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35 People Reveal What Made Them Forever Change Their Mind About Certain Celebrities
Celebrity culture has become a huge part of modern society. But public opinion isn't fixed, and when you're living under a magnifying glass, thousands or even millions are waiting to judge your every move.
One Reddit thread vividly illustrates just how fast we can change our minds about someone. It started when a person who goes on the platform by the nickname PerspectiveMedical71 asked others, "What's something a famous person has done that just completely changed how you viewed them?"
As of now, they've received over 3.6K replies, so we decided to compile some of the most popular ones and challenge you, dear readers, to scroll through the list and see if it makes you look at these well-known individuals any differently.
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Pretty much everything Keanu Reeves does. Finding out about his kindness and activism made me see him as something other than the "surfer dude" I had in my mind.
Pretty sure any time I've learned about anything Dolly Parton has ever done has only generated more respect for her.
Steve Buscemi was always a talented actor, but his unheralded deeds at Ground Zero humanized him in such a way that I knew at heart he was just a friend who wanted to help people.
During the filming of Matilda, Danny Devito and Rhea Pearlman took care Mara Wilson while her mother was battling breast cancer.
Basically Danny Devito is the complete opposite of Frank Reynolds IRL.
Met Bill Pullman at an after-premiere party at more or less the height of his fame (my wife worked at the studio for the movie we had just seen). People always talked to me at these things until they found out I worked in the lowly service industry, and then would immediately terminate the conversation and get the hell out of there (since I could be of no use to them). Bill Pullman was the opposite. He actually got excited that I was not one of these "phony a******s," but instead a real person, and talked to me for a good while, just shooting the s**t about whatever, asking me about what my work was like. You would not believe the stories I have about people my wife worked with, former classmates, etc, behaving like I may as well be rolling in a sewer to be working a regular job and doing my art on the side, instead of climbing a ladder somewhere. It was nice to have someone way more successful than any of them coming from the opposite direction, and I always thought I would give him public props if I ever got the chance, so hopefully this doesn't get too buried.
Ashton Kutcher started advocating for trafficking victims. Like hardcore dumped nearly all his life's worth into it and basically continues to pursue his career so he can keep dumping more into it.
He went from a vapid pretty boy narcissist actor to one of my most respected role models nearly instantly.
He also was encouraging people to 'rent' Ukraine Airbnbs to help support the people when the war started
Ludacris: look up what he did after the earthquake in Haiti. My friend is his pilot, and he flew 14 straight days bringing in relief supplies and medical personnel!
Sinead O’Connor. She had a popular song on the radio. Thought she was going places. Then she tore a picture of Pope John Paul II on stage. I thought she was a nut job. Turns out she was on to something protesting sex abuse cases.
So basically a 360 on her, or two 180s.
@Kika González there's nothing more direct than pointing the head of the network of pedophiles who not only knew but protected the perpetrators. Sinnead was VERY on point.
ODB saving that little girl who was trapped under a car after an accident, them visiting her in the hospital EVERY. DAY. under a false name so no one would know.
Really humanized him outside his thug-hip-hop persona.
I was a child when the Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton thing happened. I remembered how everyone seemed mad at her, so I just never questioned it.
She did a TED talk about that intense, public scrutiny, and how she eventually learned from it.
That level of continuous strength is so inspiring to me. It definitely reshaped the image I had of her as a child.
Every actor or director who signed a petition to have Roman Polanski forgiven for drugging and violently raping and sodomizing a teenager. Unfortunately there are quite a few of them and they’re all disgusting.
Edit: my wife just corrected me. She wasn’t a teenager, she was 12.
Eddie Murphy. The way he denied his child with Mel B and tried to portray her as a stalking groupie. His ex wife was the one who reached out to her so their children could connect. And initially, even after a positive DNA test, he still didn't step up. Lost all respect for him as a man.
Guy Fieri’s extensive charity work. I always thought he’d be an insufferable NASCAR douche but he’s not.
