Featured Image Credit: Ellen DeGeneres/Twitter via Getty Images
Topics: Oscars, Hollywood, Jared Leto, Ellen DeGeneres, Kevin Spacey, Celebrity, Brad Pitt
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: Oscars, Hollywood, Jared Leto, Ellen DeGeneres, Kevin Spacey, Celebrity, Brad Pitt
Last night marked the biggest night of the year in Hollywood — that being the highly anticipated Academy Awards.
Stars from across the globe traveled over to the US to attend the star-studded night at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Some of the biggest films in the last 12 months have been One Battle After Another, Hamnet, Sinners, and KPop Demon Hunters, all of which took home awards last night (March 15).
One of the biggest winners of the night was One Battle After Another, which won six Oscars overall. Some of these included Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Director.
Advert
In close second was Sinners, which was given four awards and saw Michael B. Jordan win his first ever Academy Award – which he got for Best Actor.
While stars like Jordan, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jessie Buckley, and Timothée Chalamet were some of the biggest stars seen yesterday, if you rewind back 12 years, then things looked quite different.
Back in 2014, some of the biggest movies at the Oscars were Dallas Buyers Club, Frozen, Blue Jasmine, American Hustle, and The Great Gatsby.
But away from the awards and their winners that night, one of the most memorable parts of the 2014 Oscars was that viral selfie (seen above).
In the snap, which looked to have been taken by Bradley Cooper, there was Jared Leto, Jennifer Lawrence, Channing Tatum, Julia Roberts, Kevin Spacey, Brad Pitt, Lupita Nyong'o, and Angelina Jolie.
Also squeezed into the photo was Meryl Streep, Ellen DeGeneres, Peter Nyong'o and, of course, Cooper himself.
Fast forward to today, and a handful of these celebs have arguably been canceled for different reasons...
Some would possibly argue that Leto has been cancelled in recent years amid sexual impropriety allegations that have surfaced.
Last year, nine women came forward and accused him of sexual impropriety. The damning report, which was released in June, detailed the actor's 'predatory, terrifying and unacceptable' behavior, The Guardian reported at the time.
Some of the accusers claimed that they were just teenagers when the sexual impropriety occurred.
One accuser, model Laura La Rue, said in the report that Leto had flirted with her when she was 16 years old and he was 36. They went on to communicate with one another over email, and La Rue eventually visited Leto's home in April 2009.
Leto went on to address the matter and denied the accusations. A representative for the 'Thirty Seconds to Mars' frontman said: "All of the allegations are expressly denied."
Regarding La Rue's claims, Leto's rep insisted that their 'communications contain nothing sexual or inappropriate'.
Ellen DeGeneres' fall from grace wasn't pretty. In 2020, it came down to an exposé by Buzzfeed, which dived into the politics at play behind the scenes at The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
The talk show was incredibly popular and ran for 19 seasons. But in May 2022, it came to an abrupt end following allegations of racism, sexual misconduct, and intimidation at the hands of three executive producers who worked on the show.
Speaking to Buzzfeed back in 2020, a former African American employee at The Ellen DeGeneres Show told the publication she was subject to multiple racist comments.
It is worth noting that the comments made weren't by DeGeneres, although another former employee pointed out: "If she wants to have her own show and have her name on the show title, she needs to be more involved to see what's going on."
DeGeneres has since spoken out about why she believes she was canceled, claiming it was to do with her catchphrase 'be kind' — her show's mantra.
According to The Guardian, DeGeneres also said she had a 'hard time' during the scandal and 'didn't get out', adding: "I’m making jokes about what happened to me, but it was devastating, really. It took a long time for me to want to do anything again."
In 2017, Kevin Spacey was fired from his lead role in House of Cards after actor Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of sexually assaulting him as a teenager – which Spacey vehemently denied.
He was also charged with four separate accounts of sexual assault against three men.
Regarding the allegations at the time, Spacey said he was confident that he could prove his innocence, calling the accusations against him 'madness'.
In 2023, the Baby Driver star was found not guilty and was subsequently acquitted of several other charges of a similar nature in the US and UK, while other charges were dropped.
Rapp's lawsuit against the actor was also dismissed after a jury unanimously decided that Spacey did not molest him.
Spacey is due to return to court again later this year, however, to face civil claims of sexual assault from three men, of which the Baby Driver star denies.
Brad Pitt is the final celeb to have supposedly been 'canceled' — although not by everyone.
Pitt's ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, claims Pitt was physically abusive to her in front of their children on a private flight from France to California, with the Tomb Raider star reportedly filing for divorce shortly after.
She also alleges that on September 14, 2016, on the same flight, Pitt assaulted their children, who were aged between eight and 15 years old at the time.
However, Pitt has categorically denied the abuse claims or attack on the plane, releasing a statement written by his lawyer, Anne Kiley, which read: “Brad has owned everything he’s responsible for from day one—unlike the other side—but he’s not going to own anything he didn’t do.
“He has been on the receiving end of every type of personal attack and misrepresentation.
“Thankfully, the various public authorities the other side has tried to use against him over the past six years have made their own independent decisions.
“Brad will continue to respond in court as he has consistently done.”
After court documents were posted to Twitter, many users called for Pitt to be 'canceled'.
One posted: "Time to cancel Brad Pitt." However, a second added: "Nobody can cancel Brad Pitt, it's not possible."
Pitt and Jolie finalized their divorce after an eight-year legal battle in December 2024.