Celeb Kids Who Seriously Disgraced Their Parents

Being the child of a celebrity sounds amazing from an outsider's perspective. They get to live in the lap of luxury, travel the world, and pal around with Mom and Dad's famous friends. Where's the downside, right?

In reality, the pressures and temptations of fame sometimes take a harder toll on the children of celebrities than the actual celebrities themselves, and those pressures and temptations can result in seriously bad decision-making — especially from these famous black sheep. For example, did you know that Michael Douglas' son Cameron's life imitated his dad's art when he became a meth dealer — remember "Traffic"? And it actually gets worse from there. 

From airing the family's dirty laundry in the tabloids to getting busted with drugs to committing crimes as serious as murder, the offspring of the stars have found every possible way to become a living nightmare for their parents' press agents. 

In 2015, Kate Hudson's lesser known brother, Oliver Hudson, posted a since-deleted photo of himself, Kate, and their biological father, Bill Hudson, to Instagram. It was Father's Day, and Oliver chose the caption "Happy abandonment day ... " That did not go over well. Bill responded with the subtle, "Oliver's Instagram post was a malicious, vicious, premeditated attack. He is dead to me now. As is Kate. I am mourning their loss even though they are still walking this earth."

It sounds dramatic, but Oliver's post had reignited the long-time feud that kept Bill from speaking to his children for years. That rift is well documented. Bill allegedly declined his custodial rights to the siblings when Kate was 13, focusing on his new family. According to Bill, Kate and Oliver never forgave him for that.

Despite Bill's harsh condemnation of the admittedly shady Instagram post, Oliver claimed on "Watch What Happens Live" (via the Daily Mail) that the incident "was a good thing" because it "started a dialogue" between he and his dad after 12 years of silence. We're not sure how that worked, but we doubt family therapists will be suggesting a highly public insult fest as a good method of conflict resolution anytime soon.

Michael Douglas admits that some of his son Cameron's faults are a direct result of his failures as a father. That probably made it that much more difficult for Michael to watch his son go to federal prison. Even though drug addiction is common, nobody expects their kid to get caught up in dealing quantities of meth so large that they're locked up for years. That's what Cameron pleaded guilty to in 2010, earning him a five-year sentence. He got additional time tacked on for smuggling drugs into prison. 

In another stroke of bad luck, Michael was just starting treatments for throat cancer as Cameron's sentence began, and yet, the actor found a way to make a positive out of his son's situation. During his 2013 Emmy acceptance speech (via Page Six), Michael chose to bring attention to what he now views as a flawed justice system. "At first I was certainly disappointed with my son, but I've reached a point now where I'm disappointed with the system," he said. "...If you happen to have a slip, they punish you. In my son's case, he has spent almost two years in solitary confinement."

Fortunately, as of this writing, Cameron is out of prison, has seemingly remained sober, and has a family of his own now.

Rosie O'Donnell's daughter, Chelsea, has thrown so much shade at her mom in the press that it would make Donald Trump's hair spin. During an interview with the Daily Mail, Chelsea claimed Rosie smokes weed constantly, gorges on junk food, and is inattentive to her kids. Chelsea also claimed that she was "pretty much raised by nannies." And that's not all. 

Chelsea said she was heartbroken after being shipped off to two boarding schools, which resulted in four years of estrangement from her mother. After Chelsea finally returned to Rosie's home at 17, they couldn't last a year living together before, according to Chelsea, Rosie kicked her out of the house. Rosie claimed Chelsea went missing and even involved the police, but Chelsea tells a different story. "[Rosie] had two of my bags packed with clothes. Literally 10 minutes after the police had dropped me off at the house, I got in a car and went to a friend's house." Yeesh.

It's a lot, we know, and at the heart of everything is Chelsea's alleged mental health issues. She hasn't denied struggling with depression and anxiety, but she felt it was unfair that her mother made her issues public. As for Rosie's take on the entire ordeal? "My teenagers are a nightmare, they're horrible," she once quipped to a crowd (per People). Yep, that's helpful. Way to open the door to healing, Rosie.

