05:26at the behest of the country's leaders.

05:28Elton John.

05:29Egypt.

05:30Being gay himself, Elton John has been a huge advocate for LGBTQ plus rights all around the world,

05:35and undoubtedly an influence in many artists' lives. His outspoken activism has attracted just as much

05:41disapproval as it has adulation.

05:43I said, you know, as long as I'm alive, I will fight for people's rights.

05:48The British singer and pianist was booked to play a private concert in Egypt, which was sponsored by

05:53Abu Dhabi telecommunications giant Etisalat. The Egyptian Musicians Union stopped the show from

05:59moving forward, however, citing John's sexuality and his anti-religious statements as their reasons for

06:05doing so. Such a clampdown on the freedom of expression just goes to show the continual need

06:10for the type of advocacy people like Elton John champion.

06:14Mike Tyson.

06:15New Zealand.

06:16In 1992, Mike Tyson was convicted of assault and sentenced to six years in prison. Although he only

06:22served three years before he was released on parole, Tyson's conviction would come to haunt him two

06:26decades later. The famed boxer was supposed to go on a speaking tour in New Zealand and Australia,

06:32but his plans were thrown up in the air when the New Zealand government banned him from entering

06:36the country because of his conviction. Immigration officials initially approved Tyson's visa as

06:41proceeds from his tour would have benefited a children's charity. But after the charity cut

06:46ties with him, they quickly reversed their decision. Too bad the indigenous Maori people never got to see

06:51the distinctive face tattoo they supposedly inspired.

06:55Katy Perry. China.

06:56I got the eye of the tiger, the fire, dancing through the fire.

07:03Gigi Hadid was not the only celebrity who was noticeably absent from the 2017 Victoria's Secret

07:09fashion show. Katy Perry was initially granted a Chinese visa, but at the very last minute,

07:13the Chinese authorities revoked it, which shocked everyone here in Shanghai.

07:17Katy Perry, who had been scheduled to perform at the event, was also a no-show.

07:21Perry's visa to China was revoked after it was discovered that she had worn a sunflower dress

07:25for an earlier performance in Taiwan. This was significant because the sunflower had been

07:30adopted as a symbol of hope for the anti-China protests in the island country. At some point

07:36during her Taiwanese concert, Perry also waved the country's flag, and while it may not have been

07:41her intention, this was seen as a political gesture, cementing the singer's indefinite ban from China.

07:48Lily Allen. The United States of America.

07:51The celebrity life has never been so appealing to Lily Allen. The English singer-songwriter has

07:55been open about her discomfort with the flashing lights of the paparazzi. This discomfort was made

08:00manifest when she allegedly assaulted a photographer outside a London nightclub. Her subsequent arrest

08:06remained on her record and came up when Allen tried entering the US from Australia a few months later.

08:13She was stopped and questioned by American authorities, who stripped her of her US work visa,

08:23essentially preventing her from performing in the country. Fortunately, the ban was lifted the

08:28following year, and all was well in Sheezus land.

08:31Justin Bieber. Argentina. Being launched into superstardom at a tender age can be quite overwhelming.

08:37This was true for Justin Bieber, who had multiple legal challenges around the world, even before he

08:43clocked 20. He's saying that it was just a misunderstanding. He thought that it was bra and

08:48panties that were thrown on stage because it happens a lot at his concerts.

08:51In 2013, the Love Yourself crooner got on the bad side of the Argentinian government. While on tour

08:56in Buenos Aires, Bieber's security guards, allegedly acting on his orders, attacked a paparazzo at a club.

09:03The singer was also accused of disrespecting the Argentinian flag after he kicked it off stage

09:08during one of his performances. All of this made a judge order his immediate arrest if he ever stepped

09:25foot in the country. With this much time passed, we wonder if it's too late for Bieber to say sorry.

09:33Jay-Z. China. As he constantly addresses drugs and violence in his music, no one really goes to a Jay-Z show

09:43expecting radio-friendly songs, but we guess the Chinese government missed the memo. In 2006, the rapper

09:49was scheduled to play a concert in Shanghai, which would have been his very first time performing in China.

09:54When my asthma was bad and my chest was weaving. But their never-idle block button was put to use

10:00once again, and he was denied permission to enter the country. According to the concert promoter,

10:05the gig was banned by the Chinese Culture Ministry because some of Jay-Z's songs contain too much

10:10vulgar language. So, just so we're clear celebrities, never reference Tibet, never talk to the Dalai Lama,

10:16never perform in Taiwan, and always make radio-friendly tunes. Got it?

10:20Boy George. The United States of America. The androgynous lead singer of 80s new wave

10:29sensation Culture Club found his Las Vegas tour threatened when he was banned from the United

10:34States. In 2005, Boy George was arrested for drug possession and for falsely reporting a burglary.

10:40While the former charge was dropped, he pleaded guilty to the latter and had to spend five days

10:46picking up trash from the streets of New York. Then, in 2007, he had yet another run-in with the

10:52law, this time in London, when he was charged with assaulting a male escort and holding him

10:57against his will. These incidents tainted his record and led to him being denied entry in the US

11:03the next year. Akon, Sri Lanka. If you've seen the music video for David Guetta and Akon's song

11:09Sexy Chick, you probably thought, man, these people don't look so psyched to be at this pool party.

11:21Well, that is unless you're part of the Buddhist population of Sri Lanka. Past the scantily clad

11:27women and the half-drunken guys, one other guest invited to the party just so happened to be a

11:32statue of Buddha. The people of Sri Lanka, a country with a significant Buddhist population,

11:37definitely weren't amused by this. Hundreds of Sri Lankans marched in protest against Akon,

11:43leaving the government with no choice but to ban the music mogul from gaining access into the country.

