Some Of Hollywood’s Biggest Stars Have Been Banned From Entire Countries
After reaching even a modest level of stardom a myriad of opportunities is offered to movie stars, musicians, and athletes. Among those opportunities is the ability to travel internationally while promoting the next album release, movie premiere, or product line. Unfortunately, with the perks of the trade, there are plenty of opportunities to absolutely destroy your standing with nations who follow their own strict rules of conduct.
These stars were banned from entire countries because of their actions. From global activism to wearing scandalous clothing, you'll be surprised to learn why some celebrities are not allowed in certain countries.
Harrison Ford Speaks Up And Gets Kicked Out
Harrison Ford is banned from China. Much like the majority of other decent human beings on this earth, Ford just wanted a free Tibet. In 1995, when he testified in front of the U.S. Senate advocating Tibet's independence, China elected to ban him from the country.
Ford is usually a reserved guy, so this must have meant a lot to the actor. For him to come out in public and address his concerns with their freedom says plenty. China's lifetime ban against him was likely a warning to others who feel the same as Ford, to not speak out.
No Queen In Malaysia
When even Queen Bey is banned, no one is safe. But the reasoning behind her ban is not what you might expect. The Muslim leadership in Malaysia banned Beyonce from their country because she was promoting "Western sexy performances."
So yes, Beyonce has been banned because she is too sexy for a country. All jokes aside, what can she do about it? She was born with the gift to entertain people the way she does. But Malaysia doesn't want their youth to be exposed to something they deem detrimental.
The Beatles Get Mobbed
To think, The Beatles were banned at one point. Their ban from the Philippines was brought upon themselves. The iconic band had declined a dinner with the First Lady of Imelda Marcos, which led them to be banned from the country.
Maybe they didn't agree with her politics but because of that, they were also greeted by angry mobs of people that weren't too pleased with the obvious sign of disrespect. The mobs came and tried to board their plane when they were exiting the country. Perhaps, they could have gone about it in a different way.
No Show For Hov
No amount of superstardom can prevent neither Beyoncé or her husband Jay-Z from being banned. In 2006, he was banned from China because his lyrics were too vulgar. If you weren't aware, China is notorious for their censorship. But Jay didn't let it affect him too much. He spoke about it when it happened.
He told AllHipHop: “I look forward to rescheduling my concert date in Shanghai. This world tour has been a life-changing experience and it has only been made better by touching the fans that I am seeing for the first time.” And as you can tell, that ban hasn't halted or slowed his reign as one of music's elite.
Alec Baldwin Spoke Too Much
Alec Baldwin, an actor who faced a lot of scrutiny in late 2017, is no stranger to the pressure. He made some very questionable remarks while he was on Late Night with David Letterman. Baldwin said he was, "thinking about getting a Filipino mail-order bride at this point – or a Russian one." You would think his PR team would have directed him to steer clear of statements like that.
Thanks to those words, the Philippines Immigration Commissioner, Marcelino Libanan, said, “By being in the bureau’s blacklist, Baldwin is forbidden from entering the country as he is deemed an undesirable alien.” Baldwin tried to apologize but it didn't work.
Snoop Dogg Doesn't Give A Care
Trying to guess what Snoop Dogg did to earn his ban isn't too hard. He was caught with about eight grams of marijuana. Snoop Dogg and marijuana are almost synonymous so it isn't much of a surprise that this was how he got into trouble. But that wasn't the extent of his bad deeds.
Snoop Dogg was at the airport trying to flying to Norway when they also found an undeclared $27,000 in cash on his person. He didn't make it to Norway and the ban was for two years but he didn't seem to phased by it. Snoop probably doesn't want to be anywhere where he can't enjoy his greens anyway.
Her Wild Antics Weren't Allowed
What Miley Cyrus did to receive her ban wasn't anything different from that period of time when she was making the press for "revealing" reasons. The Dominican Republic was not fond of her flashy antics. In fact, they were highly displeased when she entered the country back in 2014.
This is due to the fact that she, "undertakes acts that go against morals and customs, which are punishable by Dominican law." This took place shortly after she "twerked" on Robin Thicke during the MTV VMA's. The star is also banned from China for slanting her eyes in a disrespectful manner.
Mike Tyson Does The Unforgivable
Mike Tyson is many things. He is an actor, heavyweight champion, and a convicted felon. And because of his charge of sexually abusing a woman, the government of Great Britain didn't allow him access to the country. This took place back in 2013 when he was promoting his autobiography Undisputed Truth.
"I have been coming to the UK consistently in the past decade so this change is disheartening since it affects my current entry standing," Tyson later said in a statement. Great Britain may have forbidden his entry, but the rest of Europe allowed him to continue to promote.
Paris Hilton Gets High And Banned
Valerie Macon/Getty ImagesThe use of hard drugs doesn't always end well. Thanks to Paris Hilton's cocaine incident in Las Vegas back in 2010, Japan wouldn't allow Hilton into their country. She pled guilty to a misdemeanor drug charge and this didn't sit well with Japan.
The timing of it all couldn't have been any worse. It happened to her while she was in the middle of an important promo tour. Naturally, she was upset about the whole ordeal but when reporters asked her about it, she threw on a smile and acted as if it didn't phase her.
