I Asked A Bunch Of Moms To Tell Me Which Celebrities Are Cool And Not Cool And Here's What They Said

Mothers know best.

A few months ago, I conducted an interesting social experiment: I asked my teenage followers on social media which celebrities they thought were cool and not cool. The results were kind of awesome!

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The teenage respondents placed a high value on celebrities who seemed genuine (Christine Sydelko, Jenna Marbles) and/or are actively engaged in political and social issues (Emma Watson, Lin-Manuel Miranda).

Teens are obviously the future, but I was also interested in seeing what other demographics viewed as cool and not cool. So I decided to ask the most active group of people I know on social media: MOMS.

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For my experiment, I asked moms who follow me on Twitter and moms I'm friends with on Facebook to tell me which celebrities they think are cool and not cool, and why. I also asked Twitter followers and Facebook friends to ask THEIR moms for responses.

Obviously this experiment is by no means scientific, and the results are reflective of the moms I know. I'm from suburban Connecticut (they filmed the Stepford Wives remake in my town, if that should tell you anything) so the respondents skewed more affluent and white.

Just like teenagers, moms suffer NO fools — but should we really be that surprised?!

Moms also will spot B.S. from a mile away. (They also place a premium on men who are respectful, especially of the women in their lives, which HELLO, DUH, YES, HOLD MEN ACCOUNTABLE ON THAT.)

Here is the list of celebrities that mothers think are cool and not cool, now with NO CURSING (per my mom's request).

1. COOL: Meryl Streep

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"Because she's Meryl Streep." That's good enough for me! Meryl was one of the most popular replies, FYI.

2. COOL: Tom Hanks

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He seems like "just a nice guy that you could have...a beer with even though I don't really like beer." Like Meryl, Tom Hanks was named by, like, half of the mom respondents.

3. COOL: Oprah

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To be fair, who DOESN'T like Oprah?!

4. NOT COOL: Mariah Carey

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Moms weren't fans of her over-the-top nature, which is sort of Mariah's whole appeal? But moms don't like divas!

5. COOL: Ellen DeGeneres

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This makes sense. I feel like moms are literally Ellen's demo.

6. COOL: Tom Hardy

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Not only is he "so grounded and genuine" but he is a "natural beauty to boot." Let's face it, we're all a little thirsty for Tom Hardy.

7. NOT COOL: Gwyneth Paltrow

Mat Hayward

Moms don't like Gwyneth's "rich b*tch" attitude and one mom said "I could puke" after listing what she didn't like about her.

8. COOL: Chrissy Teigen

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A lot of moms really, really like Chrissy! To be fair, I love Chrissy too, even though she hasn't answered my Twitter message asking who bit Beyoncé.

9. COOL: Ina Garten

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At this point I realized suburban moms basically have the same taste as gay men. How easy was that?

10. COOL but also NOT COOL: George Clooney

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This one was really interesting to me. I would have guessed moms would LOVE George Clooney — he's mom hot (handsome in a way that particularly appeals to moms). But I think he got dinged for his political views (very outspoken!) and for maybe being a little out of touch?

11. COOL: Seth Meyers

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Moms like late-night talk show hosts, part one.

12. COOL: Jimmy Fallon

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Moms like late-night talk show hosts, part two.

13. COOL: Sandra Bullock

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To be fair, Sandra Bullock is a national treasure. Good call, moms.

14. COOL: Tiffany Haddish

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Unlike most of the other stars on this list, who have been famous for years or even decades, Tiffany Haddish and the next celeb, Cardi B, have exploded within the last year or so. So moms can spot a trend too!

15. COOL: Cardi B

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See above!

16. COOL: Allison Janney

Emma Mcintyre

Again, moms and gay men have the same taste in celebrities.

17. COOL: Neil Patrick Harris

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NPH sings! He acts! He has an adorable family! From the mom point of view, what's not to love?

18. COOL: Hoda Kotb

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Hoda continues the storied tradition of moms loving talk show hosts (I mean, look at a good chunk of this list). Also, who wouldn't want to knock back a few chardonnays with Hoda?!

19. COOL: Lin-Manuel Miranda

Theo Wargo

LMM kind of embodies what I think a lot of moms value in a celebrity. He's handsome, he's incredibly talented, he's not a showboat or coded as shallow, and he stands for something socially/politically. Moms aren't DEMANDING, they just have high expectations!

20. COOL: Reese Witherspoon

Christopher Polk

Reese was pretty popular, and like LMM exudes a lot of the qualities moms value (except the female version). She's beautiful, talented, and a multi-hyphenate. She speaks on social issues. Also, it doesn't hurt that she's Oprah-adjacent.

21. NOT COOL: Kanye West

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Kanye is one of those celebrities who it's impossible to NOT have an opinion on. The moms have spoken!

22. COOL: Idris Elba

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He's one mom's "celebrity crush" because of "his accent and his serious face." Honestly, same.

23. COOL: Bradley Cooper

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I've said it before and I'll say it again: Bradley Cooper is mom hot.

24. COOL: Hugh Jackman

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SAY IT WITH ME: MOM. HOT! Also he can sing and dance. That counts for something.

25. NOT COOL: Tom Cruise

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I think moms don't like Tom Cruise for the same reasons they don't like Mariah Carey.

26. COOL: Jennifer Garner

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Honestly I'm with the moms on this one... If you don't like Jennifer Garner there is something wrong with you. Sorry, I don't make the rules — the moms do!

27. COOL: Jennifer Aniston

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Moms are very #TeamJennifer.

28. COOL: Jennifer Lawrence

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If there's one other thing I learned, it's that moms love "Jennifers."

29. ACROSS-THE-BOARD UNCOOL: The Kardashians

Jamie Mccarthy

The Kardashians were FAR AND AWAY the top choice for the "not cool" category. A lot of moms called them the "Kartrashians." The funniest part to me was MULTIPLE moms APOLOGIZED to me for saying they weren't cool, since I'm a huge Kris Jenner fan.

And finally I'd like to thank all the moms who helped out in the making of this post — I'm TRULY blown away by your taste and you're the REAL cool ones here. There, I SAID IT.

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