If there's two things that go hand-in-hand, it's celebrities and controversy. However, as time passes, sometimes we look back at past scandals and realize they really weren't that scandalous to begin with.
U/vantae-bts recently asked the people of Reddit, "What outrage over a celebrity was way overblown?" The answers are a fascinating trip down memory lane — and maybe they'll change your own perception of the past, too:
1. "Ross Rebagliati, a Canadian snowboarder who went gold in the men's giant slalom event at the 1998 Winter Olympics. The IOC initially stripped him of the medal due to a failed drug test for cannabis use, but it [was] overruled by an appeals court two days later, resulting in the medal being restored."
—u/2cats2hats
2. "Charlie Chaplin was labeled a communist and was told that his re-entry to the United States would be subject to investigation into his political views. Charlie just decided never to come back to America. Once the documents became unsealed, it was revealed government officials had nothing on him, despite publicly stating they did."
3. "Security guard Richard Jewell. He discovered a backpack bomb at a 1996 Summer Olympics venue in Atlanta and helped evacuate many people before it exploded. The FBI, and then the media, accused him of planting the bomb."
—u/oranggit
4. "Michael Phelps ripping a bong."
—u/Tshimanga21
5. "Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction."
—u/ripplerider
6. "Sinéad O'Connor calling out the Catholic church over the abuse of minors. How dare she?"
—u/CDNGooner1
7. "Howard Dean's scream. He was giving a talk to motivate his campaign workers."
8. "The Chicks and the whole thing with George W. Bush."
9. "Obama’s tan suit."
10. "Britney Spears when she had her meltdowns. The woman was bullied and harassed at such an insane level, it would make anyone snap."
—u/Elle12881
11. "Monica Lewinsky — America did her dirty."
12. "Martha Stewart was accused of insider trading and put in prison, yet every politician in Washington becomes millionaires from insider information."
—u/minigopher
13. "Remember when Lizzo played that glass flute and conservatives lost their shit because she was 'disrespecting the history' or some nonsense?"
—u/VVillyD
14. "Colin Kaepernick kneeling."
—u/cadcamm99
15. "Jenna Ortega smoking a cigarette and drinking wine."
16. "When Brandi Chastain won and took off her shirt and had a sports bra under it. My God, you would have thought all of the world just witnessed their first look at a stomach."
17. "I always thought the public outrage over Body Count’s 'Cop Killer' was overblown and ridiculous, even if Ice-T did eventually end up pulling the song from the album."
18. "Martin Scorsese saying Marvel movies were basically theme park rides. Everyone lost their absolute minds over it because liking Marvel movies was about as brave as saying you prefer chocolate chip cookies to oatmeal, and everyone swung in as if it was this personal attack. Really, it was an old-ass legendary director giving a take that has only aged better with time, since Marvel movies were never that good at telling stories to begin with, and they've run even more out of ideas since he made that comment."
—u/EazyParise
19. "The fact that we spent two months with Will Smith’s slap in the headlines. I don’t think the outcome should have been necessarily different, but we could’ve wrapped that shit up in three days or less."
20. "I always felt bad for Vanessa Hudgens. She had her private photos stolen and posted all over the internet, and then she had to apologize for it."
Agree? Disagree? Got your own suggestions? See you in the comments!
These entries have been edited for length and clarity.