Brad Pitt Does The Wrong Movie
Brad Pitt starred in the film Seven Years in Tibet and that role caused problems for him in China. Apparently, the movie offended the Chinese government due to its pro-Tibet views.
Brad Pitt wasn't the only person banned from China thanks to that film. Director Jean-Jacques Annaud and actor David Thewlis were in the same boat as Pitt. It's clear that China has strict policies in place.
Martha Stewart Lied To Who?
Christopher Polk/Getty ImagesThe way Martha Stewart ended up on this list is questionable, to say the least. In 2004, Stewart was charged with conspiracy and obstruction of an agency proceeding after she was caught illegally trading stocks. These felony charges led to her U.K. visa being denied after she planned to give a speech at the Royal Academy.
So not only did Snoop Dogg get banned from somewhere, so did his co-host, Stewart. It makes sense why they have so much chemistry together. So there you have it, kids, no matter how famous you are and who you know, if you lie to the government, it can haunt you forever.
Lily Allen No Good In America
"I want my fans to know that I will do everything I can to be back in America in September," Allen said. "I don't like letting my fans down and this is a situation that I am sure we can sort." This occurred back in 2007.
Canadians Aren't Fond Of 50
Angela Weiss/Getty ImagesIt isn't a secret that 50 Cent's music is a little provocative and has some violence to it. That's how he came into the music scene, with hard-hitting rap music. So you can imagine that a country like Canada, a place with some of the most friendly citizens in the world, would ban him.
Foreign Minister Dan McTeague said, “There are indeed limits and restrictions on freedom of expression. Particularly if they incite hate or if they are the kind of activity that is killing our youths right now across Toronto.” And this ban happened in 2003 just as 50 Cent was blowing up.
Elton John Is Very Outspoken
Kevin Winter/Getty Images for NARASElton John was exercising his right to free speech but the subject he chose to speak on was a sensitive one. In 2010, he told Parade magazine, "I don't know what makes people so cruel. Try being a gay woman in the Middle East - you're as good as dead."
After John's comments, Mounir al-Wasimi responded quickly as the head of Egypt's Musician Union. He said he couldn't allow “a homosexual who wants to ban religions, claimed that the prophet Issa (Jesus) was gay and calls for Middle Eastern countries to allow gays to have sexual freedom” to perform there.
Karma For Brown
Manny Carabel/FilmMagicWe wouldn't want to call this karma but if you do then that is your choice. Chris Brown has been banned from several countries but we'll focus on his ban from Australia. Brown can no longer enter the country thanks to his history of domestic violence or what you may remember as the time he assaulted then-girlfriend, Rihanna.
He tried to get a clean slate when he tweeted that he, "would be more than grateful to come to Australia to raise awareness on domestic violence, I am not the pink elephant in the room anymore." That request was denied. He is also banned from Canada and Great Britain.
Lady Gaga Is Too Much For Indonesia
Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NARAS
The confines concerning the attire that men and women are allowed to wear are much more relaxed in America than in some other countries. Lady Gaga's revealing outfits and stage presence didn't sit well with the Muslim-majority nation of Indonesia. This caused officials to be worried that her performing over there might "corrupt the children." They banned her in 2012.
The pop singer is very outspoken and fights for a lot of social causes in America so that already makes her a person of interest. But as far as Indonesia is concerned, they figured her performance would be troublesome.
On No, Not Bieber!
Chelsea Lauren/WireImage
"Justin Bieber is a gifted singer," the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture said in a statement. "But in order to maintain order in the Chinese market and purify the Chinese performance environment, it is not suitable to bring in badly behaved entertainers."
And like that, Bieber was banned from China. This further proves that China doesn't tolerate much. It's either be on your best behavior or risk a ban. If actions defined character then this list would be filled with way more celebrities.
Richard Gere Is Another One Caught By China
Yep, add another to the list of stars who are banned from China. Richard Gere was another actor who stuck his neck out to defend Tibet. Gere took to the Oscars stage in 1993 to discuss the injustices in Tibet.
He didn't even accept any awards, he was presenting one! And he wasn't only banned from China for asking the audience to send, "truth, love and a kind of sanity" to Deng Xiaoping, he was forbidden from presenting any awards at the Oscars until 2013.
Akon Made The Wrong Move
Michael Tullberg/Getty Images for CoachellaIt's never good to undermine a religion. And that's true even if it's your own religion. But for Akon, it was a religion not of his own that he inadvertently disrespected. He was banned from Sri Lanka thanks to his music video for the song, "Sexy Chick."
In the video, there are a handful of women who were dressed close to nude as they danced in front of a giant statue of Buddha. It caused outrage in Sri Lanka and riots were breaking loose. Akon came out and said, "[I] am a spiritual man, so I can understand why they are offended, but violence is never the answer and I am disheartened to hear about what happened in Sri Lanka."
Who Would Ban Selina??
Chris Polk/AMA2017/Getty Images for dcp
It seems like American stars don't mix well with China. And of course, she is super likable so this comes as a bit of a surprise that Selina Gomez would be banned. But the reason behind it is because she took a picture with the Dalai Lama. And this happened quite recently in 2016
But not only does China have her on their banned list but Russia does as well. Her visa was denied when she was set to perform in St. Petersburg's Ice Palace because of her stance on gay rights.
