Hollywood’s biggest stars are used to hiding their true selves behind the masks of the many roles they play. But occasionally, those masks slip on-set, which can result in a blaze of scandal and controversy as their innermost ‘brats’ are revealed.
While these actors have developed legions of fans thanks to their on-screen work, behind the scenes, things aren’t always so glossy and picture-perfect – something that Wednesday star Jenna Ortega made clear this week when she opened up about her own on-set conflicts with the writers on her hit Netflix show.
Her public criticism of the show staffers saw her being slammed as ‘entitled’ and ‘toxic’ by one Hollywood producer, who blasted her behavior as ‘unprofessional’.
But as it turns out, 20-year-old Jenna’s controversy is just the tip of the bratty iceberg.
Over the years, many a Hollywood star – from Friends favorite Jennifer Aniston to Glee actress Lea Michele – has come under fire for their less-than-perfect professional behavior.
Here, FEMAIL reveals the actors whose own tantrums and exploits earned them bitter backlash from fans and industry insiders alike, as Jenna launches herself into this unsavory group.
‘Entitled and toxic’ Jenna Ortega was blasted for her ‘unprofessional’ behavior after publicly calling out Wednesday writers
The 20-year-old actress was recently branded ‘entitled and toxic’ after she admitted to changing the lines while filming Wednesday because she didn’t think they made sense
Jenna told Dax Shepard she struggled to work with the script team on Wednesday
Steven DeKnight, a writer and producer, took issue with Ortega’s comments
The 20-year-old actress was recently branded ‘entitled and toxic’ after she admitted to changing the lines while filming Wednesday because she didn’t think they made sense.
Steven DeKnight, a Hollywood writer whose credits include Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Daredevil and the Starz series Spartacus, called out Jenna for being unprofessional after she spoke about her on set behavior.
In a March 6 episode of Dax Shepard’s podcast, Jenna said that she was unhappy with the writers’ work in The Addams Family spin-off.
She explained that nothing about her character ‘made sense to her,’ and she had to step in to correct the ‘arc’ of the story.
‘I don’t think I’ve ever had to put my foot down more on a set in a way that I had to on ‘Wednesday,’ she said, in the podcast.
Ortega told Shepard: ‘When I read the entire series, I realized, “Oh, this is for younger audiences.”
‘When I first signed onto the show, I didn’t have all the scripts. I thought it was going to be a lot darker. It wasn’t… I didn’t know what the tone was, or what the score would sound like.’
She told Dax that she had problems with much of the writing of the show
Steven was quick to slam the actress for her comments and even said that she should know better
She said the story lines did not appeal to her.
‘Her being in a love triangle? It made no sense.
‘There was a line about a dress she has to wear for a school dance and she says, ‘Oh, my God, I love it. Ugh — I can’t believe I said that. I literally hate myself.’
‘I had to go, ‘No.’
‘There were times on that set where I even became almost unprofessional in a sense where I just started changing lines.’
Jenna noted that she had to even sit down with the writers and explain why was doing certain thing after they questioned what happened.
She added that she changed the script because she felt it was ‘boring’ and audiences wouldn’t like it.
The hit Netflix series Wednesday is set to return for a second season, despite Jenna’s problems with the show writers
After hearing her speak about her behavior, Steven immediately took to twitter to slam the actress for her inappropriate conduct, saying she ‘publicly s***’ on the writers and producers.
‘I love talking with actors about their lines/stories,’ he tweeted.
‘But by the nature of the beast, they don’t have the full picture (in TV) of where the story is going and why some lines are needed for the whole to make sense.
‘She’s young, so maybe she doesn’t know any better (but she should).
‘She should also ask herself how she would feel if the showrunners gave an interview and talked about how difficult she was and refused to perform the material.’
He added: ‘This kind of statement is beyond entitled and toxic. I love her work, but life’s too short to deal with people like this in the business.’
Charlie Sheen lashed out at creator of Two and a Half Men, calling him a ‘TURD’ – and reportedly tried to have Selma Blair FIRED for complaining about his behavior
By 2011, Charlie (pictured in 2019) – who had been struggling with substance abuse – entered rehab after a week of partying, causing production of Two and a Half Men to come to a halt
The CBS hit sitcom Two and a Half Men was loved among many fans in the 2000s, thanks in large part to Charlie Sheen.
The actor, 57, played the role of jingle writer Charlie Harper, and earned a whopping $1.8 million per episode until his poor behavior got in the way.
By 2011, Charlie, who had been struggling with substance abuse, entered rehab after a week of partying, causing production of Two and a Half Men to come to a halt.
Then, he made matters worse when he lashed out the show’s creator, Chuck Lorre, calling him a ‘clown’ and ‘turd’ during multiple rants.