Guy Fieri is a treasure. The only reason people don't like him is because they don't like his sense of fashion.
Shaq: I served him many times at a restaurant in downtown Portland. He was so nice to the kids that saw him, he would leave the bar area for signatures since the kids could not come in that part. I saw him run across the dining room to catch/help an old lady get on a bar stool. For comparison sake, I saw Dirk drop a gum wrapper on a table while a family was eating there. That soccer guy pg for lakers(forgot his name) would have 5 young girls with him and hide his face.
JJ Watt. When the city of Houston was devastated by Hurricane Harvey, he started a fund to help the people affected by it. He hoped to raise $200,000, but instead raised $40,000,000. He made absolutely sure that every cent went directly to relief efforts. There was a celebrity telethon that didn't raise nearly as much. Never really thought about him either way, but after that I have an immense amount of respect for the man.
I wasn't a Britney Spears fan until I saw how human she is. Britney Spears. I don't listen to her music but I root for her.
The main reason people turned against her was because of that over emotional ranting Britney Spears fan screaming "LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE!" with tears streaming down his face. When I read about the abuse and manipulation and lies her family were doing just so they could keep her money... it broke my heart. Thankfully, it has all come to light and it seems to be over. I hope she gets to enjoy a decent life away from them
Tom Cruise - Scientology
Scientology: Making Mormons look normal since 1956. (something I read, I think)
Never was a huge fan of Taylor Swift, but when she gave Ke$ha $150,000 (pretty sure that amount not certain however) to get out of her abusive record deal. Definitely made me look at her differently. Then when Demi Lovato left some petty tweet after the ordeal, made me hate them even more.
Ive never been a fan of hers but she has silently donated money to her fans going through some stuff. Homelessness, illnesses, paying off medical bills... she has a big heart and it's always done fairly quietly (you'll see a blurb here and there but it never makes top news)
I think I have more respect for famous rich people who do it quietly, because you know that means they’re donating because they care, not to make them look good
Load More Replies...She recently had a concert here, and she made a generous donation to the food bank before performing. I don’t remember any other celebs doing that.
Demi Lovato is honestly just a c**t, she basically said "speak out about it" in regards to Kesha, KESHA DID F****N SPEAK OUT ABOUT IT, SHE EVEN MADE A SONG WITH ZEDD ABOUT IT. BUT NO ONE BELIEVED HER AND SHE WAS STUCK IN THE CONTRACT FFS. (also it was $250,000 that Taylor gave iirc
Dave Grohl told a story about her at a party just being a really cool person. Dave Grohl is awesome, so if he likes her, I like her.
Plus, I like folk music, and I think her song Cardigan and it's "sequel" Willow are both pretty good.
Load More Replies...Demi goes by she/her now. It was apparently too taxing on her to have to correct people. She's such a disappointment on so many levels.
I don't know any of the people mentioned here. [You're getting old Jake...]
Not sure why you were downvoted but I upvoted. I thought your comment was funny! I wouldn’t know some of these people if it weren’t for having kids! I’m getting old too!
Load More Replies...Don't forget her song Ronan who she composed based on the life of Ronan Thompson who died of cancer aged 3. She composed the song using some of the beautiful things his mom said about him and Taylor credited her as a co-author and donated all the royalties of the song to charities that fight cancer. I always feel bad when people just see her and insult her for being the crazy ex, or the crazy cat lady that cannot have a healthy relationship, some people is just terrible at choosing partners.
Taylors music is not really my thing, but I have heard nothing but good things about her. So that is nice :)
I agree. She is of the few really good role models we have left for our youth.
Load More Replies...My daughter was 10 or so when Taylor Swift's first album came out. Darling Daughter loved her. So I started listening to her music and kinda following her. I read at one point, when TS was 17, she was invited to a party. She declined because there was alcohol there. She also wore cheerleader bloomers under her outfits when onstage when she was youth-ish. I have a TON of respect for her - my daughter's idol (at the time) and she didn't disappoint. And, she's great to her fans.
