Famous Musicians Who Are Wrapped Up In Controversy
While most people may name famous musicians as their idols, it can be hard to keep in mind that there are numerous controversies surrounding some of music's most prominent icons both alive and dead. While some controversies might be more severe surrounding some artists than others, there are usually some things about any given artist that a certain group of people don't like or approve of. So, here are some artists that are shrouded in controversy, whether it's Elvis moving his hips 70 years ago or Ozzy Osbourne eating live animals on stage.
The Dixie Chicks Got Political And Lost Fans
At one point, the Dixie Chicks were one of the most popular country trios in the world. However, they became extremely controversial when they performed in London at the beginning of the invasion of Iraq. While performing their song "Travelin' Soldier," they stopped to say"Just so you know, we're on the good side with y'all. We do not want this war, this violence and we are ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas."
After the US media picked up on the story, the Dixie Chicks became one of the most polarizing bands in the world. Soon after, people began boycotting the band while others stood behind them and their beliefs.
Marilyn Manson Can Never Catch A Break
Marilyn Manson has been the target of accusations and controversy since he first stepped on stage. The dark messages in his music as well as his questionable behavior and actions on stage have caused an uproar from the public, especially after the release of his second album Antichrist Superstar.
It also didn't help that the band members chose their names by using the first name of a famous woman and the last of a famous serial killer. After building a cult following in the 1990s, the band was later blamed for the shooting at Columbine High School as well as other shootings in the United States.
Michael Jackson Was Always The Center Of Controversy
Dubbed the "King of Pop," it's no doubt that Michael Jackson was one of the most popular entertainers in the world as well as one of the best-selling artists of all time. Although he had grown into a global icon, his career was a magnet for a fair amount of controversy. One of the first allegations against Jackson was in 1993 when a 13-year-old boy accused Jackson of sexually abusing him.
Although those allegations were acquitted, a decade later, there was another round of child abuse allegations, causing people to label him as a child molester. There were other controversies involving his own children as well. On one occasion, Jackson held his young daughter Blanket out of a three-story balcony, leading people to question if he was fit to be a parent.
Prince Was A Shocking Performer In The 1980s
While today, Prince is one of the highest-regarded artists of all time, he wasn't always so beloved by all. In the 1980s, Prince was considered one of the most controversial artists of his time due to his overly explicit lyrics and reference to inappropriate subjects.
For example, his song "Darling Nikki" was one of the first songs that ever pushed labels towards using parental advisory labels on music. In addition, one of his songs titled "Sister," was an ode to incest, which was something that was unheard of for the most part in the music industry.
Madonna Is Always Offending Somebody
Much like Michael Jackson, Madonna is a singer, songwriter, and actress, that has been given the nickname the "Queen of Pop." She is known for continuously changing her personal and musical style and is often praised by other musicians as well as critics. However, over the course of her career, Madonna has managed to offend every political party, religious group, and country under the sun, which has made her controversial yet also interesting to many.
One of her most memorable moments was when she gave deep kisses to both Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2003. She is also known for her music videos that have been described as inappropriate or scandalous.
Kanye West Never Fails To Speak His Mind
Kanye West is one of the most popular and controversial musicians of our time. Today, he is more than just a musician and is also a record producer, entrepreneur, and fashion designer. While he may be an incredibly successful individual, his outspoken views on life, politics, race, and religion always gain massive media attention.
His actions that are the most controversial are the ways he has conducted himself at award shows, what he writes on social media, and some of the people that he surrounds himself with. However, he never fails to speak his mind, even if it means losing fans or being openly disapproved of by his wife.
Miley Cyrus Turned Wild In 2013
Miley Cyrus first rose to fame starring as Miley Stewart on the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana, which aired from 2006 until 2011. During that time, she released a series of pop albums which made her one of the most beloved and popular pop stars at the time. However, in 2013, her demeanor changed when she wanted to break away from her Hannah Montana and good-girl persona.
