Celeb Parents Who Mess With Their Kids' Lives
Celebrities often endure odd and strained relationships with their parents. Just ask Lindsay Lohan, whose parents Michael and Dina Lohan confessed to screwing her up, or Jon Voight, who publicly said his daughter Angelina Jolie needs help for her "mental problems." Check out this list of celebrity moms and dads who could use an extra parenting class or two.
Michael and Dina Lohan
Lindsay Lohan watched her parents fight for a number of years, and those devastating memories surely had an effect on her. Both Michael and Dina conducted an interview on the Steve Harvey Show in April 2016, and admitted a shared belief that their troubled marriage had much to do with their daughter's turbulent adulthood. "I think, inevitably I think we are responsible for the path that Lindsay took," Michael said, according to a Daily Mail recap. "Our divorce, because of our relationship, affected Lindsay to the point where she drowned her sorrows and numbed her pain. And it breaks my heart to think that she suffered because of the way I acted. I see it everyday, and I see how people struggle with it."
Dina piggybacked off those comments, touching on Lindsay's later drug use, stints in rehab, and court appearances. "You know, I think when she was little, she saw most of the abuse," she recalled. "So Lindsay did witness a lot, and I absolutely think it takes a toll on children." Perhaps witnessing her parents endure such strife has led Lindsay to believe that's what relationships are supposed to be like. In July, a video surfaced of her fighting with fiancé Egor Tarabasov, accusing him of physically beating her; weeks later, a separate video emerged showing the couple engaged in a scuffle over a cell phone. Footage shows Egor violently grabbing for the phone that Lindsay tries to conceal. Someone should tell her this isn't real love.
Jon and Kate Gosselin
Jon and Kate Gosselin have been at each other's throats since they divorced in 2009. They've used the media to trade jabs—and worse, they've put their eight children in the middle of their adult drama. In late August 2016, the former couple's eldest twin daughters, 15-year-old Cara and Mady, made it known how they feel about their father. "I wouldn't even know what to say about him," Cara told People. Mady, on the other hand, was much more vocal with her anger. "Here's how I feel about this. This year I'm going to turn 16. I'm going to be learning to drive, taking the PSATs, thinking about college. So much is going on in my life. And the last thing I have time for is a toxic relationship... He doesn't even know us."
It seems the girls didn't develop that anger toward their father all on their own. Kate openly and publicly bashes her ex-husband quite often. Jon too has been outspoken about his broken relationship with his kids and Kate. "If the kids want to come, they come," he told Yahoo! about visitation. "I love them all, but I am going to focus on the ones that want to come. My hands are tied." Jon added that he usually only sees four out of the eight kids at a time. The strong division between parents is perhaps causing the most trauma for young Collin, 12. Kate opened up to People, saying her son no longer lives with the family while seeking help for his "special needs" and adding, "This has been a struggle we've had for a very long time, and it's one I've dealt with on my own. I've felt very alone in this." It's unclear when, if ever, Collin will return home.
Madonna
A mother's love is strong. But when that love collides with social media, it can stir up drama—as Madonna demonstrated when she posted a slew of embarrassing and probably uncomfortable photos of son Rocco. In the fall of 2015, Madonna shared a photo of her teenage son wearing pigtails with the caption, "Blonde Ambition." Just before that, she shared an Instagram video of Rocco doing a back flip in his underwear. The overexposure of her son may have caused their rift in the winter of 2015, in which it was revealed that Rocco had been living with his father, Guy Ritchie, in the U.K. According to People, Madonna engaged in a lengthy custody battle to get her son back. She even filed kidnapping charges against Rocco's father, according to the Daily Mail. Her public outcry for her son's attention at concerts was no doubt uncomfortable for spectators. It once again put her son in a sticky situation. During a March 2016 concert in Auckland, New Zealand, Madonna got emotional onstage, telling the audience, "There's no love stronger than a mother for her son, and if I talk about him too much, I'm going to cry. I hope he hears this somewhere and he knows how much I miss him."
