25 Celebrities Who Were Blacklisted From Hollywood, Hurting Their Careers

The fallout from Will Smith giving Chris Rock both a verbal and literal smackdown for a joke Rock made about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, on Oscars night became a global controversy in 2022. Smith won the Best Actor award for “King Richard” shortly after the altercation, then resigned from the Academy as part of his long-winded apology tour.

But this is far from the first time that someone in Tinseltown has gotten themselves on Hollywood’s blacklist, in which the whole industry essentially cuts them out of work. Who could forget the notorious Hollywood Ten scandal of 1947, which saw more than a few screenwriters of communist sympathies kicked out of the industry (more on them later)?

Time will tell if Smith is eventually welcomed back into the industry’s good graces, but these 25 Hollywood exiles have had a far, far more difficult road to returning to the entertainment industry again.

Birthdate: July 26, 1959

Years active in Hollywood: 1986-2017

Year blacklisted: 2017

Two Oscars, untold millions, the respect of his colleagues, plus worldwide fans weren’t enough to stop the scandal train that came crashing into the “House of Cards” star in 2017 when actor Anthony Rapp claimed Spacey had sexually assaulted him decades earlier when Rapp was underage.

Spacey was swiftly fired from “Cards,” and the final season went on without him — to disappointing notices from critics and fans, but that’s another story. Other actors came forward with similar claims, and Spacey’s attempt at damage control by finally coming out as gay — as if that were a viable defense — outraged the LGBTQ community. 

Birthdate: July 12, 1937

Years active in Hollywood: 1965-2014

Year blacklisted: 2014

There might not have been a harder, swifter fall from grace than what became of “America’s Dad.” Ever since comedian Hannibal Buress used his standup routine in 2014 to call attention to allegations of Cosby’s misbehavior, many women have come forward claiming Cosby drugged and/or sexually assaulted them over the decades.

Even when “The Cosby Show” was a monster hit among both Black and White audiences, its star continued his predatory streak. Cosby was jailed in 2018 in his native Pennsylvania, although the state supreme court ordered him freed last year. Though no longer behind bars, it’s all but certain he’ll never work again.