Can't stand her music, but happy if she's a good person. Too often the opposite is true.
In nashville her concert was delayed for 4 hours due to lightning. After 4 hours, she played her full concert to a full arena. For 3 more hours - in the pouring and i mean pouring rain. costume changes and all. That's dedication to your fans.
I like her anti hero video.. don't know much more about her music. But she seems to be a good person for all I heard
As I and she have gotten older, I have significantly more respect for her artistry. She is a very good song writer and her serious stuff is brilliant.
I always thought she was a horrible person, both my sister and father say she writes horrible music about horrible relationships she gets into and that she is just bratty, I didn’t know this about her.
I love how whenever I bring up something negative about Taylor Swift that is completely true, I get downvoted. And people talk about BTS and their army…. Sorry, little girls, she is completely fake. Has she said anything about Matty and his comments on how he gets off to porn where black women are brutalized, including his comments about Ice Spice? No? I bet you believe Taylor’s collab with her was *totally* in the works for months before that came to light. I also have several bridges I’d like to sell you. Edit: I’m just saying don’t believe everything you read in publications that kiss her a$$. She is a PR master.
I've seen your other comments and I honestly don't think you're getting downvoted for not liking Taylor Swift, you're getting downvoted for being condescending and rude. Most people on this site will respect your opinion but if you come across like you have a huge chip on your shoulder then people will downvote your comment so no one else has to see it.
Load More Replies...$150,000 to her is also equal to 50 Concert Tickets sold. The prices for her tickets is ABSURD!! I'm not a fan of hers, I only know the prices because we had people call to report being scammed when purchasing tickets (I work in the fraud dept of a bank) and we didn't believe someone would fall for paying that much for tickets. We looked it up and sure enough 1 seat can cost upwards of $5K.
Load More Replies...Why are you here then? Why read a thread and take the time to leave a comment if it's none of your business?
Load More Replies...Why do you care? How does this negatively affect your life, or even affect you at all? "Them" can mean a single individual. It's grammatically correct.
Load More Replies...I’ll never forget watching the oscars and seeing all the people give that standing ovation for Roman Polanski, knowing damn well what he did. Forever disgusted. And Whoopi Goldberg saying it wasn’t “rape rape.” And Quentin Tarantino excusing it because she was a “party girl.” I know he has since apologized for that but it’s hard for me to forget. I don’t know how an apology makes up for a grown man who should know better saying something like that in a public forum. The story is too close to home for me.
Someone gets cancelled for tweet they wrote decade ago, and then there's Roman Polanski....
What Chris brown did to Rhianna. I can’t help but think of that every time I hear him.
Allison Mack. I kinda had a crush on her back in the Smallville days (I was 13 or 14 when the show came out) but she always seemed nice. Then I learned how she was helping traffic young girls into a sex cult. Absolutely bizarre.
When John Mulaney cheated on the wife he acted like he worshipped, I lost complete respect for him.
If he never had held her up as some paragon of perfection, I likely wouldn't have cared so much. But don't act like some awesome catch of a husband and then turn 100% douchey overnight.
I've said it before, I'll say it again: it doesn't matter what they say, it's what they do and how they treat you that matters.
KEVIN SPACEY. The man elevates every movie he’s in. But holy s**t, he is a TERRIBLE PERSON! Can’t even rewatch things he was in now.
This man was one of my absolutely favorite actors, but then, well you know. Every time I look at his photo, I’m torn between missing him and wanting to spit on his front door. Him and Mel Gibson let down a lot of adoring fans.
Ive seen some positive examples. Let me break that.
Nicki minaji has shown support for her bother despite that he is a child rapist. And drake also has been very....'interested' in teen girls like billie ellish and millie bobby brown.