Joe and Teresa Giudice
Joe and Teresa Giudice were convicted on multiple counts of fraud in 2014. Teresa, the family's reality TV queen, served less than a year in prison for her crimes while Joe began serving his 41-month prison sentence back in March 2016. Their four daughters, Gia, Milania, Audriana and Gabriella, have witnessed their parents go through hell and back. To make matters worse, Joe faces possible deportation back to Italy after serving his time. But that's not all. The troubled parents are also allowing their oldest daughter, Gia, to grow up fast. Gia is a member of pop group 3KT, which raised eyebrows with their sexy dance moves in the holiday video "Season of Joy." It was reported in December 2015 that Gia was filming her own reality show as well. "It will be all about her group, 3KT," a source told E! News. "They've been filming already for two months... So far, the footage is really fun. Once the pilot is completed, they'll start shopping it to the networks." Since reality TV hasn't been kind to Joe and Teresa, one would think they'd ban their daughter from participating. Let's hope history doesn't repeat itself.
Diddy
Rap star and business mogul Diddy may be the exact definition of a helicopter parent: instead of letting his son fight his own battles, Diddy swoops in to handle them for him—sometimes violently. In June 2015, Diddy was arrested after swinging a kettlebell at son Justin Combs' UCLA football coach for ejecting Justin from practice. He was subsequently charged with assault with a deadly weapon, battery and making terrorist threats; all charges were dropped in the matter, but Diddy's actions left his son in a tricky predicament. At the time of the fight, Justin had only played in a few games during his three-year college football career. As a result of the incident, Diddy was banned from observing practices, according to a Breakfast Club interview, recapped by the Washington Post, in which he admitted that "giving up your child to these coaches" isn't easy. The following spring, Justin graduated from UCLA and was not recruited by the NFL.
Mama June
As observed repeatedly during the course of her family's reality show, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, Mama June isn't much of a healthy eater. She famously recreated her tuna casserole for YouTube, revealing a recipe that includes six cans of tuna, a big can of cream of chicken soup, half a can of milk and a dozen eggs. The eggs "make them fart better, I guess," June says in the video. "Pass the gas, pass the time. That's how my kids think." Following a lengthy period of media scrutiny on the family's weight and eating habits, June put herself and her girls, particularly little Alana, on a diet—but she may also have endangered her kids. In 2014, she reunited with her ex-boyfriend, convicted child molester Mark McDaniel, who served time for molesting her eldest daughter Anna "Chickadee" Cardwell. As a direct result of her actions, TLC canceled Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, saying the long-term happiness of the kids was a priority in their decision. "Supporting the health and welfare of these remarkable children is our only priority," the statement read in part. "TLC is faithfully committed to the children's ongoing comfort and well-being."
Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne
The Osbournes' hit reality show opened everyone's eyes to the happenings in their busy household—from Sharon's psychobabble to the incoherent Ozzy. But as Entertainment Tonight reports, their marriage was always plagued by drama. The show points out that in 1989, Ozzy came home drunk and tried to strangle his wife, saying, "I've decided you have to go." It's no secret that Ozzy battled heavy drug and alcohol abuse, and that poor example may have left a lasting affect on daughter Kelly. In fact, Kelly detailed in her 2009 memoir, Fierce, that she once battled a Vicodin addiction. At one point, right after her mother's cancer diagnosis, Kelly was taking 50 pills a day to "hide the terrible sadness." In all, Kelly entered rehab on three different occasions. Her brother Jack, meanwhile struggled in his own ways, entering rehab at age 16 for his addiction to Oxycontin. "My drug taking made me so miserable that just months after [The Osbournes season 2] was recorded I tried to kill myself," he recalled. Ozzy and Sharon's marriage came to the forefront again in 2016, after news broke that Ozzy had an affair with celebrity hairstylist Michelle Pugh. In response, Kelly risked legal action by tweeting Pugh's phone number. Ozzy and Sharon deserve credit for sticking together through the ups and downs of a 33-year marriage, but they could have set a much better example.
