"I Just Wanted A Dad": 15 Celebrities Who Fired Their Parents, Or Became Emancipated

Apparently, Kylie Minogue's mother "didn't take to the P45 easily."

There's no business like show business – and that's not always a good thing. Between paparazzi and strained relationships, it seems there are more than a few downsides to fame.

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In fact, some celebs' families are changed forever by the changes – from amicable, no-drama job changes to intense family lawsuits. So, we thought we'd share 15 celebrities who have fired, or become emancipated from, their parents:

1. Rihanna (sort of) fired her dad from a company that he claimed she was part of in 2019

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The singer accused her father of suggesting that she was involved in his company, Fenty Entertainment, and then selling deals through the non-existent firm. The argument was that he "fraudulently misrepresented" the company as being part of the singer's empire, nabbing himself "millions of dollars" in the pretense. 

Rihanna alleged that her dad tried to falsely book her on a Latin America tour for $15 million (and more shows for $400,000), despite her never agreeing to them.

And even though her father also allegedly filed for the patent of Fenty, Rihanna ceased all lawsuits with her father in 2021.

Still, the two seem to be close:

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2. Kylie Minogue sacked her mum as a dresser in 2011

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Yep, that's right – everyone's favourite Aussie singer once fired her own mother as a dresser on tour. Apparently, her mother struggled with the lightning-fast costume changes her show required. She told Jonathan Ross on Friday Night that she "just wanted her to relax more," adding that "quick-change Carol didn't take to the P45 easily." 

She also briefly gave her dad a job to "check that the red wine was corked at the right time, ready for us to come off-stage" – though there doesn't seem to be any evidence that this is still his job (reckon she's looking for a replacement?).

Here she is talking through the change with Jonathan Ross:

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3. Beyoncé fired her dad as a manager in 2011

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The megastar shared with Oprah that the decision was "one of the hardest things (she's) ever done." But she saw the change as a pivotal part of her growth, adding that "at some point, (she had) to be the adult (her) father has raised."

The news came amid accusations of theft, which Beyoncé herself audited.

Matthew Knowles was key to the formation of Destiny's Child, helping his daughter to form the band as a teen and training and managing the group from the beginning. As he told Entertainment Tonight, "We strategized five years out in the beginning of these ladies' career, where they will be, which is why they did their solo projects. Doing Destiny's Child, that was not happenstance or luck, that was strategy."

Here she is speaking about the tricky topic:

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4. Selena Gomez fired both her parents as managers in 2014

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The singer's mother and stepfather had been her manager during her Wizards of Waverly Place days, but when the star turned 21, she decided she'd be better off on her own. 

However, apparently, her parents didn't realise she was *really* firing them until they saw the TMZ report. "Mandy told TMZ she thought their conversation in March was "just talk" and they sat down again with their daughter after the news broke to ensure she was "absolutely sure" she wanted to seek new management, and the former Disney star said yes," says The Evening Standard. 

Nonetheless, her parents continued working with her on projects like The Sky Is Everywhere.

It seems like she's still pretty close to her papa:

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5. Janet Jackson fired her dad as a manager in 1983

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The man behind the Jackson Five was fired by Micheal Jackson in 1979 – and the rest of the family followed suit in 1983. Janet became a part of the family music business as a child, though she'd initially wanted to become a lawyer.

 "I wanted my own identity, but at that time, my father was in charge of my life, my career, and he was my manager," she said. "It's hard to say no to my father, so in order to do things the way I wanted to do, I guess he would have to be out of the picture… I wanted to go on my own."

Still, she says that "But when you see where we came from and look at where we are now, we owe so much to my father."

Here she is talking about the complicated relationship:

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6. Scarlett Johannsson fired her mother as a manager in 2009

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Melanie Sloan, the star's mother, worked as her manager for 17 years before eventually getting fired in 2009. Their professional relationship began when a nine-year-old Scarlett starred in North, and lasted until the actor's first marriage to Ryan Reynolds. 

“Once I got married I felt that I needed to cut the cord," she told Vanity Fair. And it seems to be a drama-free situation: the pair are reportedly still close.

Here's an adorable baby ScarJo doing an interview with Conan:

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7. Usher fired his mother as his manager in 2007 (then re-hired again, then fired her again)

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Initially, the singer announced that he'd made a professional split from his mother, adding that "This is great for me because it means I now get to have my mother strictly as my mother with no added pressure." The news came shortly before his first marriage to Tameka Forster (his mother did not attend the wedding). 

Usher re-hired his mother a couple of months before he divorced Forster, though he later made his now-wife, Grace Miguel, his manager. Rumours speculated as to the exact nature of the split on both occasions.

Here's Usher's mum sharing her feelings about her son's ex-wife:

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8. LeAnn Rimes fired her father in 2000 – after suing him

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17-year-old LeAnn Rimes sued her father for over $7 million, claiming that he and his colleague "appropriated up to 30 percent of her income at times by duplicating and augmenting management/producer fees and practicing improper business tactics." The two men denied the allegations and counter-sued. 

