I'm Genuinely Horrified By These Disturbing Celebrity Stories That Don't Get Talked About Enough

Warning: This post contains mentions of sexual assault, physical abuse, violence, and drugs.

Note: This post contains allegations that have not been verified.

Celebrity PR teams genuinely deserve a raise, because I can't believe I've gone my entire life without hearing about these stories. After coming across two Reddit threads filled with stories of celebrity misdeeds that somehow slipped through the cracks — including serious allegations and things stars admitted themselves — here are 19 that might completely surprise you...

1. "John Stamos admitted that he tricked a woman into having sex with his friend. He said he started making out with her in a dark room, got up to 'brush his teeth,' and then let his friend go in and have sex with her instead. No one ever mentions it. I guess some dirtbags just get a pass."

In a 2005 interview with Jane magazine, John Stamos recalled beginning a sexual encounter with a woman in a dark room before getting up and allowing his friend to take his place. In Stamos's own telling, the woman was not informed that a different person had taken his place.

Stamos called the deception a "trick" and said it was "terrible." It appears that he has not since tried to publicly apologize to the woman or address the incident.

2. "Matthew Broderick killed two people in a head-on collision after driving on the wrong side of the road in Northern Ireland, and he only had to pay a small fine."

The Los Angeles Times reported that Matthew Broderick was driving in Northern Ireland with Jennifer Grey in August 1987 when his rental car collided head-on with a vehicle carrying 28-year-old Anna Gallagher and her 63-year-old mother, Margaret Doherty, killing both women. The report also said that Broderick was accused of driving on the wrong side of the road.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the original charge was reduced to careless driving and that Broderick pleaded guilty and was fined £100 (around $175). The Belfast Telegraph later reported that Broderick wanted to meet the family and apologize, and that Martin Doherty (Margaret's son and Anna's brother) said he had forgiven him.

3. "Jon Hamm was accused of taking part in a brutal fraternity hazing ritual, and the young man was reportedly hit so hard during the 1990 initiation that he suffered a fractured spine and nearly lost a kidney."

According to the Associated Press's reporting based on court and university records, University of Texas pledge Mark Sanders accused Jon Hamm of participating in a 1990 hazing. Sanders specifically accused Hamm of striking him with a paddle and shoving his face into the dirt. During the broader hazing incident involving fraternity members, Sanders alleged that he was led around with the claw of a hammer beneath his genitals and had his pants set on fire. The AP reported that Sanders said he suffered serious injuries during the overall hazing, but it did not attribute his reported spinal or kidney injuries solely to Hamm.

The AP also reported that Hamm was charged with hazing, received deferred adjudication, completed probation, and was never convicted; a separate assault charge was dismissed. In a later Esquire interview, Hamm said the account was "sensationalized," called the situation a "bummer," and emphasized that he has "moved on from it."

4. "Neil Patrick Harris and that Amy Winehouse corpse cake. 🤢"

Entertainment Weekly reported that Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka hosted a Halloween party a few months after Amy Winehouse's July 2011 death that included a buffet platter made to look like "The Corpse of Amy Winehouse."

In a statement to Entertainment Weekly, Harris said the image was "regrettable then" and remained regrettable, called Winehouse a "once-in-a-generation talent," and apologized for the hurt it caused.

5. "It sounds completely unbelievable, but Lindsay Lohan was accused of attempting to take refugee children from their parents off the street. It's real, and somehow it's even wilder than it sounds."

Time reported that during a 2018 Instagram livestream, Lindsay Lohan approached two adults and two children whom she identified as a Syrian refugee family. She offered to take one child to a hotel, followed the group, accused the adults of trafficking the children, and grabbed one of the boys. Time said the woman then appeared to hit Lohan.

ABC News later reported that Lohan did not give a detailed explanation and said she would have to explain the full story in person. She added, "I read the situation wrong. I've learned from it. And that's all I have to say." I don't know what Lohan believed she was witnessing, but I need everyone to go and watch this video. 😭

6. "Mark Wahlberg, aka Marky Mark, had multiple incidents of racist violence before he became famous."

The Associated Press reported that in 1986, Mark Wahlberg and other white teenagers chased Black school children while shouting racial slurs and throwing rocks, and that Wahlberg received a civil rights injunction. It was also reported that in 1988, he attacked two Vietnamese men, striking Thanh Lam with a wooden stick and punching Hoa Trinh. He was then convicted and served about 45 days.

The Associated Press later reported that Wahlberg sought a pardon, citing remorse, rehabilitation, and charitable work. One of the Black children opposed the pardon, while Trinh said he had forgiven Wahlberg. Nonetheless, this pardon request was dropped, but people still found it very controversial.

7. "Sharon Osbourne once told a 'hilarious' story about forcing her assistant to run into a burning house to retrieve her artwork, then firing him afterward. She told this story on Would I Lie to You?, a lighthearted entertainment panel show. I don't know why she thought it was funny, and I don't know why the producers kept it in."