The fact they aint exiled from society and their behavior isnt seem as a deal breaker for fans sickens me
Nicki did more than "support" her brother, she paid his bail and then posted about how she "loved him so much" and "would stand by him no matter what happened" (knowing full well he had repeatedly raped his 11 YEAR OLD STEPDAUGHTER)
Mel Gibson's anti-Semitism. I used to think he was a cool guy. But he proved to be a complete a*****e.
I would say was an antisemitite, he has changed a lot since then. His peak was back in 2006, but I cannot find anything antisemitic from him since 2009. Since then he got involved with Jewish groups, helped fund documentaries on the holocaust, even helped produce a film exposing antisemitic conspiracy theories. I mean he was raised by a Catholic Extremist father who thought Vatican II was a Jewish plot, openly denied the holocaust back in the 1950s and 60s, etc. He was raised a certain way, and it seems like he finally is breaking free of that in his older age. I am Jewish and willing to say I think his change is real and he can be forgiven
Robert Pattinson.
For years, the only thing I knew him as was the sh*ttiest vampire ever in one of the lamest movie series ever. I thought he was bland, flat, and generally just a bad actor.
But then I saw "The Lighthouse" cause Willem Dafoe is one of my favorite actors, and the reviews were great, so I figured he likely carried Pattinson.
However, Pattinson was great! His performance was so surprisingly good it elevated the movie even further for me!
I caught a few interviews of him on YouTube afterwards and found out he at one point went out on a date with a girl who was stalking him and just b**ched about how no one even knew him and just loved the sparkly vampire, and she got so bored she left and stopped stalking him, and that was his plan!
Like, that alone made me feel so bad for writing him off, and though that story is amazing and kind of wrinkle brained as f**k, it is also quite sad, cause I know I wasn't anywhere near the only person to write him off or idolize him for that one s****y role. So now I'm a huge fan, and because of this I no longer judge an actor on a single role, I always reserve judgement of them overall until I see them multiple times (though I won't hesitate to say a specific role wasn't good lol).
It not only changed my view of Pattinson but actors overall.
Both he and Willem DaFoe were exceptional in The Lighthouse. A disturbing movie that both of them made extra disturbing with their incredible talent. I also thought him starring in The Batman would absolutely suck, but Pattinson was great in that part. He’s not my favorite actor, but you have to give credit where credit is due.
while a lot of actors do this, it irks me the most with leonardo di caprio how he only seems to date women 18-25.
Here are a few thing, while creepy, they are all models looking to break it big, he gets them all good contracts while they are with him, they are all legal adults, and he gets to live a certain lifestyle he wants. It seems very transactional, and while creepy, nothing illegal.
Nacy Cartwright. (Voice of Bart Simpson) When I found out she's a Scientologist. Which would explain why The Simpsons never made any jokes about it.
Jim Carrey. Jenny McCarthy gets all the anti-vaccine hate, but Jim Carrey was dating her at the time and 100% backed her up. He has spread his own lies about vaccines.
He also said some not okay (sexual) things about Emma Stone when she was a young actress.
He made the following quote about Elin Nordegren, "No wife is blind enough to miss that much infidelity. Elin had 2 b a willing participant on the ride 4 whatever reason. kids/lifestyle..."
In general, he is really problematic when it comes to women.
Travis scott stopping a concert for a shoe but not for people's lives
Meanwhile Slipknot stopped in the middle of a song because they saw someone collapse and asked the audience to make room for the medics in Cincinnati last year
Kanye West's entire public persona. I like (most of) his music, but fame can cause people to lose sight of themselves and I think that's what happened. The *jeen-yuhs* documentary reveals that he used to be a lot more grounded. He was always arrogant, but the fame made him think he's a god, and anyone who says or does something he doesn't like is cut off (see: Kid Cudi beef).
Actually he probably suffers from an actual mental illness that explains most of his behavior.
Alec Baldwin when that voicemail he left his daughter was released.
Saying Baldwin is enough to let me know I won't like the conversation.
