Five celebrities who were forced to apologise over their controversial Halloween costumes
In honour of Halloween fast approaching, let's take a trip down memory lane and have a look some celebrity Halloween costumes so offensive that they were forced to publicly apologise.
I don't care what anyone says, Halloween is by far the best holiday. What other day can you dress up in costumes that make absolutely no sense without any judgement?
You can take a leaf from Heidi Klum's book, and go as the scariest worm anyone has ever seen, or you can pull a Khloe Kardashian and offend everyone with your choice of Bratz doll.
And if you're feeling really extreme, why not pull a Lil Nas X and just straight up go as a tampon.
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The possibilities are endless, and with that, you have to wonder why these five celebs chose to offend whole communities of people with their poor choices.
So, let's take a look at some of the biggest celebrity halloween blunders, shall we? In no particular order...
Ashley Benson - Cecil the Lion
For those of you who don't know, Cecil was a male African lion who was being studied by the University of Oxford and lived mostly in Zimbabwe.
Back in July 2015, a dentist and hunter from the U.S named Walter Palmer killed Cecil as a trophy, sparking outrage across the world and ramping up the conversation around hunting as a sport once again.
Fast-forward a few months, and Pretty Little Liars star Ashley Benson posted a picture of herself dressed in lion's costume with the caption: "Can’t decide on my Halloween costume this year! What do you guys think of this cecil the lion costume? @yandy #thanksyandy #halloweencostume.”
As you can imagine, fans were not happy with this one, prompting the star to edit the caption to simply read, 'lion costume'.
She later issued an apology, admitting the post was in 'poor taste' and said that the proceeds from her deal with Yandy would go to the World Wildlife Fund.
Julianne Hough - Suzanne from Orange is the New Black
Cast your minds back to 2013 when everyone you knew was addicted to Netflix's hit prison drama Orange is the New Black.
The show brought us iconic lines, and even more iconic characters, with one of those being Uzo Aduba's portrayal of Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren.
Lots of people loved the character, but what they didn't do was wear blackface to try and emulate her - but Julianne Hough did.
Hough is a pro dancer on ABC's Dancing with the Stars, and when she was hit with backlash for her costume, she issued an apology.
"Wearing blackface was a poor choice based on my own white privilege and my own white body bias that hurt people and is something I regret doing to this day,” she wrote.
"My commitment has been to reflect and act differently. Not perfectly, but hopefully with a more developed understanding that racism and white supremacy is harmful to ALL people.”
Harry Hamlin - Sid Vicious and a swastika
Actor Harry Hamlin, along with wife Lisa Rinna, came under fire in 2015 for their costumes as Sex Pistols' Sid Vicious and his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen.
Hamlin and Rinna were trying to recreate the infamous picture of the punk pair where Vicious is sporting an inappropriate t-shirt with a swastika on it.
Following the mass uproar of the anti-semitic fashion choice, they took to social media and said: "If I hurt you, we were being authentic to the characters of Sid and Nancy for our Halloween costumes. It hurt and angered many of you and we are deeply sorry for that. That was never our intention. We did not mean to offend. With love, Lisa and Harry."
Hilary Duff - Native Americans and Pilgrims
Someone I was hoping wouldn't be on the list is every millennial's Disney Channel favourite, Hilary Duff.
In 2016, the Lizzie McGuire star and ex-boyfriend Jason Walsh made the tone-deaf decision to dress up in a couple's costume of a Pilgrim and Native American - need I say more?
Duff wore a pilgrim-inspired top and hat complete with fishnets and hot pants, while Walsh - who arguably comes off worse here - dressed as a Native American, headdress and red face paint included.
The pair got straight to the point with their apology, with Duff saying she was 'so sorry' and Walsh echoing he meant 'no disrespect'.
Duff continued: "It was not properly thought through and I am truly, from the bottom of my heart sorry."
Emily Hampshire - Amber Heard v Johnny Depp
Last, but by no means least on the list, is Schitt's Creek actor Emily Hampshire who, in 2023, went dressed as Johnny Depp for Halloween, while her friend dressed as Amber Heard.
Being the most recent on the list, you probably don't need reminding that Depp and Heard went through a brutal defamation trial where claims of domestic abuse were made by both parties.
Hampshire's apology read: “For Halloween, I stupidly thought it would be funny to dress as Johnny Depp and Amber Heard,” she said in a now deleted post on Instagram.
“I am deeply sorry and ashamed for putting something that awful out in the universe.
“Domestic abuse is never, ever funny. These are real issues with real people and I REALLY regret my actions.
“In the future, I will do better. I’m so sorry.”
So, which one was the worst one, do you reckon?
Topics: Halloween, Celebrity, Fashion, US News, TV And Film
Saskia Calliste