Chrisoula Workman (Ariel Winter's Mom)
It's been more than three years since Ariel Winter spoke to her mother, Chrisoula Workman. According to numerous reports, there are many reasons why their relationship is strained. In fact, according to E! News, Winter has accused her mother of sexually and physically abusing her. It's a damning claim, but Workman has dismissed it, saying Winter—15 years old at the time—was merely acting out because she didn't get her way after wanting to have a relationship with a man four years her senior. Winter has also accused her mom of pushing her into show business at age four instead of allowing her to make her own decisions. "Not to say that this isn't my passion and I don't love it," she said. "I do love it, and I would love to continue doing it for the rest of my life. But I also want to explore other avenues. I've wanted to go to college since I was very young. I've worked very hard. I go to real high school and I do my best to move forward in my future that way. Yeah, I would love to be a lawyer, and I've applied for college, and I'm going through that process right now." Their relationship grew so dark, Winter was emancipated at age 17. "It has been very sad for me, but at the same time it's been much better for me emotionally and physically to be on my own and have a better, safe household and support system," she added.
Blac Chyna and Tyga
Blac Chyna and Tyga may lead glamorous lives, but they've had their fair share of naughty moments—some of which may have put their son King Cario's future in jeopardy. In January 2016, Chyna was arrested at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas for public intoxication and drug possession. Exactly 1.26 grams of ecstasy, or two pills, was found in her possession. Chyna also has a history of selling shady products: according to TMZ, she was caught promoting a booty enhancement product that proved to be unreliable. Tyga, on the other hand, can't seem to keep his finances in order. He's been sued many times for dodging rent, which suggests he doesn't have a stable home to raise children. But that's not all the drama surrounding Tyga's parenting—his foul language has rubbed off on his son. On Hollywood Today, per Celeb Buzz, Tyga confessed that his son had gotten in trouble at school for using the word "b—-." "And I was like, 'Where did he hear that?'" Tyga questioned the school. "And the school was like, well, he told them, 'My dad says it in the studio.'"
Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise seemingly has a healthy relationship with all of his children—except Suri Cruise. In 2016, numerous reports openly discussed the barely-there relationship he reportedly has with Suri, his youngest daughter with ex-wife Katie Holmes. In Touch alleged the star hadn't seen his daughter in two and a half years. An insider said, "They used to Skype and text, but that trailed off drastically. While neither Tom or Katie speak publicly about their parenting arrangement, an absent parent, in any respect, can be damaging for a child. However, those stark reports don't mirror Tom's relationship with his two eldest children, Connor and Isabella, from his marriage to ex-wife Nicole Kidman. The only difference between the kids is Connor and Isbella are practicing Scientologists, according to Kidman's 2013 Hollywood Reporter interview. From all accounts, Tom is very active in their lives—even paying for Isabella's surprise wedding in 2015, according to People.
Jon Voight
Angelina Jolie has endured a rather strained relationship with her father, actor Jon Voight. As the story goes, Voight left Jolie's mother, Marcheline Bertrand, while Jolie was just a year old. He confessed to carrying out an affair, a decision that would wreck his future relationship with his daughter. Even as adults, have periodically found it difficult to get along. Voight claimed his daughter needed professional help for her "mental problems" during a 2002 Access Hollywood interview. For the following six years, Jolie had no contact with her father and released a statement saying it was "not healthy for me to be around" Voight. The father-daughter acting duo managed to repair their mangled relationship after Bertrand's death in 2007.
Joe Simpson
Jessica and Ashlee Simpson got their start in Hollywood thanks in part to their father and former manager, Joe Simpson. But as time passed, it appears the girls have endured a number of ups and downs with Joe. No matter the climate, Jessica's body remained a hot topic for Joe, telling GQ (via CNN) in 2004, "Jessica never tries to be sexy. She just is sexy. If you put her in a T-shirt or you put her in a bustier, she's sexy in both. She's got double D's! You can't cover those suckers up!" That's an awkward comment for a father to make, and it was only the beginning for him. As time went on, Joe's behavior grew more and more bizarre. In 2015, Joe appeared to be stealing the spotlight from his kids once again, this time dressing oddly and sticking out his tongue consistently during a London fashion show. They still love him, though: Jessica and Ashlee were both on hand in May of 2016, when Joe opened his debut art exhibit.