Celebs Who Sent Secret Messages On Live TV

Many times, when a celebrity wants to convey something to the public, it'll be done in bold fashion — like when actor Michelle Williams gave that much-talked-about speech on women's rights at the 2020 Golden Globe Awards. Or when, in November of that same year, pop star Katy Perry dressed as an I Voted Sticker and stood on a Los Angeles street to encourage people to vote in the general election. Other stars, however, choose to send their messages secretly — and some have even done it on TV. 

Of course, there are several reasons why a famous person would convey their message in code. Maybe what he or she has to say doesn't align with their television project, so it has to be snuck in. It's also possible that TV time constraints could force one to give a message on the down-low and very quickly. But regardless of why certain celebs do it, whatever they convey often gets a big reaction on social media, with many trying their best to interpret the meaning. And who knows? Maybe that's another reason why some famous folks send sneaky messages, because it keeps their name buzzing online and in the press. 

So, with that being said, here are some of the celebrities who've shared secret messages on live TV.

Carol Burnett is known for being a sketch comedy, acting, and singing legend due to The Carol Burnett Show and for also paving the way for other female entertainers. But she's also known for tugging on her left ear at the close of each episode. It was a move many probably thought Burnett started on the series, but she first did it in 1955 while appearing on The Paul Winchell Show. 

Decades later, the multi-talent talked about it while being honored at The Colleagues Champion of Children Award in Beverly Hills, Calif. in 2017. "My grandmother raised me out here in Hollywood," said Burnett. "And when I got my first job back in New York, I called her and I said, 'Nanny, I'm going to be on television Saturday morning.' And she said, 'Well, you gotta say hello to me.' ... We figured this out, to pull my ear, so that was my signal to her." Noting that "it always meant, 'Hi Nanny, I'm fine, I love you,'" she went on to quip, "And then later on it meant, 'Hi Nanny, I'm fine, I love you, your check's on the way.'"

Burnett's parents died at the age of 46, according to what she told UPI in 1986, which is why she was raised by her grandmother, Mabel Eudora White, who died in 1967. But the tugging-of-the-ear tradition continued long after Burnett lost her beloved grandma, as she's still seen making the gesture in photos and public appearances today.

At the 2018 Golden Globe Awards, Emma Stone acted in solidarity with other actors by wearing black to support the Time's Up movement. But she made an additional statement about supporting women and female empowerment with the help of a makeup artist. "Once I heard about the idea of women coming together and wearing black to the ceremony, and the message behind it ... I wanted the makeup to have a message as well," makeup artist Rachel Goodwin told People. 

Goodwin also did some research before getting Stone ready for the awards show, and decided to mimic the colors worn by suffragettes in the 19th century. Noting that said feminist group wore "red lipstick" back then, that's what she chose for Stone, in addition to using other styles from that period, as well. "They also wore very specific symbolic sashes, pins, petticoats and all these things in purple, emerald green, and white when they were fighting for the right to vote," Goodwin explained. 

During an interview with Flare, the celebrity makeup artist further revealed, "At first, I wanted to pull back and not do a lot of makeup because it felt like the message could be lost. But then once I found a way to actually send the message with the makeup I thought, 'Wait I shouldn't be apologizing for that, I should be proud of this, I should be excited about this.'"

NBA star Stephen Curry lights up the scoreboard with three-pointers so often, it would be hard not to catch the celebration he always does afterward — which consists of him tapping his chest and pointing to the sky with an index finger. In fact, as of January 2021, the Golden State Warriors guard became No. 2 on the all-time three-pointers list, according to NBA.com, with only former NBA player Ray Allen ahead of him. As it turns out, Curry's celebration is a message about his faith that was established by himself and his mother, Sonya Curry, years ago.

"Back in college my freshman year, my mom and I started that," he told The Mercury News in 2016. "Every time after the national anthem stopped, I'd find her in the stands whenever she came to my game and we'd do the sign to each other. Basically, means 'have a heart for God.'" The former Davidson College star explained that he eventually started doing the sign every time he scored, noting that it's grounded him throughout his career. 

And how's this for Curry passing on the tradition? In 2015, when the Golden State Warriors won the NBA Finals, his daughter, Riley, tapped her chest and pointed to the sky just like dad, per the Bleacher Report. Aww, you've got to love it.

A lot of people believe the year 2020 was one of the worst in quite some time — and for good reason. But stylist Elizabeth Saltzmanher previously felt that 2018 wasn't all that great, so she decided to help turn things around for herself and others by styling actor Saoirse Ronan in a silver Gucci dress for the 2019 Golden Globes. 

"Last year was such a tumultuous year for so many things. There was a lot of negativity, and I kept trying to find the positive," Saltzmanher told The Hollywood Reporter. "I just said, 'I'd like a silver lining. It's so embarrassing, but I feel like I really want to be able to say something." There's no word on whether the Gucci gown itself brightened Ronan's day, but the wonderful reviews she received from fashion critics probably did. For example, she was listed as No. 9 on Harper's Bazaar best-dressed list for that particular awards show, and also landed on Vogue's best-dressed listicle for the same event.

One could easily say that Meghan Markle has supported feminism and women's rights ever since she's been in the public eye. In 2015, for example, during a speech at the United Nations for International Women's Day, the future duchess said she was "proud to be a woman and a feminist," according to Future Women. At the Royal Foundation Forum three years later, Markle spoke about the Time's Up and #MeToo movements, as well as female empowerment. "When speaking about girls' empowerment ... you'll often hear people say they are helping women find their voices," she said. "And I fundamentally disagree with that, because women don't need to find their voice ... they need to feel empowered to use it and people need to be encouraged to listen."

Perhaps it's not too surprising, then, when Markle appeared to send a secret message about feminism in October 2020 while hosting an episode of Time Magazine's Time100 series alongside husband Prince Harry from their home in Montecito, Calif. As reported by Express, behind the royal couple was the book, Women: National Geographic Image Collection, which examines the lives of women around the world through photos and interviews. Markle's friend, Oprah Winfrey, appears in the book, as does journalist Christiane Amanpour and primatologist Jane Goodall. 

And, well, if the book's display wasn't actually a secret message from the duchess, then at least she let people know about some good reading material, right?