Stars Banned From Other Countries

You'd think international travel would be easy if you're rich and famous — have you ever heard of a celebrity whining about their lack of leg-room in coach for a 14-hour flight? Whether it's crossing the U.S. border into Canada or flying straight across the planet, stars have the luxury of international travel usually being a cinch (and typically with a slew of adoring fans awaiting them at their destination airport). 

For some celebs, however, remembering their passport is the least of their problems, as not every nation on Earth is quite as welcoming as the good old U.S. of A. when it comes to letting in famous faces. Depending on the destination, stars get banned from entire countries for their political stances, their sexuality, and even their clothing choices. Other bans are a bit more understandable, such as celebrities with criminal histories not being allowed into certain overseas locations. These stars all faced bans from foreign countries for various infractions and perceived insults.

By now, you know that Chris Brown launched a brutal assault on then-girlfriend Rihanna just before the Grammys in February 2009. What you may not know was that following the horrifying abuse incident, Breezy was denied entry into the United Kingdom. BBC News reported in 2010 that the "Don't Wake Me Up" singer was refused permission for a visa due to "being guilty of a serious criminal offense." Brown had been slated to perform a series of tour dates in the U.K., with stops including Glasgow, Scotland, as well as London and Manchester, England.

In September 2015, it was reported that Brown was also not allowed to enter Australia nor New Zealand. Brown tweeted at the time, "I would be more than grateful to come to Australia to raise awareness on domestic violence. [I'm] not the pink elephant in the room anymore." He added, "My life mistakes should be a wake up call for everyone. Showing the world that mistakes don't define you. Trying to prevent spousal abuse." In a subsequent tweet, Brown noted, "The youth don't listen to parents nor do they listen to PSA's. The power that we have as [entertainers] can change lives."

Miley Cyrus wasn't the only former Disney darling to get banned from China. Selena Gomez, who long branded herself as the "classy" good-girl alternative to Cyrus' wild child, was also prohibited from entering the People's Republic. In 2014, Gomez met the Dalai Lama at rehearsals for WE Day in Vancouver, and that was reportedly enough to get her banned from China entirely. 

However, Gomez didn't find out about China's alleged outrage over the meeting until two years later when she was planning two tour dates, one in Shanghai and one in Guangzhou. The tour stops mysteriously disappeared from her website after they were announced, with Shanghaiist speculating that it was due to her association with the Buddhist leader. 

Gomez's camp never commented one way or another on the reports, but it wouldn't have been the first time she was denied entry into a foreign land with ideologies at odds to those of the U.S. In 2013, Billboard reported that Russia denied Gomez entry to perform there for fear she'd speak out in favor of LGBTQ+ rights, despite her keeping generally quiet about political topics altogether.

China has serious bad blood with longtime Buddhist Richard Gere for basically being BFFs with the Dalai Lama. While presenting at the 1993 Oscars, Gere gave a speech about China's alleged human rights abuses against Tibet and completely ignored the prepared comments for his segment. Not only was he banned from China and the Academy Awards for the message, he was also blacklisted from a ton of blockbusters because studios feared offending China would cost them big bucks at the foreign box office.

"There are definitely movies that I can't be in because the Chinese will say, 'Not with him,'" Gere told The Hollywood Reporter over two decades later in 2017. "I recently had an episode where someone said they could not finance a film with me because it would upset the Chinese." Since the incident, he's mostly starred in well-reviewed indies, but even those don't always play out. Gere recalled of one particular project, "There was something I was going to do with a Chinese director, and two weeks before we were going to shoot, he called saying, 'Sorry, I can't do it.' We had a secret phone call on a protected line. If I had worked with this director, he, his family would never have been allowed to leave the country ever again, and he would never work."

Director Martin Scorsese began working on the 1997 film Kundun, which was written by Harrison Ford's then-wife, Melissa Mathison, five years before its release. The movie examined the life of the 14th Dalai Lama, who served as the spiritual leader of Tibet before his exile at the hands of the Chinese government and forces. Ford, a longtime advocate for human rights and Tibetan independence, met the Dalai Lama during Kundun's production. In 1995, Ford spoke out about the need for Tibetan independence before the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee. 

The film and the speech got Ford, Mathison, and Scorsese all banned from China. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Scorsese's ban in particular created difficulties between China and Kundun's distributor, The Walt Disney Co. It wasn't until 2012, when China agreed to release Scorsese's movie Hugo, that the ban was effectively lifted on the epic director. For his part, the Los Angeles Times reports Ford remains an outspoken advocate for Tibet's freedom.

Whether it's American football or simply hip-hop, Canada ain't playing: In April 2011, America's hat wouldn't let rapper The Game (also known as Jayceon Terrell Taylor) into the country due to his alleged affiliation with the Bloods gang, TMZ reported. The Game was detained for several hours in Canada before being deported back to the United States. 

Substance Entertainment Group, which booked an entire tour for The Game in the country, didn't find out about the issue until the MC was already on a flight to Canada. A rep for Substance told the gossip rag that despite having previously obtained all necessary permits and approval weeks earlier, customs informed them that The Game wouldn't be permitted entry into Canada "due to new information received that Game is affiliated with organized crime and is an active member of the Bloods street gang." It's weird that would have been considered "new information," because The Game has been quite open about his Bloods affiliation pretty much forever.

Mike Tyson was knocked out of entering New Zealand due to his lengthy criminal record in 2012, which includes a rape conviction, as well as cocaine possession, DUI, and assault convictions, according to The Guardian. While Tyson has maintained his innocence of the rape allegation, he served three years of six-year prison sentence for the case. In December 2013, Tyson was barred from entering the United Kingdom, where he had several promotional appearances slated, for the same reasoning.

"I have been coming to the U.K. consistently in the past decade so this change is disheartening since it affects my current entry standing," Tyson released in a statement at the time. "I apologize to my fans that were inconvenienced, however, please know I am currently working diligently with the proper authorities to regain access next year for my U.K. tour." He added, "I have a great deal of respect for the laws of the United Kingdom and will continue taking the proper steps for re-entry." A rep for the U.K. Home Office confirmed that the rules had, in fact, changed since Tyson's last trip across the pond.

Akon went from "Smack That" to "scratch that" in 2010 when he was banned from Sri Lanka. The Guardian reports that the Sri Lankan government didn't appreciate the music video for the crooner's collaboration with DJ David Guetta, "Sexy Chick." The video features bikini babes shaking their booties in front of a Buddha statue, and was so controversial that it reportedly spawned violent protests in the country.

"[I] am a spiritual man, so I can understand why they are offended," Akon stated at the time. "But violence is never the answer and I am disheartened to hear about what happened in Sri Lanka." The singer also said he "never set out to offend or desecrate anyone's religion," and that he didn't even realize the statue was there. He was likely telling the truth, as in most frames of the video, the statue isn't even visible — and when it is, it's usually in the corner of frames and/or out of focus. In any case, the Sri Lankan government was mad enough to deny Akon's subsequent visa request, blaming his "controversial video images, offensive song lyrics and strong protests coming from various cultural, religious groups and organizations in the country."