Though he's since become a successful entrepreneur, Marcus Jordan, the son of basketball legend Michael Jordan, hit a rough patch starting in the late 2000s. First, the son of His Airness allegedly cost his college, the University of Central Florida, a contract with Adidas when he refused to wear anything but Nike Air Jordans while playing on the school's basketball team in 2009.

Okay, so maybe that wasn't exactly disgraceful to the family, since he was attempting to honor his dad in spite of the impact that had on his teammates, but there's really no arguing that the family probably wasn't thrilled a few months later when Marcus was arrested in Omaha, Neb. and charged with "resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and obstructing" after allegedly getting into a drunken argument with two women outside of a hotel, (per TMZ). 

And, although it's small potatoes in comparison to some messes that celeb kids have found themselves in, Marcus gained some controversy when he began dating Larsa Pippen, the ex-wife of Michael Jordan's longtime teammate, Scottie Pippen. While Larsa claimed that Michael Jordan was supportive of the relationship, Michael Jordan himself seems to contradict her statements.

You'd think you'd have to go a long way to disgrace Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, but his son, Marston Hefner, found a way to do just that by allegedly assaulting his then-girlfriend, Playmate Claire Sinclair. TMZ reported that Marston allegedly "punched" Sinclair and "kicked her in the stomach" during an argument. Police were called, and Marston was booked on misdemeanor domestic violence.

Claire got a restraining order, and told TMZ (via HuffPost) that she would drop the charges "if [Marston] keeps his word to give a public apology for physically abusing me on several occasions, and seeks psychiatric help for his anger issues." The state of California went ahead and prosecuted Marston, who pleaded no contest and was "sentenced to a 52-week domestic violence program," according to TMZ.  

Compounding this whole ugly scenario was the curiously tone-deaf statement released by Hugh shortly after the alleged assault occurred. "If they care about each other, they'll patch it up," he said, according to the Los Angeles Times. 

Nicolas Cage is known for his eccentricities, both on- and off-screen. In his personal life, he's been through some wild antics (like the time Dog the Bounty Hunter bailed him out of jail), but his eldest son, Weston Cage, is giving him a run for his money. Weston has performed in a black metal band, has been married three times to date, and has had multiple run-ins with the law. In 2011, for example, both he and his then-wife Nikki Williams were arrested on felony domestic violence charges, per TMZ. Then, in 2017, he was charged with DUI and two counts of hit and run after hitting a car, fleeing the scene, and dodging cops until he smashed into a tree, per TMZ. There was also the bizarre time in 2011 when he got into a violent confrontation with his former high school wrestling coach, Kevin Villegas. Villegas told TMZ that Nicolas Cage had hired him to find Weston and when he did, the actor's son tried to assault him. Villegas then pinned him down and punched him in the head over a dozen times — right in the middle of a Hollywood street.

While Nicolas Cage has remained supportive of his son (even giving him a $7,300 monthly allowance), Weston appeared to trash talk his dad in a 2014 interview with Noisey. "People have this preconceived notion that I grew up with a life of many privileges, but they don't know how dark it can be in a house like that," he mused.

Hulk Hogan's son, Nick Hogan, pursued a career as a race car driver in his teenage years, but that passion for speed proved deadly. In 2007, he was street racing in Clearwater, Florida with his friend, John Graziano, in the passenger seat when he lost control of the car. He smashed into a tree, and while he walked away unscathed, Graziano suffered severe (lifelong) brain damage, per The Ledger. The reality TV star was sent to prison for five months for reckless driving while Graziano spent two years in the hospital. He wasn't discharged until 2009, and the following year, Hulk Hogan stepped up for his son, privately settling a lawsuit with Graziano's family. That year, Nick told "GMA" he thinks about the accident and prays for his friend constantly. "It's hard to move on every day and be positive when there's something that's so horribly devastating," he said. "There's days when I can't even get out of bed." However, according to Graziano's family, Hulk's son was lying. "Nick has done nothing to show remorse," they claimed. "We haven't heard a word from him."

