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Celebrities can have opinions just like the rest of us but sometimes those opinions veer into the head scratching realm and only make us ask “WTF?”. Here’s a list of some of the most confusing and infuriating takes from celebrities in recent memory.
Michael Jordan vs Scottie Pippen
This feud seems to have come from nowhere and mainly one sided as Pippen has been throwing barbs at Jordan since 2020 and the release of The Last Dance documentary series. For context, Jordan and Pippen were teammates on the Chicago Bulls in the 80’s and 90’s as the duo won championships and changed the landscape of the NBA forever but in recent years, their friendship seems to have disappeared for reasons that are unclear to the general population. Recently, Pippen called Jordan “a horrible player” and later doubled down on his comments with a cryptic social media post that praised the efforts of what he deemed to be “unsung heroes”.
Pippen’s feelings of frustration towards Jordan seems to stem from the alleged pedestal Jordan was placed upon in The Last Dance and Pippen feeling like he was used as a foil towards Jordan and his efforts to win championships. In fairness, Pippen was portrayed as selfish for delaying surgery and rehab during the 1997-1998 NBA season when he knew his presence could have helped the team win while Jordan was shown as a saint who could do no wrong during their playing days but Pippen won just as much as Jordan did so perhaps some sour grapes are there from their playing days but when you have six championship rings, perhaps it is best to sit back and enjoy your legacy instead of trying to chip away at those of your teammates. This is a feud that is not likely to go away but it is one that will remain one sided as Jordan has refused to wade into the waters of Pippen’s animosity.
Ridley Scott vs Millennials
Director Ridley Scott has made immeasurable contributions to filmmaking thanks to his works in films like Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, Black Hawk Down and Gladiator and in 2021, he looked to return to the historical epic genre he had helped popularize in the early 2000’s with The Last Duel, a film detailing the last sanctioned duel in medieval France during the late 14th Century. The film, starring Adam Driver, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Jodie Comer, was set to be a medieval epic with relevant commentary following the “Me Too” movement but the results were lackluster. With a production budget of $100 million, the film barely managed to gross $30 million but found success on streaming and became the second most watched program across all streaming platforms following its release.
However, not everyone was thrilled with the streaming success of the film and chief among them was director Ridley Scott. In an appearance on WTF with Marc Maron, Scott lashed out at millennials stating, “I think what it boils down to — what we’ve got today the audiences who were brought up on these fucking cell phones. The millennial do not ever want to be taught anything unless you are told it on the cell phone”. Grumpy, right? Instead of directing his ire at the studio who failed to properly market and support his film, he pointed the fingers at an entire generation of audiences who likely grew up watching Scott’s films. Admittedly, it is a hilarious take from someone who instantly became out of touch with the audiences who want to see his films. The Last Duel is a great film but someone with the experience and credibility like Scott should know not to bite the hand that feeds you and movies are nothing without audiences.
John Travolta and Battlefield Earth
John Travolta is a beloved celebrity who has enjoyed the benefits of a career that’s spanned over 40 years and countless accolades but he is also someone who has committed career suicide more times than can be counted. Following a string of box office busts in the late 80’s and early 90’s, Travolta found new relevance thanks to an Oscar nominated performance in Quentin Tarantino’s seminal film, Pulp Fiction and another lauded performance in the comedy Get Shorty, Travolta suddenly found himself flush with cash and the clout he always wanted to make his vanity project. On top of being a talented actor, Travolta is also a devout Scientologist and the founder of Scientology, noted bastard L. Ron Hubbard, wrote a mediocre science fiction novel titled Battlefield Earth which has become required reading for all Scientology followers and Travolta wanted to make this film above all others. It is worth noting that Travolta passed on many great projects in the mid 90’s and early 2000’s like Apollo 13, The Green Mile and Chicago as Battlefield Earth became his singular focus and he became the film’s hype man in an obnoxious manner.
The film was a complete trainwreck with odd camera angles, computer effects that look like they were completed by a first-generation PlayStation console and over-the-top performances that are just terrible. Travolta never doubted his film for one moment and even claimed that his film was “like Star Wars but better”. This was and is an incredibly bold claim to make as few films have ever topped Star Wars both in quality and impact it had on filmmaking and Battlefield Earth was more like the film to show to people who had never seen Star Wars or any decent science fiction film. Battlefield Earth was a colossal failure and even contributed to the collapse of Franchise Pictures who had bankrolled the film but folded in 2007 in the aftermath of an investigation from the FBI. Travolta has managed to find some success since the disastrous release but seems to make headlines for his flubs at the Oscars rather than his performances in any film.
Richard Dreyfuss vs The Oscars
In one of the more truly head scratching statements of 2023, Academy Award winning actor Richard Dreyfuss railed against the Academy’s latest diversity standards for films to be considered for their awards. For context, the guideline states that for films to be considered for awards, they must meet at least two or their four benchmarks including that at least 30% of the cast and crew come from under-represented groups. In an interview with PBS’ Margaret Hoover, Dreyfuss stated that these new standards “make me vomit” and expressed that his desire to be an artist shouldn’t be constrained by newer standards of morality and that society’s constantly evolving standards cannot be placed on the film industry. Perhaps Dreyfuss has a point in regards to the diversity but in the wake of the “Oscars So White” controversy and the fact that Hollywood has been largely a Caucasian-only industry for a long time, it’s recent films like Parasite have proven that diversity makes films better and experiences are universal regardless of the actors or directors that make them.
Dreyfuss could also be woefully out of touch with modern society as the actor also expressed a modicum of sadness that he could never play a black person due to societal standards and even lauded Laurence Olivier’s infamous performance in the 1968 film Othello which he is correct stating that it was controversial at the time but the practice of a white actor in blackface dates back to the time on minstrel shows when white stage performers would don black makeup and essentially make fun of black people. Considering that Dreyfuss hasn’t been in a relevant film in over a decade should speak volumes about his opinion is worth and should recognize the changing times and that diversity ultimately makes the human experience deeper and more unique.
Kanye West vs Taylor Swift
With the benefit of hindsight, this can be seen as the beginning of Kanye West’s emerging mental and character issues. At the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Taylor Swift won the award for Best Female Video for her video for “You Belong with Me” over the now iconic video for Beyonce’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”. In that moment, the audience was thrilled for Swift as she had just won her first VMA. Everyone, except for Kanye West who infamously took the stage, snatched the microphone from Swift’s hand and loudly proclaimed that Beyonce should have taken home the trophy. The audience began booing and West was removed from the show as a stunned Swift couldn’t find the words to finish her acceptance speech. It’s important to keep in mind that Swift was a teenager at the time of her win and to have a grown man accost you on the biggest stage is something no one should have to experience. Kanye later offered an apology of sorts in 2010 but then accused Swift of utilizing the publicity from the incident to her advantage.
The drama gets weirder from there as Kanye let his mental issues overtake every aspect of his personality and in 2013 expressed that he had no regrets over the Taylor Swift incident and in 2015, the two seemed to have bury the hatchet as they appeared friendly during the awards circuit for that year but then Kanye released the track titled “Famous” as he crudely sang that he could sleep with Swift and that he had made her famous for their initial incident. The feud then dissolved into a she said, he said drama but given Kanye’s horrible antisemitism and status as a political puppet for grifters on the right wing, Swift has emerged as the clear winner of this feud as she continues to sell records by the dozen and will likely make hundreds of millions in her latest tour.
Featured Image Credit: The Last Dance
