The Biggest Celebrity Trolls
Trolls aren't just anonymous posters who wreak havoc all over the internet. Some of our favorite celebs have been accused of deliberately starting altercations or provoking others just to get a response. From the practical jokesters who'll do anything for a laugh to the instigators that seem to love making outrageous comments, here are a few of the biggest celebrity trolls.
Azealia Banks
No one's safe from Azealia Banks' venom. She has gone on Twitter tirades against everyone, but her customary antics landed her in the social media doghouse after she made some really inappropriate comments in May 2016.
The rapper accused former One Direction singer Zayn Malik of using elements from one of her music videos for one of his own. She then called the Pakistani singer a "curry scented b***h" in a since-deleted tweet (via TIME).
When Disney star Skai Jackson got involved by telling Banks to "simmer down" in a tweet, the rapper responded in kind: "And you need to grow some hips and start ur menses. Stay in a child's place," Banks told Jackson in a since-deleted tweet (via Us Weekly.)
Banks Twitter account was subsequently suspended, and her headline performance at Rinse FM's Born & Bred Festival in London was also canceled because of her actions.
But you can't keep a troll down. Banks later returned to Twitter with a new account and set her sights on hip-hop newcomer Cardi B. "I thought [Cardi B] was going to be a Latina hottie and not a poor man's Nicki. It went the other way now I'm over it," Banks said in a since-deleted tweet (via BET.)
Such antics have done little for Banks' career. Vulture even published a story asking if the once-promising rapper had "trolled her way out of a career."
Eminem
One thing that makes Eminem so entertaining is his kitschy lyrics that poke fun at pop culture icons. He's bashed everyone from Britney Spears to Lady Gaga, and we'll never forget when rumors emerged that he was involved in a steamy romance with Mariah Carey. After their alleged fling (which Carey denied) came to an end, Em didn't hesitate to name drop her in the lyrics of his 2002 hit "Superman."
Eminem's fans don't mind that he trolls some of the most popular names in the industry. He's stuck with that same M.O., and hey, if his shtick sells records, then why not?
In 2017, he made a rare public appearance in a pre-recorded freestyle that aired during the BET Awards. During his performance, the Detroit rapper took aim at President Donald Trump. He was clearly looking for a response from the Twitter-loving commander-in-chief, yet Trump completely disregarded Eminem's verbal attack, which seemed to make the rapper even angrier.
"I feel like he's not paying attention to me," Eminem told Sirius XM's Shade 45 (via the New York Daily News.) "I was kind of waiting for him to say something and for some reason, he didn't say anything."
Chris Pratt
Who wouldn't want to pose for a picture with actress Jennifer Lawrence and share it all over their social media accounts? Answer: Chris Pratt.
The actor trolled Lawrence, his Passengers co-star, during their entire 2016 press tour. In every photo posted to his Instagram account, Lawrence was either completely cropped out of the frame or Pratt made sure her face was blocked.
Thankfully, these two are friends in real life, so we're sure Lawrence wasn't offended by the hilarious snub.
Madonna
Madonna has used shock value to keep her name in the headlines since the start of her career, and despite being a veteran in the music industry, she continues to be flamboyant and outrageous–much to the delight of her adoring fans.
She famously locked lips with both Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, and she used her pucker for publicity again in 2015, when she planted a huge kiss on rapper Drake during the Coachella music festival. But the latter backfired on the "Like a Virgin" singer. When Drake noticeably wiped his mouth after their lip lock, many assumed he was disgusted by Madge's make out skills.
A month after their PDA, Madonna admitted she regretted going through with the pre-planned smooch. When asked what advice she would give to her younger self during a Q&A with fans (via Entertainment Tonight,) Madonna answered, "Don't kiss Drake no matter how many times he f***ing begs you to."
The Queen of Pop has since found new ways to use her body to garner attention–like getting naked to vote. Madonna stripped down to nothing in September 2016 to encourage U.S. citizens to vote in the presidential election. We're not sure how getting naked was supposed to compel voters to head to the polls. Considering Madonna's choice, presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, was unsuccessful in her race to win the White House, a new strategy for the next election is definitely in order.
George Clooney
Not all celebrity trolls are bad. In fact, some of them are just practical jokesters who love to make people laugh. Case in point: George Clooney. He may appear refined and dapper on the outside, but on the inside, he loves to play pranks on his Hollywood friends.
In October 2017, he trolled funnyman Jimmy Kimmel during a taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live (via The Wrap.) Clooney's wife, Amal, had given birth to their twins four months prior, and the public had been waiting with bated breath for Hollywood's leading man to finally reveal his bundles of joy to the world.
During his interview, Clooney told Kimmel his newborn son and daughter were backstage and ready to make their television debut. That's when actor Matt Damon, Clooney's Suburbicon co-star and Kimmel's pseudo-arch-nemesis, walked on stage pushing a double stroller that was completely empty.
Everyone was disappointed, but they couldn't help but laugh at Clooney's wicked sense of humor.
