Lisa O
Blacklisting in Hollywood has been around forever, messing up the careers of some of its biggest stars. Many actors and directors have faced this because of issues with powerful people, like rejecting sexual advances or being accused of communism. In Keanu Reeves’ case, he refused to make the sequel to Speed. Here’s a list of 15 celebrities who got blacklisted from Hollywood.
Tippi Hedren
The famous actress from Alfred Hitchcock’s movies The Birds and Marnie had a rough time making them. Tippi Hedren has openly talked about her experience, saying the respected director sexually assaulted her during filming. She said Hitchcock also stopped Universal, the studio she was contracted with, from submitting her performance in Marnie for an Oscar and kept her from working for two years.
Rose McGowan
The artist is one of many women who accused Harvey Weinstein of ruining their careers after he sexually assaulted or harassed them. Rose McGowan claims Weinstein assaulted her around the time Scream was released. After settling out of court, he allegedly tried to sabotage her movies. Mira Sorvino and Ashley Judd also had their careers stalled by Weinstein after they rejected his advances—and Peter Jackson admits he was part of it.
Harvey Weinstein
Harvey Weinstein and his brother Bob were behind hits like “Shakespeare in Love” and “Pulp Fiction.” Harvey was once considered untouchable—except when it came to touching others against their will and worse. He became one of the first and biggest names caught in the #MeToo movement. Now, alongside his awards, he’s also a convicted sex offender, sentenced to 23 years by a New York judge in 2020.
Brendan Fraser
Brendan Fraser was a big star in the late 90s and early 2000s, especially known for his role in The Mummy movies. Sadly, his career slowed down, and he says the ex-president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is partly to blame. Fraser claims he was sexually assaulted by Phillip Berk at the Beverly Hills Hotel, which led to fewer invites to the Golden Globes and fewer opportunities in Hollywood.
Corey Feldman
Feldman became a star in the 80s with movies like The Goonies and Lost Boys, but he claims he got blacklisted for speaking about a Hollywood pedophile ring he was a victim of. He told Dr. Oz that he struggled to get funding for his documentary because it could expose some big names in the industry. His career took a nosedive due to drug problems linked to the trauma of being abused by several Hollywood figures.
Sondra Locke
Locke was an actress and director who had a tumultuous 14-year relationship with Clint Eastwood that ended poorly, resulting in her being blacklisted by studios. They settled out of court after a year—with her dropping the lawsuit in exchange for Eastwood setting up a film development deal for her as a director at Warner Bros. Unfortunately, Warner Bros rejected all 30 projects she proposed and never gave her a directing opportunity.
Randy Quaid
Quaid quickly fell out of favor in Hollywood while filming Lone Star Love. He got into a brawl with a crew member, but the real drama came from his wife, Evi. She sent nasty emails to producers, sent around a naked photo of herself holding a gun to the cast, and even filmed rehearsals, which wasn’t allowed. Because of this, Quaid was banned from Equity for life and had to cough up $81,000 in fines.
Dalton Trumbo
Trumbo was part of the Hollywood Ten, a group blacklisted for not answering Congress’s questions about Communist ties. Despite this, he secretly worked under a fake name and won Oscars for Roman Holiday and The Brave One. Kirk Douglas asked him to write Spartacus, and both that and Exodus were the first films to credit his real name again.
Mo’nique
After winning an Oscar for Precious, the actress was on top of the world. However, things took a downturn because she refused to “play the game” during the promotional campaign. Mo’nique declined extra press events since she wasn’t being compensated for them. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she revealed that director Lee Daniels confirmed over the phone that she had been blacklisted due to her stance.
Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen claims he’s been blacklisted. He used to be a big shot in Hollywood, raking in $1.8 million per episode on Two And a Half Men. But he got blacklisted after publicly slamming show co-creator Chuck Lorre and demanding a 50% raise. All of this went down in January 2011 when the show took a break. On top of that, he was dealing with rehab stays for booze and drugs, plus facing several domestic violence cases.
Isaiah Washington
Once a rising star on “Grey’s Anatomy,” this actor was a Hollywood favorite. But things took a nosedive in the mid-2000s when he got sidelined from the industry. Washington’s career stumbled because of an on-set feud with a co-star on “Grey’s Anatomy.” He reportedly used homophobic slurs, and even after being called out—he didn’t stop. He got axed from the show on June 7, 2007.
Kevin Spacey
Even with two Oscars, tons of money, respect from peers, Kevin Spacey got slammed by scandal in 2017. Actor Anthony Rapp claimed Spacey assaulted him years back when Rapp was underage. Spacey got the boot from “House of Cards,” and they wrapped the final season without him. More actors spoke up with similar stories later on. Spacey’s attempt to soften the blow by coming out as gay didn’t sit well with the LGBTQ community.
Bill Cosby
There’s hardly been a quicker or more dramatic fall from grace than what happened to “America’s Dad.” After comedian Hannibal Buress brought up allegations against Cosby in 2014, a flood of women came forward, blaming him for drugging and sexually assaulting them over the years. Even when “The Cosby Show” was a huge hit loved by all kinds of viewers, Cosby’s predatory behavior didn’t stop. He ended up behind bars in Pennsylvania in 2018.
Roman Polanski
Polish filmmaker Roman Polanski made a splash in Hollywood with hits like “Rosemary’s Baby” and “Chinatown.” But in 1977, he got in serious trouble for drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl, and he took off from the US to avoid jail. He’s been making movies in Europe since then—including the Oscar winner “The Pianist,” but he’d get arrested if he ever set foot back in America.
James Woods
James Woods had quite a career playing tough cops and creepy villains, and he even snagged two Oscar nods. But then Twitter happened. Woods, who’s not shy about his conservative views in liberal Hollywood, used Twitter to slam Hillary Clinton and other left-wing favorites. He even got temporarily kicked off the platform a couple of times.