As if proving their point, Nick (shockingly) didn't learn from his mistakes. In 2023, he was arrested for DUI in Clearwater. Graziano's mother slammed his actions, telling TMZ it shows a "total lack of respect for what you did to another person's life and you're still driving reckless." To add literal insult to injury, a copy of the jailhouse phone calls between Nick and his father were released (via CNN), and they both seemed to deflect responsibility away from Nick.

Warren Buffett may be a billionaire, but he sure doesn't act like one. He still lives in the five-bedroom home he purchased in Omaha, Nebraska in 1958, drives a 2014 Cadillac XTS, and has vowed to donate over 99% of his fortune to charitable causes. Indeed, his three children — Howard, Susie Buffett, and Peter Buffett — won't be cashing in on an inheritance after his death. As the businessman famously told Fortune in 1986, he was only willing to give them "enough money so that they would feel they could do anything, but not so much that they could do nothing." As for his grandchildren, they were promised even less: a college education.

Warren kept true to his word, but as Nicole Buffett (Peter's adopted daughter) learned the hard way, the businessman has no qualms about taking everything away. While he reportedly spent six figures on her tuition, their previously close relationship came to an abrupt end after Nicole appeared in the 2006 documentary "The One Percent." While she said she was grateful to have her schooling paid for, she also appeared to criticize Warren, saying, per Marie Claire, "Money is the spoke in my grandfather's wheel of life." She tried to justify her choice of words but it was too late. As she told the mag, he sent her a letter disowning her in which he proclaimed, "I have not emotionally or legally adopted you as a grandchild." And he meant it — they haven't talked since.

Nicole Richie is owning her past. In a 2016 essay for Lena Dunham's "Lenny" newsletter, she told fans, per People, "I am not going to apologize for being me so you can get your triumphant ending." Even so, the House of Harlow designer and loving mama of two has come a long way from her headline-making youth. Back then, she was known as a wild child and indeed, in 2003, she was arrested for the first time. Nicole was charged with driving with a suspended license (a misdemeanor) and heroin possession (a felony) after cops pulled her over on an L.A. highway, per EW. She pleaded guilty to both charges, was sentenced to probation, and ordered to enter rehab.

In 2006, it happened again. This time, she was stopped by officers after driving the wrong way on another L.A. highway. She was arrested and charged with DUI and admitted to taking Vicodin and smoking marijuana, per Reuters. She pleaded guilty and served 82 minutes in jail.

There was little that dad Lionel Richie could do but look on in fear. "That's a fairly cataclysmic thing for any father to have to watch his beautiful, young daughter go through," he told Piers Morgan in 2015, per the Daily Mail. So when she reached out to him for help, he jumped at the chance. Lionel immediately canceled his tour and told Nicole, "Me and your mother are checking into rehab with you."

Charlie Sheen is no stranger to controversy. In addition to his decades-long battle with addiction, the actor's legal troubles have been well-documented, starting back in the mid-1990s. His first arrest came in 1996 for allegedly assaulting an unnamed 24-year-old woman in his home. He was arrested again in 2009, this time following a domestic violence dispute with then-wife Brooke Mueller, who alleged that he tried to kill her. Sheen pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault before completely spiraling out of control in 2011. That year, Sheen was fired from "Two and a Half Men" and went on a number of rampages against show creator Chuck Lorre while also suing him and the studio for wrongful termination. It was his "tiger blood" era and his family was left feeling helpless. As dad Martin Sheen told The Guardian in 2011, his son's addiction was a disease and all the family could do was be supportive. "We lift him up and we pray for him and be present to him," he shared.

Unfortunately, it would take several more years for Charlie to turn things around. In 2014, he was sued by dental technician Margarita Palestino, who claimed he physically attacked her during an appointment. In 2016, Denise Richards sued him for allegedly failing to pay child support, evicting her and their daughters from their home, and sending threatening texts to daughter Lola, per People. Charlie has since gotten clean (as of 2023, he was six years sober) and returned to work.