As another eventful year comes to an end in Hollywood, some stars will remember the year for upsetting reasons. From Marvel star Gwyneth Paltrow’s public trial to Jada Pinkett Smith’s complicated family life, fans witnessed several of their favorite stars getting entangled in controversies.
These are the 5 celebrities who were extensively discussed by news outlets and social media users for all the wrong reasons in 2023.
Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Paltrow’s last appearance in a movie was as Pepper Potts in Avengers: Endgame. She stepped away from her acting career to focus on her lifestyle brand, Goop, which has faced criticism for promoting pseudoscience. However, in 2023, she gained more attention during a televised trial where she took the witness stand. Retired optometrist Terry Sanderson sued her for $300,00 for allegedly injuring him during a skiing accident in 2016.
While Paltrow was found not guilty of causing the crash and was awarded $1 in damages (via NBC News), her courtroom appearances became the subject of online memes. Bizarre questions were directed at her, including inquiries about the Christmas gift she sent to Taylor Swift. Her statement about the collision causing her to miss “half a day of skiing” also got brutally trolled.
Priscilla Presley
Priscilla Presley’s life was made into the biographical drama, Priscilla, directed by Sofia Coppola this year. The movie gave some perspective into the life of Elvis Presley‘s wife. However, the film came after a legal dispute between the Naked Gun actress and her granddaughter, actress Riley Keough. Presley contested the will of her late daughter Lisa Marie Presley, which had granted Keough control over her mother’s estate.
Presley’s legal action came just weeks after Lisa Marie Presley’s death in January. While the media expected a bigger conflict between the grandmother and granddaughter, the case was amicably resolved after Keough was officially named the sole trustee of the estate. Presley later told The Hollywood Reporter that she and Keough “are on good terms”.
Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill found himself at the center of controversies when his ex-girlfriend, Sarah Brady, exposed some of the actor’s allegedly abusive behaviors (via The Independent). Brady shared text messages between them when they were a couple on her Instagram story. In the texts, Hill stated that he could not continue the relationship if Brady, a surfer, continued to surf with men and posted photos in swimsuits.
Following Brady’s revelations, child actress Alexa Nikolas accused Hill of forcibly kissing her when she was 16, and Hill was 24. Hill’s attorney dismissed Nikolas’ accusations, calling them “a complete fabrication” (via Deadline). Hill’s controversies also overshadowed the antisemitic controversies against his only film of the year, You People.
Also Read: Robert Downey Jr’s Death is Not Why Gwyneth Paltrow Won’t Watch Endgame: “I stopped watching them”
Ashton Kutcher (and Mila Kunis)
That ‘70s Show actor Danny Masterson was sentenced to 30 years in prison in September for a 2017 s*xual misconduct case. His co-stars from the show, Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, came under fire for writing letters to the LA County Court judge in support of Masterson before sentencing. In the letters obtained by journalist Tony Ortega, Kutcher wrote that he did not believe that Masterson was “an ongoing harm to society.”
Kunis went on to call Masterson a role model, sharing that she could vouch for his “exceptional character” and “tremendous positive influence” on people. Kutcher and Kunis later made a public apology for writing the letters. The celebrity couple reprised their roles from their 1998 sitcom in the sequel series That ‘90s Show.
Jada Pinkett Smith
In the year of celebrity memoirs and documentaries, Jada Pinkett Smith stood out with a very revealing memoir, Worthy. In her book, as well as in a promotional interview with Today, Smith made the shocking revelation that she and her husband Will Smith had been living separate lives since 2016. She also addressed the infamous Oscars slap, where the Aladdin actor slapped host Chris Rock for his comments against Jada Smith.
Smith’s memoir also discussed her entanglement with her son’s friend and singer August Alsina. Jada Smith’s talk show Red Table Talk was canceled in April 2023, but The Matrix Reloaded actress is set to return with the show on a new platform in 2024.