People reported that Sharon Osbourne said on Would I Lie to You? that she told an assistant to retrieve paintings and dogs from her burning home and then removed the oxygen mask paramedics gave him so she could place it on a dog.

People also reported that Osbourne later clarified she did not fire the assistant immediately, that he remained employed for about 15 more years, and that the immediate firing was a joke added for the comedy show. I don't know if it's just me, but her explanations don't make me feel even the slightest bit better… 😬

8. "Brad Pitt has been accused of being physically violent with Angelina Jolie and their children. People do not care. They would rather believe Jolie and the kids are all making it up, or that the children only want nothing to do with him because their mom is keeping them away."

The Los Angeles Times reported after reviewing an FBI report that Angelina Jolie told investigators Brad Pitt grabbed and shook her, pushed her into a bathroom wall, and confronted their children during a September 2016 flight. The Los Angeles Times separately reported that the FBI closed its inquiry and no charges were filed.

People have since stated that Pitt denied any abuse. But, I personally still choose to side-eye this man after so many of their kids have seemed to have chosen their mother's side…

9. "I want to bring attention to the allegations made against Michael Fassbender by his ex-girlfriend, Leasi Andrews. Andrews reportedly provided medical records showing that she sustained injuries, including a broken nose, a busted kneecap, and a twisted ankle. She alleged that Fassbender caused those injuries during two separate attacks."

The Daily Beast reported after obtaining the 2010 filing that Sunawin "Leasi" Andrews, Fassbender's ex-girlfriend, alleged he threw her over a chair and broke her nose during one incident and dragged her alongside a moving car during another. Andrews attributed a twisted ankle, an injured kneecap, internal bleeding, and a burst ovarian cyst to the alleged second incident, and the publication said she submitted medical bills with her petition.

It was also reported that Andrews withdrew the petition the day before the scheduled hearing for a permanent protective order, causing the temporary restraining order to expire before the allegations were adjudicated. The court papers did not explain why she withdrew it, and Fassbender's representative did not respond to the publication's requests for comment. The New York Daily News later revealed that Andrews and Fassbender briefly reunited after the 2012 Golden Globes, were seen together at the Writers' Room in Los Angeles, and she was seen leaving his hotel the next day.

The Daily Beast has noted that Fassbender's representative did not respond to requests for comment. On the other hand, Leasi has called negative reports inaccurate and declined to comment further after directing the reporter to her court filings.

10. "On a podcast, Ian Somerhalder casually admitted that he threw away his wife's birth control pills because he wanted them to start having children. 'We decided that we wanted to have children together, and it was just time,' Somerhalder explained. 'But unbeknownst to poor Nikki, she didn't realize that I was going to go in her purse and take out her birth control.' Somerhalder also said there's a 'six-minute video' of Reed 'freaking out' about it."

People reported that Ian Somerhalder said he went into Nikki Reed's purse and threw away her birth control pills after the couple had decided they wanted children, while saying that it was done "unbeknownst to poor Nikki."

People also reported that Reed rejected claims of reproductive coercion and said the decision to have a child was mutual. Reed and Somerhalder then apologized to people affected by reproductive coercion and said they should not have discussed such a serious issue so casually.

11. "Liam Neeson admitting that he once wanted to kill a random Black man. Obviously, he was trying to show that he had grown since then, but literally no one asked him to share that."

Time reported that Liam Neeson said that he spent about a week walking around with a blunt weapon, hoping a Black man would approach him so he could attack him. This occurred after a close friend told him she had been raped by a Black man. Neeson has since said he was ashamed and that no violence occurred.

It was also reported that Neeson said he sought help by speaking to a priest and power walking. The Guardian later reported that he apologized and said his comments did not reflect his true feelings.

12. "Dr. Seuss cheated on his first wife while she was dying of cancer, and she died by suicide after finding out."

History reported that Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, had an affair with Audrey Stone Dimond while his wife, Helen Palmer Geisel, was seriously ill. After this, Helen died by suicide in 1967.

It was also reported that Geisel married Audrey the following year. Although the source does not confirm if the affair was the sole cause of Helen's death, I stand firm that this adds a truly upsetting dent to his legacy.

13. "Nicki Minaj supported her brother after he was convicted of raping his 11-year-old stepdaughter and sentenced to decades in prison. She also married a convicted sex offender and was accused of trying to intimidate his victim. I think more people started realizing all of this during her feud with Megan over the 'Megan's Law' lyric."

Pitchfork reported that Nicki Minaj's brother, Jelani Maraj, was convicted of repeatedly raping his stepdaughter beginning when she was 11 and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Maraj pleaded not guilty, and his attorney argued that the allegations were part of a $25 million extortion attempt against Minaj. A judge later rejected their effort to overturn the verdict, and Maraj's attorney said at the time that they planned to appeal the sentence over alleged juror misconduct and other issues. In June 2024, an appeals court upheld Maraj's conviction and sentence.