This was evident in her 2013 album Bangerz which had many parents of young fans disgusted by Cyrus' lyrics, dancing, and glorification of drug use. There was also the incident at the 2013 VMAs in which Cyrus was acting inappropriately with Robin Thicke. However, she has calmed down in the recent years and has been mostly forgiven for what has been considered her rebellious phase.
Eminem Was Accused Of Being Homophobic
Eminem has been controversial throughout music career. This is usually due to his dark lyrics about sex, drugs, and his hard lifestyle and experiences. However, his real issues began in 2009 after he was accused of being homophobic. In both his albums Marshall Mathers LP 1 and LP 2, listeners picked up on Eminem using derogatory language to criticize gay people and even rapping about stabbing them at one point.
Later, in order to lay to rest the rumors about him being homophobic, he shared a stage with Elton John and claimed that his alter-go Slim Shady that was saying those things and not actually himself.
Lady Gaga Went Too Far For A Lot Of People In 2014
Lady Gaga is well known for her crazy stunts which have been described as either as genius or just plain crazy. Her music and public stunts are known to be just as wild as the clothes she wears both on and off stage. However, one stunt that she pulled in March 2014 shocked the public and even had other celebrities calling her out on it.
While performing at the Southwest Music Festival, Lady Gaga performed alongside a vomit artist who threw up on her twice during her performance. The artist would drink bright green liquid and and then regurgitate it onto Gaga. Many people found this to be overkill with Demi Lovato tweeted at Gaga that she was glorifying eating disorders.
Ozzy Osbourne Sets The Bar For Living The Rock And Roll Lifestyle
Ozzy Osbourne rose to prominence as the frontman for the legendary heavy metal band Black Sabbath. Aside from his unbelievable intake of alcohol and drugs, his antics both on and off stage earned him a reputation that has yet to be matched by anyone. He has bitten the heads off of doves in front of record executives and bats in front of live audiences.
He is also known for snorting ants, urinating in people's beverages at dinner, and is rumored to be a satanist. He has also been sued for supposedly supporting suicide in his music and is generally disliked by people outside of the heavy metal community.
Varg Vikernes Was An Inspiration But Did Terrible Things
Kristian Vikernes, commonly known as Varg Vikernes is a Norwegian musician, singer-songwriter, and founder of the band Burzum, which is considered to be one of the most influential black metal bands of all time. In 1992, he was accused of burning down three Christian churches in Norway and had established himself in the black metal scene.
However, in 1993, he was arrested and charged with the murder of Mayhem guitarist Øystein "Eurnymous" Aarseth. After being found guilty of murder, he also was found guilty of the previous church arson and sentenced to 21 years in prison for which he served 14 years of his sentence.
Not Everyone Likes The Wild Side Of Tyler, The Creator
Tyler Gregory Okonma, better known by his stage name Tyler, the Creator is a rapper, record producer, and music video director. He became known worldwide as the leader of the hip-hop group Odd Future where he performed and released a great amount of songs. Today, he is one of the most popular rappers but has his fair share of controversies that follow him.
He is constantly criticized for his use of homophobic slurs although he claims to not mean it personally. He also has never shied away from lyrics about violence against women or misogyny, but he says it's all part of his act. He's also been arrested for inciting a riot and caused an uproar for a series of commercials he directed.
Chris Brown Keeps Finding Himself In Trouble
Chris Brown is a singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. He began his career in the church choir and was a performer from a young age. While he is a well-known singer with hit singles such as "Kiss Kiss," "Run It," "Forever," and more, he has a questionable past.
The biggest incident happened back in 2009 when he physically assaulted mega-famous singer and dancer Rihanna. In addition to his issues with Rihanna, he has been in a series of physical altercations with other stars such as Drake, Frank Ocean, and even had a stand-off with the LAPD.