The court case was settled in 2001, and the two seem to have repaired their relationship since. He was present at the singer's wedding, and she told ABC News that "I've never hated my dad. I just wanted a dad. I guess I just really disliked where he was in my life. I just wanted him to be my father."

"There’s no pretty way of cutting those ties. It was traumatic, but we’ve all moved through it, and me and my father have a relationship now. Navigating that situation as a teenager was one of the greatest accomplishments of my life," she told The Guardian.

Here she is talking to Debbie Gibson about being young stars:

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9. Ariana Grande allegedly gave her mum the sack in 2015

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Now famously managed by Scooter Braun, the celeb's career was originally in the hands of her mother. But that may have changed when the singer turned 22, with the New York Daily News writing that she "wants to be a grown up, she wants to make her own decisions, she wants to be like Taylor (Swift), who has a camp but makes every single decision when it comes to her image at the end of the day. So she’s made her mom less of a manager, more of a source of support.”

The pair still seem close, though, and her mother frequently tours with her daughter.

Turns out the directorial urge never left, though:

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10. Macaulay Culkin cut his dad, Kit, out of the business in 2001

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The child star grew up as one of seven and was managed by the notoriously tough Kit Culkin, his father. “I was making God-knows-how-much money, and Kit was making me sleep on the couch, just because he could,” he told New York Magazine. 

When his parents' tricky divorce proceedings started, he decided it would be easier to take bother parents' names off his accounts in order to stop his dad getting the lion's share of the money. 

“Basically, I had millions and millions of dollars in the bank and my mother couldn’t pay the rent because she was spending all of her money on lawyers,” Culkin says. “We were about to get evicted from our apartment. The only way I could get access to that money was to take my father’s name off it, but I didn’t want to make it messy, so I figured I’d take both their names off," he said. 

It doesn't look like the pair have spoken since.

Here's baby Culkin in an interview:

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11. Aaron Carter fired his mother (and filed for emancipation) in 2009; then, he cancelled his emancipation request and rehired her

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Aged just 16, the singer took to the courts to legally separate from his mother/manager. This happened after he claimed that more than $100,000 had been taken by his mother after his tour. "I worked hard for months – 10, 11 hours a day, not including school and press appearances – and I come home and owe money!", he said. 

Carter also claimed that his mother prevented his father from seeing some of his shows, claiming that she "booted" his dad. 

Soon after, though, he hired her back and withdrew the emancipation claim.

Here they are talking about their sometimes-troubled relationship:

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12. Like Rihanna, Mischa Barton also 'fired' her mother from alleged false companies involving her name in 2015 – as well as firing her as her talent manager

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In 2015, the O.C. star sued her mother Nuala Barton for exploitation and bullying. Aside from claiming her mother didn't have the experience to manage her career, she also alleged that her mother used her name to create handbag and fashion lines she wasn't actually associated with. 

The lawsuit also involved the purchase of a $7.8 million Beverly Hills home, on which Mischa says her mother fiddled the contract so that she had rights to most of it at and which Mischa was allegedly "not welcome".

Mischa dropped the lawsuit in 2016.

13. The Olsen Twins cut their parents out of their business in 2004

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The two twins rose to fame as kids in shows like Full House and Mary-Kate and Ashley. And the company that their parents started, Dualstar Entertainment, was responsible for books, TV shows, and other Olsen twin-related properties. 

The pair cut their parents out of their business after they turned 18 – and while it's not definite that it was a straight-up firing, there are rumours that Mary-Kate initiated the change. Since then, the duo has built their own hugely successful fashion line called The Row, among other businesses.

Here's their dad talking about their childhood allowance:

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Watch more about it here:

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14. Jena Malone sued her mother in 2000

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The Hunger Games star's troubles with her mother and manager peaked in 2000, when she emancipated herself from her parent – so cutting her out of her business, and earnings, completely. 

Aged just 14, she alleged that her mother had "squandered" over $1 million of her earnings through "mismanagement", drained her college account, and left her owing roughly $20,000 in back taxes. Jena successfully became emancipated a year later.

However, the two seem to have repaired their relationship. After becoming a single mother, Jena moved back in with her own mom. "Slowly but surely, she has become the best friend I have ever had," she wrote in an Instagram post.

Here's the post in question:

Instagram: @jenamalone

15. Drew Barrymore became emancipated from her mother aged just 14

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The child star's complicated relationship with her mother led her to become emancipated aged just 14. "On the day of my hearing, my mother was there in full support of my emancipation," she told The Guardian.

She told The Howard Stern Show that the move was "the worst pain (she's) ever known." Still, she says that the split was good for the pair in the long term – "there is healing there. I feel goodness toward my mom," she shared. 

Here's the clip:

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Do you think we missed any? Let us know in the comments below!