Minaj's husband, Kenneth Petty, was convicted of attempted rape in 1995, served four years, and is a registered sex offender, according to People. Minaj has fiercely defended him, publicly claiming that Petty and Jennifer Hough were teenagers in a relationship at the time (which Hough has disputed). Hough later filed a civil lawsuit alleging that Petty and Minaj tried to pressure her into retracting her account, including through an alleged $20,000 offer. Minaj denied those allegations, and Hough voluntarily dismissed her claims against Minaj without prejudice in January 2022. Minaj's attorney then called the case "frivolous" and "disgraceful," while Hough's claims against Petty were still ongoing at that point…

14. "Jenny McCarthy was 40 when she grabbed and kissed 18-year-old Justin Bieber on live television. Her explanation afterward was: 'I couldn't help it. He was just so delicious. So little. I wanted to tear his head off and eat it.' She also said she had 'kind of molested him,' adding, 'I want some Bieber fever — and I want a Bieber rash. It'd be like cougar rape.'"

The Los Angeles Times reported that at the 2012 American Music Awards, Jenny McCarthy grabbed Justin Bieber by the neck, kissed him, and grabbed his butt while presenting him with an award. It was reported that Bieber said, "Wow. I feel violated right now."

It was also reported that McCarthy later described the moment as "a little cougar scary," said she took the opportunity because she would never get to do it again, and added that she had "kind of molested him." Us Weekly also reported that McCarthy acknowledged grabbing his butt and said, "I'm single, but I think it's cougar rape, if you ask me."

15. "Jack Nicholson was accused of beating a sex worker so severely that she suffered brain damage."

CBS News published an Associated Press report stating that Catherine Sheehan accused Jack Nicholson of attacking her during an alleged 1996 encounter and that they reached a $32,500 settlement the following year.

The same Associated Press report said Sheehan filed another lawsuit in 2000 seeking to undo the settlement and alleged that she suffered brain-stem damage, intermittent vision loss, and continuing pain. There doesn't seem to be much coverage of how the second lawsuit was resolved, or of a public response from Nicholson at this time. But regardless, I still find the severity of her allegations absolutely horrifying to even think about.

16. "Cardi B admitted that she used to drug and rob men before she became famous."

People reported that in a resurfaced Instagram Live video, Cardi B said that while working as a stripper, she persuaded men to go to hotels with her, drugged them, and robbed them.

People also reported that Cardi said she was not proud of what she described, felt she had limited options at the time, never glorified it in her music, and did not want others to imitate it. But the fact that she told on herself out of nowhere was certainly…a choice.

17. "Brett Ratner once told a 'hilarious' story about him and Michael Jackson putting on masks and throwing water balloons from the sunroof of a limousine, including at a homeless man."

Howard Stern's site reported Ratner's story that he and Michael Jackson wore masks and threw water balloons from a limousine. This includes an account of a time when they frightened a man Ratner said was "like a homeless person."

The same report said Ratner clarified that Jackson did not propose going out specifically to target homeless people. To me, it sounded like Ratner told the story as if it were just a funny little memory — but the "joke" was literally just bothering strangers from a limo??

18. "Alison Brie once wrote an essay about repeatedly pursuing sex with her gay friend because she thought she might be able to 'turn' him straight."

In a first-person essay, Alison Brie wrote about trying to hook up with a recently out gay friend who had already told her he wasn't attracted to her. An archived version of the essay shows Brie acknowledging that she could have taken that as a clear sign he wasn't interested, but instead kept trying to change his mind.

Jezebel also reported that Brie was convinced that sleeping with her might make the gay man realize he was attracted to women. GQ later quoted her joking that her vagina could become his "road to salvation." And Brie wrote that the two eventually did have sex. But honestly, I don't know why she thought this was a story even worth sharing...

19. Lastly, "Jay-Z pleaded guilty after a producer was stabbed in 1999, although the man later claimed Jay-Z had actually taken the blame for someone else."

Business Insider reported that Jay-Z was accused of stabbing record executive Lance "Un" Rivera during a 1999 nightclub confrontation. Jay-Z initially denied the accusation but later pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and received three years of probation. In a 2010 interview with the Guardian, Jay-Z described the incident as a "bar fight" and said it served as a wake-up call that made him realize he needed to watch his temper and move more carefully.

More than two decades later, Rivera said that Jay-Z was not actually the person who stabbed him. Rivera's statement still doesn't explain why Jay-Z pleaded guilty, but honestly, I'm just shocked that Beyoncé's husband was ever caught up in something this messy. 😭

Which celebrity with a deeply disturbing past did we miss? Tell us in the comments, or submit it anonymously in the form below — your response may be featured in a future BuzzFeed Community post!

Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.