I use to love listening to R Kelly's music and since his conviction for sexual offending, his music, is a turn off, literally.
I loved Sean Connery so much growing up ... Him doubling down on hitting women made me dislike him
Ezra Miller… it was nice having a non-binary celebrity but they’re apparently like a horrible human being and assaulted kids. It’s even worse cause certain people will point to them and say “look we were right queer people are predators!!”______________________________________________________ On the other end of the spectrum, Emma Watson. I always thought she was a good actor but not that interesting, but apparently she’s really good and an activist, also she called JKR out on her buIIshit.
I have tremendous respect for Martha Stewart now. I never really like her until she got in trouble with the SEC. Instead of whining about it and trying to appeal, she took her licks and went to prison. According to the women there, she was awesome and treated them with respect. And now that she's teamed up with Snoop, I love her more
a bit of a video recommendation: green day on Martha stewart featuring... Snoop Dogg. it's amazing
Load More Replies...John Wayne showing the world that he’s a racist douche in a 1971 interview: "I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility“.
I don't care who someone is. If they say something like that, they're dead to me for life. If a grown-a*s person is comfortable saying something like that to another person, it's just the tip of the cancerous iceberg. Can't be 'fixed' or 'rehabilitated'.
Load More Replies...Dany Trejo is missing from this list. And I highly recommend looking up what he does because here's not enough space to list it all. He's an amazing person and a glowing example of how to be a good person. He's such a kind and generous man. He puts everything he can get into helping people in the vest way possible to make a good life for themselves
He literally refuses any "bad guy" acting role if the character does not get his comeuppance by the end of the movie.
Load More Replies...I'll add one I like to mention on lists like this, even if it may already be well known. John Cena. He's visited more Make a Wish kids than anyone else three times over. Seriously, I looked it up before writing this. 4 years ago he was recognized by Guinness for granting the most wishes, and that was when he passed 650. An article I found said that the only people who come close to that number are Dale Earnhardt Jr, Jeff Gordon and Hulk Hogan who each have done around 200. Make A Wish also claims he's by far the most requested celebrity. But I have to wonder how much of that is because he actually follows through on it and has done so consistently for 20 years.
May have some of the details wrong, but I recently read a story about a family forced to flee Ukraine with their mentally handicapped son. To keep him calm in that scary situation, they told him that they were going to Belarus to meet John Cena. Apparently Cena somehow found out about it and actually flew there to meet them. How can you not live a man like that?
Load More Replies...I had just come off of a wildlands fire, still in my nomex, to dinner at my cook girlfriend's guest ranch. Ed Harris and his wife were there and as I sat down he came over and introduced himself and asked how my day went. It had been quite the day for me and I was happy to tell him all about it. After I finished dinner I went outside and we threw horseshoes as a team. Just a regular guy from Oklahoma. His wife, Amy Madigan, was real nice too.
Funny, I was just wondering what Ed Harris was up to and imagined he was enjoying retirement.
Load More Replies...Kristen Stewart saying having your photo taken by the paparazzi is like being raped. I lost all respect for her after that.
not really. I do not think that being famous entitles the press to incessantly hound you with cameras. I'd also be annoyed. As it is I hate having people take photos of me even when they're family.
Load More Replies...Not everyone knows all about these people. A little more background would have been nice.
Johnny Depp, Back in the day when he was in 21 jump street some kids from my high school got tickets to see him in San Diego premiere.. I was knock to the ground when he came out of the limo and had people crushing me Johnny stopped to help me . The only one to stop and help me up...I will always hate those chics
I've met all kinds of celebrities & other famous people. Most very positive. One actor from the Bourne Legacy was at a charity event & he did not seem like he wanted to be there. The rest of the actors there were fantastic. The most charming was Liz Taylor. I had no idea who she was. It was before she reinvented herself. Still a lovely woman.
