Scandals That Led To Chris Pratt's Massive Downfall From Fame

Most celebrities have ups and downs in their careers, but there are some whose lows just keep getting worse. This seems to be the case with Chris Pratt. At the height of his career, he was a major movie star and heartthrob in Hollywood. More recently, though, he's been dealing with a significant downfall, struggling to maintain his massive fame and high status, and there are plenty of possible reasons for the actor's unfortunate turn of events.

Pratt started off as a comedy star thanks to his role in "Parks and Recreation." He quickly moved on to action and drama roles, starring in huge franchises like "Guardians of the Galaxy," the "Jurassic World" films, and "The Super Mario Bros. Movie." However, since the latter blockbuster, his starring roles have been less impressive. Just look at the 2025 and 2026 movies "The Electric State" and "Mercy," respectively.

Even with "Stranger Things" star Millie Bobby Brown in the film, "The Electric State" couldn't impress critics, scoring a 14% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences' opinions fared a little better but were still disappointing, especially for a movie that reportedly cost something like $300 million. As for "Mercy," the action flick garnered a rating of 25% on Rotten Tomatoes; despite its lower budget of $60 million, it didn't even break even, making $54 million globally, according to Box Office Mojo. So, what exactly led fans to want Pratt to be canceled?

One of Chris Pratt's earliest controversies occurred in 2017, when the actor claimed that blue-collar Americans were underrepresented on film. In a feature interview with Men's Fitness covering a variety of different topics, Pratt at one point claimed that he didn't see a lot of stories like his own on screen. "I think there's room for me to tell mine, and probably an audience that would be hungry for them," he said. "The voice of the average, blue-collar American isn't necessarily represented in Hollywood."

It's safe to say that people did not agree with Pratt's opinion here, claiming there are plenty of blue-collar American stories in movies and television (and certainly many stories about people like himself). Fans didn't hold back while sharing their thoughts. One person on X, formerly Twitter, responded to the reporting by simply writing, "Oh Chris... No..." Another pointed out Pratt's role on "Parks and Recreation," sarcastically writing, "if only he could be on a show about a parks dept committed to improving the lives of blue collar families in Indiana for 7 years." Others mentioned the countless sitcoms about working-class families.

Soon after the backlash, Pratt retweeted an article about his comments and apologized, writing on X, "That was actually a pretty stupid thing to say. I'll own that. There's a ton of movies about blue collar America." This might seem like just a small issue with fans, but it was indicative of other ways Pratt would be seen as out of touch, and kicked off the actor's fall from grace.

In 2019, another controversy hinted at the shady side of Chris Pratt after he discussed spirituality and faith during an appearance on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." Elliot Page then called out Pratt, writing on X, "Oh. K. Um. But his church is infamously anti lgbtq so maybe address that too?" Initially, Pratt responded to the accusation on his Instagram Stories, writing of Page's claims, via BBC, "Nothing could be further from the truth. I go to a church that opens their doors to absolutely everyone."

While neither Pratt nor Page named Hillsong Church at the time, the former has been associated with the controversial church in the past. In 2017, Pratt attended a service at Hillsong, and by 2019, he was attending Zoe Church, which has connections to Hillsong. Zoe Church founder Chad Veach told The New York Times he modeled the place of worship after Hillsong, and he has previously spoken at Hillsong conferences. 

As for the anti-LGBTQ+ stance, former Hillsong pastor Brian Houston wrote in an article on Medium, "We do not affirm a gay lifestyle and because of this we do not knowingly have actively gay people in positions of leadership, either paid or unpaid." For his part, Veach had executive-produced a short film equating same-sex relationships with "sexual brokenness," per Broadview, and Zoe Church's Doctrine of Faith states that marriage is strictly between a man and a woman. So, it's clear that, like most churches, Pratt's place of worship is not very LGBTQ+-friendly.

The backlash never really died down, with Pratt eventually denying that he ever attended Hillsong despite evidence to the contrary. In a June 2022 interview with Men's Health, he said, "I never went to Hillsong. I've never actually been to Hillsong. I don't know anyone from that church."

Chris Pratt first married Anna Faris in 2009, and they welcomed a son named Jack in 2012. One year after Pratt and Faris divorced in 2018, he married Katherine Schwarzenegger. The couple has had three kids so far, including two daughters and a son. While they seem like a happy little family, fans are concerned about Pratt's focus on his family with Schwarzenegger on social media and how little his son, Jack Pratt, appears in comparison. One social media post got people really upset.

In November 2021, Pratt paid tribute to Schwarzenegger on Instagram, writing in part, "She's given me an amazing life, a gorgeous healthy daughter." While this might seem like an ordinary comment at first glance, fans took issue with the inclusion of the word "healthy," as Pratt's son Jack has dealt with serious health issues since he was a baby. During an episode of her podcast "Unqualified," Faris said, "Jack had a few surgeries — he had a few hernia surgeries, he's had a few eye surgeries, and he had a little heart issue as well."

Fans who knew Jack's health history thought Pratt's comment about his daughter was insensitive, or even a jab at him and Faris. People commented on Pratt's post, writing things like, "Shame on you," "You didn't need to add 'healthy' like that," and, "So not thankful for you other child? Nice."

Pratt addressed the situation in the aforementioned Men's Health piece from June 2022, slamming the critical comments: "My son's gonna read that one day. He's nine ... It really f***ing bothered me, dude. I cried about it." Even years later, Pratt can't seem to totally brush off the controversy, at least if the cold reception from audiences is any indication.