Ariel Winter
It seems like Ariel Winter went from the adorable kid on Modern Family to a vampy Hollywood starlet overnight. She has since hit the town in the tiniest of denim shorts. Some called it fashion, but Winter's estranged mom, Crystal Workman, called it a "cry for help" during an interview with Inside Edition. Whatever you called it, you forgot all about it after the actress' Memorial Day 2017 Instagram photo.
Winter was photographed wearing a teeny-tiny thong bikini on the U.S. holiday dedicated to honoring those who died while serving in the country's armed forces. Winter captioned her photo, "Happy Memorial Day," prompting her Instagram followers to call her narcissistic and "tasteless" for arguably disrespecting the true meaning of the holiday (via Yahoo!)
Winter has also been accused of trolling Kylie Jenner by wearing clothes that appear to be inspired by the reality star. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but rumors suggest Jenner isn't too flattered by Winter being an alleged copycat. A source told Hollywood Life, "[Jenner's] very proud of her unique style, and it annoys her that Ariel is constantly stealing her look."
Brandi Glanville
Sometimes, it's hard to move on, especially if you think you've been wronged by your former lover. Despite their divorce being finalized in 2010, former The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Brandi Glanville still seems to have it our for her ex-husband, Eddie Cibrian, and the woman he reportedly cheated on her with, his now-wife and country singer LeAnn Rimes.
Glanville's most troll-worthy dig occurred in October 2017, when she posted a photo of her Halloween costume on Instagram. In the photo, Glanville is posing with her boyfriend, Donald Friese, at a "celebrity scandal couples-themed" shindig.
Glanville was all dolled up in a pair of overalls, a black top, and a cowgirl hat with a beer in her hand, while Friese wore a plain black shirt. Glanville captioned the photo, "Soooo my friends [sic] Halloween party was celebrity scandal couples! Guess who we are." It didn't take long for people to realize she was dressed up as none other than Rimes, and Friese was putting on his best Cibrian impersonation.
Celebrity website Dlisted summed it up by labeling her Halloween costume as "trick-or-trolling."
Kanye West
Rapper Kanye West had an interesting 2016. He used his Saint Pablo tour to get a lot of things off his chest via lengthy rants to his fans during his concerts. One such verbal tirade even involved his good friends, Jay-Z and Beyoncé.
West called out Bey, claiming she refused to perform at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards unless she won video of the year, and he also begged Jay-Z to call him, ironically telling Jay to, "Talk to me like a man," according to Rolling Stone.
West's neither-the-time-nor-place moments continued when he fueled a Twitter tiff with rapper Wiz Khalifa over the word "waves," which was the expected name of West's upcoming studio album. West unleashed what BuzzFeed referred to as a "tweetstorm to end all tweetstorms," bashing Khalifa's style, music, body, and even his baby and his baby's mama. (In case you forgot, Khalifa was once married to West's ex-girlfriend, Amber Rose.)
Eventually, West apparently realized he had gone too far and tried to reform his trolling ways, sort of: "What's sad is I love Wiz and I love [all] my brothers and all people," he tweeted (via BuzzFeed,) followed by a slew of stuff about "peace and positive energy."
Farrah Abraham
Some celebs try their best to keep their children out of the public eye (e.g. Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis,) but reality star Farrah Abraham has made a living out of publicizing her relationship with daughter Sophia.
We were first introduced to Abraham on the MTV series 16 and Pregnant. She was three months along when the cameras started documenting her life, and MTV continued to chronicle her time as a young parent in the series Teen Mom OG.
Abraham has been blasted online for her parenting skills and for the photos she posts of her daughter on Instagram. One pic showed Sophia in a glamour shot with a face full of makeup. However, Abraham really made waves when she may or may not have given her daughter weight loss tea after she ate "all that candy" during Halloween (via Perez Hilton.)
Abraham continues to parent by her own rules, despite the outrage that ensues online, and her behavior is one of the reasons she's considered a gold mine when it comes to reality TV ratings.
Chrissy Teigen
Twitter is the place where everyone gathers together to spill their guts in 280-characters or less. The undisputed queen of this social media platform is Chrissy Teigen, the supermodel, mother, and wife to reserved singer John Legend.
There's a reason why Teigen has millions of followers, and it all has to do with the fact that she has absolutely no filter. If you want to hear all about her life–from the good to the bad, to the time they had sex at an event for former President Barack Obama–hit that "follow" button STAT!
Some of her most cringeworthy, albeit entertaining, tweets are about her marriage to her superstar husband. She loves to troll his fans, like the time she tweeted, "I lovvvvvve John fans that hate me. It is the best. You're so right. I don't deserve him. He should be with you." Then there's the time she made fun of his pre-concert vocal warm-up by tweeting, "I know he has a beautiful voice and I know I am "soooooo lucky" and blah blah but John's vocal warmups [sic] make me want to stab my brain."
If her trolling is absolutely hilarious online, we can only imagine how entertaining she must be in person.