11:51Lady Gaga. Indonesia and China. Looking back at some of the wild moments in Lady Gaga's career,

11:57it's not much of a surprise that she would be taboo in some places.

12:00While it is officially a secular state, Indonesia has the largest population of Muslims in the world,

12:11some of whom deemed Gaga to be too vulgar. This led to a ban of the pop star in 2012 and a

12:17cancellation of her concert in Jakarta. We, the representatives of the Islamic Front for Defence,

12:23are strongly opposed to the Lady Gaga concert in Indonesia. It will harm Muslims.

12:28Not one to miss out on the Great Firewall of China, Gaga has also been banned twice from the

12:34East Asian giant. First in 2011, also for being vulgar, and secondly in 2016, after she sat for a

12:41meeting with the Dalai Lama. Brad Pitt. China. Speaking of meeting with the Dalai Lama,

12:46Brad Pitt earned himself a ban in China when he starred in Seven Years in Tibet.

12:50By my calculations, the Chinese border is 2,058 kilometers away. Tibet is 68. It's a long way to

12:58travel. In the film, which was based on true events, Pitt plays Austrian mountaineer Heinrich

13:04Hara, who befriends a young Dalai Lama after escaping from a prisoner of war camp.

13:08Yellow head. Yellow head.

13:10You have hair on your arms too? And legs?

13:18The movie was set during the Chinese takeover of Tibet, and its portrayal of events didn't sit well

13:23with the government of China. It's an honour to meet you, Your Holiness.

13:27Naturally, the major parties involved in the production were all banned from ever stepping

13:31foot there. It didn't take too long for things to be settled between Pitt and China, however,

13:36as the Hollywood hunk visited the country in 2014 to promote Maleficent with his then-wife Angelina

13:43Jolie. The Beatles. The Philippines. By 1966, the Beatles were at the peak of superstardom,

13:49having broken into international markets all around the world. That year, the group went on

13:54a tour of Germany, Japan, and the Philippines, with the latter ending in a pretty controversial way.

13:59You say goodbye, and I say hello.

14:03Imelda Marcos, the then First Lady of the Philippines, threw a party at the Presidential Palace in honour

14:11of the Beatles and invited the group. But sticking with their policy of never attending official

14:16functions, their manager, Brian Epstein, declined the invitation on their behalf.

14:20We got there, and we got put into the transit lounge. And then we got pushed around from one corner

14:27of the lounge to another, you know. You treat like ordinary passenger, ordinary passenger,

14:31you're saying. This infuriated Marcos, as well as thousands of citizens, who attacked the Beatles

14:36as they tried to leave the country. And so they started knocking over our road managers and things,

14:41and everyone was falling all over the place. They started worrying you when the road manager

14:44got knocked over. Yeah, and I swear there was 30 of them. The group earned themselves an unspoken ban,

14:49and never performed there again. Cowardly anyway of them, because they were obviously trying to make

14:55it rough for us, and knew we couldn't do anything. Miley Cyrus, China and Dominican Republic.

15:01Miley Cyrus' infamous transition from teen idol to adult pop star is one we won't be forgetting

15:07any time soon. But surprisingly, the incident that resulted in her ban from China happened pre-2013

15:21VMAs. Back in 2009, Cyrus took a picture with her friends squinting their eyes, in a way that was seen

15:27as offensive. The Chinese government subsequently banned her from entering the country, and stopped

15:32the distribution of her TV show and films. As soon as she made the cross into adulthood, Cyrus' risque

15:38behaviour earned her a ban in the Dominican Republic. Officials there deemed her conduct as going against

15:44their morals and customs, so they came in like a wrecking ball and prevented her from performing in

15:50the country. Snoop Dogg, the United Kingdom, Australia and Norway. Over the course of his career,

15:55the OG Snoop Dogg has faced quite a number of bans.

15:59In 2006, he was prevented from entering the UK after he caused a scene at London's Heathrow

16:08Airport. Apparently, an airline refused to allow all of his entourage into a first-class lounge.

16:13Look, man, we ain't got time for this shit right now. His multiple arrests and convictions painted him

16:18in a bad light for Australian authorities, who prevented him from entering the country in 2007

16:23for this reason. Then, to top it all off, the rapper received a two-year ban from Norway in 2012,

16:30when he was caught trying to sneak cannabis into the country. Snoop reportedly took it in stride,

16:36proving that when he's high, no one can ever bring him down.

16:39When the pigs try to get at you. Park it like it's hot. Park it like it's hot. Park it like it's hot.

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17:00Beyonce, Malaysia.

17:02I knew it would come to this.

17:03From her rousing dance routines to her controversial performances, Beyonce has always sparked discussions

17:09over everything she does and wears. But while most of these have been limited to online spaces,

17:15the Southeast Asian country of Malaysia took things to another level.

17:24The predominantly Muslim country placed a ban on the acclaimed performer,

17:28as they considered her to be too provocative for their moral standards.

17:33Queen B was scheduled to perform her debut concert in Kuala Lumpur in 2007, but ultimately had to

17:43cancel it. According to Malaysian guidelines, female artists must dress conservatively to be

17:48allowed to perform on stage. You are completely delusional.

17:52But as Beyonce is a dedicated artist, not willing to compromise her performance,

17:56she remains persona non grata.

17:59Did you enjoy this video? Check out these other clips from WatchMojo,

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