Fame doesn’t erase bad decisions. In fact, it just makes them more juicy when they hit the front-page news. Tiger Woods admitted his string of affairs, Lance Armstrong owned up to doping, and Sharon Osbourne once set fire to her own house. Even Matthew Broderick’s tragic car crash and RFK Jr.’s bizarre bear cub story made headlines. Some repented. Others just got caught. Here are 20 times famous celebrities confessed to doing really awful things.
Cardi B
Before fame, Cardi B hustled harder than her movie Hustlers suggested. She admitted in 2016 that she’d drugged and robbed men during her stripper days, saying she “did what she had to do to survive.” She later clarified she wasn’t proud of it—but she didn’t sound especially sorry either.
Jared Fogle
Before 2015, Jared Fogle was the Subway guy who lost weight eating sandwiches. Then came the arrest for sex crimes involving minors. He pled guilty and got over 15 years in federal prison. From behind bars, he wrote, “I really royally screwed up.” No footlong redemption story coming there.
James Frey
James Frey fooled Oprah, his readers, and maybe even himself. His so-called memoir A Million Little Pieces turned out to be more fiction than fact—those 87 days in jail? Just a few hours. When Oprah called him out in 2006, Frey admitted it. Turns out, the truth didn’t sell as well.
Kristi Noem
Kristi Noem once shot her own dog, Cricket—and then wrote about it. The pup, barely a year old, misbehaved on a hunting trip, bit Noem, and paid the price. “I hated that dog,” she said. She also killed a goat that same day. Turns out, not everyone should own a farm.
Liam Neeson
While promoting Cold Pursuit, Liam Neeson confessed to something far darker than anything in his revenge movies. After a friend’s assault, he admitted he once roamed the streets hoping a Black man would start a fight so he “could kill him.” He later said he felt deep shame, calling it “horrible” and “wrong.”
Sean Penn
Sean Penn once admitted he torched a van with a Molotov cocktail as a teenager in Malibu—because, apparently, that’s how you defend your surf turf. On John Mulaney’s talk show, he laughed it off as “kind of reckless.” Kind of? Good thing his family had friends in the sheriff’s department.
Milli Vanilli
Milli Vanilli went from Grammy winners to music’s biggest punchline overnight. After it was revealed that Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus didn’t sing on Girl You Know It’s True, their 1990 Best New Artist award vanished. “We made a deal with the devil,” they admitted.
Paula Deen
Paula Deen’s empire melted faster than butter in July after she admitted under oath to using a racial slur. When asked if she’d ever said it, she replied, “Yes, of course.” She even floated the idea of a plantation-themed wedding. The Food Network promptly dropped her, and no apology could fix that recipe.
Felicity Huffman & Lori Loughlin
In 2019, Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin learned that bribing your kid’s way into college costs more than tuition. Huffman admitted to paying $15,000 to fake her daughter’s SAT score and served 11 days. Loughlin and husband Mossimo Giannulli got longer sentences for fraud.
Lena Dunham
Lena Dunham built her career on uncomfortable honesty, but her memoir pushed that too far. She described a childhood incident with her sibling, writing, “anything a sexual predator might do to woo a small suburban girl, I was trying.” Critics called it disturbing. Dunham later admitted her wording was “poor,” but the damage was done.
Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Osbourne once told a wild story on Would I Lie To You?—and, shockingly, it was true. When a fire broke out at her home, she tossed a flaming Ozzy into a fountain, then told her assistant to save the paintings and dogs. Later, she bragged, “I fired him.”
Matthew Broderick
In 1987, Matthew Broderick’s trip to Northern Ireland turned tragic. Driving with Ferris Bueller co-star Jennifer Grey, he veered into the wrong lane, colliding with another car and killing a mother and daughter. Charged with dangerous driving, Broderick paid only a $175 fine. He later admitted, “It was extremely difficult coming to grips with what happened.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. once admitted to leaving a bear cub’s body in Central Park—and no, that’s not political satire. He said another driver hit the bear, so he tossed it in his car, planning to keep the meat. Midway home, he ditched the plan and the bear.
Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods once ruled the golf world like nobody else. That’s until 2009 swung back hard. After a late-night car crash outside his Florida home, whispers of infidelity exploded into headlines. “I have let my family down,” Woods admitted. Therapy followed, along with divorce in 2010, but his swing eventually found its way back.
Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis
The 70s Show stars found themselves in hot water after writing letters defending Danny Masterson, calling him a “role model” and “brother figure.” When the letters surfaced, they claimed they were “for the judge,” not the public. Their apology video only made things worse.
Steven Tyler
Steven Tyler’s own memoir came back to haunt him when Julia Misley sued in 2022, accusing the Aerosmith singer of abuse during her teens. Tyler had written, “With my bad self being twenty-six and she barely old enough to drive… I just fell madly in love with her.” Not exactly a great defense.
Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong’s comeback story hit a wall when the truth finally caught up. Between 1999 and 2005, he won seven Tour de France titles while secretly doping. In 2012, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency exposed him. Sitting with Oprah, he admitted, “Yes.” The medals vanished, and so did the myth of perfection.
Mark Wahlberg
Before Boogie Nights or The Departed, Mark Wahlberg’s past was anything but Hollywood. At 16, he attacked two Vietnamese men, leaving one unconscious. He served 45 days in jail and later said he regretted it. One victim forgave him, but Wahlberg’s attempt to erase the crime from his record didn’t sit well with anyone.
Victor Salva
Victor Salva’s horror films don’t compare to the real-life horror he caused. In 1988, before Clownhouse hit theaters, he was convicted of sexually abusing a 12-year-old actor, Nathan Forrest Winters, and possessing child pornography. He served just 15 months. Disturbingly, Hollywood kept hiring him—even after his crimes resurfaced years later.
Chris Brown
Chris Brown’s 2009 assault on Rihanna changed his career forever. After turning himself in, he first pleaded not guilty, then accepted a deal—five years’ probation, a year of counseling, and six months of community labor. Years later, Brown said the ordeal made him feel like a “monster.” The world agreed.
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