The John mulany comment is a bit unfair since he was going through active addiction at the time. Also Michael Jackson was a whole a*s pedophile. Stop trying to make out like he wasn’t he was in boys beds and had child pornography
Ezra Miller… it was nice having a non-binary celebrity but they’re apparently like a horrible human being and assaulted kids. It’s even worse cause certain people will point to them and say “look we were right queer people are predators!!”______________________________________________________ On the other end of the spectrum, Emma Watson. I always thought she was a good actor but not that interesting, but apparently she’s really good and an activist, also she called JKR out on her buIIshit.
I have tremendous respect for Martha Stewart now. I never really like her until she got in trouble with the SEC. Instead of whining about it and trying to appeal, she took her licks and went to prison. According to the women there, she was awesome and treated them with respect. And now that she's teamed up with Snoop, I love her more
a bit of a video recommendation: green day on Martha stewart featuring... Snoop Dogg. it's amazing
Load More Replies...John Wayne showing the world that he’s a racist douche in a 1971 interview: "I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility“.
I don't care who someone is. If they say something like that, they're dead to me for life. If a grown-a*s person is comfortable saying something like that to another person, it's just the tip of the cancerous iceberg. Can't be 'fixed' or 'rehabilitated'.
Load More Replies...Dany Trejo is missing from this list. And I highly recommend looking up what he does because here's not enough space to list it all. He's an amazing person and a glowing example of how to be a good person. He's such a kind and generous man. He puts everything he can get into helping people in the vest way possible to make a good life for themselves
He literally refuses any "bad guy" acting role if the character does not get his comeuppance by the end of the movie.
Load More Replies...I'll add one I like to mention on lists like this, even if it may already be well known. John Cena. He's visited more Make a Wish kids than anyone else three times over. Seriously, I looked it up before writing this. 4 years ago he was recognized by Guinness for granting the most wishes, and that was when he passed 650. An article I found said that the only people who come close to that number are Dale Earnhardt Jr, Jeff Gordon and Hulk Hogan who each have done around 200. Make A Wish also claims he's by far the most requested celebrity. But I have to wonder how much of that is because he actually follows through on it and has done so consistently for 20 years.
May have some of the details wrong, but I recently read a story about a family forced to flee Ukraine with their mentally handicapped son. To keep him calm in that scary situation, they told him that they were going to Belarus to meet John Cena. Apparently Cena somehow found out about it and actually flew there to meet them. How can you not live a man like that?
Load More Replies...I had just come off of a wildlands fire, still in my nomex, to dinner at my cook girlfriend's guest ranch. Ed Harris and his wife were there and as I sat down he came over and introduced himself and asked how my day went. It had been quite the day for me and I was happy to tell him all about it. After I finished dinner I went outside and we threw horseshoes as a team. Just a regular guy from Oklahoma. His wife, Amy Madigan, was real nice too.
Funny, I was just wondering what Ed Harris was up to and imagined he was enjoying retirement.
Load More Replies...Kristen Stewart saying having your photo taken by the paparazzi is like being raped. I lost all respect for her after that.
not really. I do not think that being famous entitles the press to incessantly hound you with cameras. I'd also be annoyed. As it is I hate having people take photos of me even when they're family.
Load More Replies...Not everyone knows all about these people. A little more background would have been nice.
Johnny Depp, Back in the day when he was in 21 jump street some kids from my high school got tickets to see him in San Diego premiere.. I was knock to the ground when he came out of the limo and had people crushing me Johnny stopped to help me . The only one to stop and help me up...I will always hate those chics
I've met all kinds of celebrities & other famous people. Most very positive. One actor from the Bourne Legacy was at a charity event & he did not seem like he wanted to be there. The rest of the actors there were fantastic. The most charming was Liz Taylor. I had no idea who she was. It was before she reinvented herself. Still a lovely woman.
The John mulany comment is a bit unfair since he was going through active addiction at the time. Also Michael Jackson was a whole a*s pedophile. Stop trying to make out like he wasn’t he was in boys beds and had child pornography