Alice Cooper's Shows Have The Capacity To Horrify Some Audience Members
With a career spanning over 50 years, Alice Cooper is one of the biggest names in the rock and roll community to this day. He is best known for his hit songs such as "I'm Eighteen," "School's Out," No More Mr. Nice Guy," and numerous others. Although he is popular among those who are rock and roll buffs, his music, and live performances aren't for everybody.
Known as "The Godfather of Shock Rock," he has a reputation for his out of control shows that are packed full of props such as guillotines, buckets of fake blood, baby dolls, electric chairs and more. While some find this exhilarating, others consider it to be overly graphic and wrong.
Jim Morrison Was Rock And Roll's Bad Boy
Jim Morrison was the leader singer and prominent songwriter for the rock and roll group the Doors in the 1960s and 70s. His wild personality, distinctive voice, and poetic lyrics have led him to earn the title as one of the most iconic and influential frontman in rock music history.
Since his untimely death in 1971, he has remained a rebellious rock and roll icon and a representation of the youth counterculture of that time. However, much like Elvis Presley, during his rise to fame, he wasn't loved by all. Many adults found him to be incredibly lewd, wild, and an overall bad influence on the youth of the time.
Elvis Presley Wasn't Always Loved By All
Although he is now referred to as one of the most influential musicians of all time and the "King of Rock and Roll," he wasn't always held in such high regard as he is today. In fact, it was actually quite the opposite. While the youth during that time loved the way that Elvis sang, and especially the way he danced, the older demographic was far from pleased.
They were deeply disgusted and offended by "Elvis the Pelvis" and thought that his music and dance moves were beyond inappropriate. The way he swung his hips and smiled at the crowd was provocative and something most people had never seen before.
Tekashi 6ix9ine is Still Haunted By His Past
Daniel Hernandez, otherwise known by his stage name Tekashi 6ix9ine, is a rapper that came into prominence in later 2017 after the release of his debut single "Gummo." The album went on to become certified platinum by the RIAA, the beginning of his rap career. Then, in 2018, he came out with his mixtape Day69 which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
While he is known for his unconventional appearance and strange behavior, the biggest problem he faced was in 2015, when he pleaded guilty to using a 13-year-old girl in a sexual performance. This act has haunted him since his rise to fame and continues to cause him issues with the public.
Sid Vicious Went Down A Homicidal Road
Sid Vicious was the bassist and a vocalist for the English punk rock band the Sex Pistols. After the Sex Pistols had become widely popular, he met a girl named Nancy Spungen and the two developed a horribly unhealthy relationship as both were usually under the influence of drugs.
Eventually, Spungen was stabbed and killed at the Hotel Chelsea in New York with Vicious as the prime suspect in the murder. Although he was released on bail, he died after overdosing on heroin in 1979. Many believe that the overdose was intentional due to his involvement in the murder of Spungen.
GG Allin Was As Wild As They Come
Born Jesus Chris Allin, Kevin Michael "GG" Allin was a singer, songwriter, and record producer who played with a variety of bands throughout his music career. While he was a major part of the underground punk scene, just abut everything about him was highly controversial. He was-best known for his completely out of control live concerts which involved self-mutilation, attacking audience members, defecating and urinating on the stage, and often stripping down to nothing.
He has been described as 'The most spectacular degenerate in rock & roll history" and the "toughest rock star in the world." He even managed to polarize punk music fans all while claiming that he was trying to make rock music dangerous again.
Britney Spears Wasn't Appropriate For All Ages
Britney Spears became the "Princess of Pop" after her first two studio albums ...Baby One More Time and Oops I Did It Again. Both became worldwide success, making her the best-selling teenage artist of all time. She was crucial in the development of teen pop during the 1990s and early 2000s although not everyone wanted their daughters to be like Britney Spears.
She sang about some mature subjects while also flaunting her body on and off stage and dancing particularly provocatively. Being such a massive star, she was adored by girls of all ages, although she wasn't really appropriate for all ages.