In a letter written to TMZ from the Bahamas, where he was vacationing at the time, Charlie also branded Chuck a ‘contaminated little maggot’, writing: ‘I gracefully ignored this folly for 177 shows… I fire back once and this contaminated little maggot can’t handle my power and can’t handle the truth.
‘I wish him nothing but pain in his silly travels.’
Ultimately, CBS fired Charlie and replaced him with Ashton Kutcher.
After his stint in rehab, Charlie publicly lashed out at Chuck Lorre, the creator of Two and a Half Men, branding him a ‘clown’ and a ‘turd’
Despite insulting his boss, the actor was able to land a starring role in another sitcom following his exit from Two and a Half Men.
He played therapist Dr. Charlie Goodson on FX’s Anger Management.
Selma Blair played his love interest, however when she left the show, she reportedly claimed that Charlie had been extremely difficult to work with, according to TMZ.
When Charlie discovered that Selma complained, he pushed to have her fired all together, sources told TMZ.
According to the outlet, he told the producers that if she didn’t leave, he would.
Producers later fired Selma and kept Charlie on.
‘Desperately difficult’ Katherine Heigl AND her mother are known for their poor behavior with the actress creating a habit of publicly airing her grievances
The 44-year-old actress (pictured in 2022) has created a reputation in showbiz for herself that has left others weary of working with her
The 44-year-old actress has earned a reputation within the movie and TV industry that has left others weary of working with her.
Her once-successful has long been overshadowed by reports about her behavior, and in recent years her on-screen success has taken something of a nosedive – leaving her suffering from such bad anxiety that she reached a point where she ‘felt like she’d rather be dead’.
While playing the role of Dr. Izzie Stephens in the hit ABC series Grey’s Anatomy, the actress – who has three children – prompted outrage when she refused to put herself forward for an Emmy Award in 2008, claiming that she was not ‘given the material to warrant a nomination’.
That same year, she also branded her first hit film – 2007 comedy Knocked Up, in which she starred alongside Seth Rogen – as ‘sexist’.
Then in 2009, during an appearance on David Letterman, she slammed the producers on Grey’s Anatomy for making the cast work a 17-hour day, branding them ‘cruel and mean’.
‘Our first day back was Wednesday and it was — I’m going to keep saying this because I hope it embarrasses them — a 17-hour day, which I think is cruel and mean,’ she said.
In 2013, an insider told The Hollywood Reporter that Katherine was difficult to work with in every sense.
They said: ‘She can cost you time every single day of shooting, wardrobe issues, not getting out of the trailer, questioning the script every single day. Even getting her deal closed at Warners was hard. She hit that point of “no.”‘
In 2008, she said she wouldn’t be seeking an Emmy for her role in Grey’s Anatomy because she didn’t think the writing was good enough
And it seems that things were no different when the actress was a child.
Reports that Katherine’s mother frequently cursed out crewmembers and complained non-stop have also been a large part of the reason Katherine earned herself a reputation for being disliked within the industry.
She has struggled to escape her negative reputation – which even saw her labeled in some forums as ‘the most hatred actress in Hollywood’ – and in a candid 2021 interview with the Washington Post, she admitted that the criticism caused her to trip herself up more and more.
‘The more I said I was sorry, the more they wanted it, she explained. ‘The more terrified and scared I was of doing something wrong, the more I came across like I had really done something horribly wrong.’
Initially, the rumors and gossip about Heigl being ‘difficult’ to work with didn’t affect her career, with the actress noting that even the ‘most awful, difficult, horrible’ people can keep a job, if they continue to ‘make money’ – which she was, for a time.
‘You can be the most awful, difficult, horrible person on the planet, but if you’re making them money, they’re going to keep hiring you,’ Heigl said.
‘I knew that whatever they felt I had done that was so awful, they would overlook it if I made them money — but then my films started to make not quite as much money.’
When her successful on-screen career turned into a series of failures and flops, Heigl reached breaking point, struggling to cope with the increasing pressure to secure a box office hit, coupled with the enduringly negative labels that followed her from job to job.
She’s a ‘diva’ on and off screen! Lea Michele was blasted by multiple coworkers for her ‘disrespectful’ behavior that cast members were forced to keep ‘hush hush’
Lea Michele, 36, (pictured in 2023) has long been criticized for the way she has treated her Glee co-stars
Lea Michele, 36, has long been criticized for the way she has treated her Glee co-stars.
The actress starred on the hit Fox series as Rachel Berry from 2009 to 2015.
And while her character was the on-screen diva, it seems like things weren’t much different off-screen either.
Lea was first accused of on-set ‘bullying’ in 2020, when her co-star Samantha Ware said that the actress had made her life a ‘living hell’ during the filming process.
At the time, Lea shared a social media post in tribute to George Floyd – prompting Samantha to respond: ‘Remember when you made my first television gig a living hell?!?!
‘Cause I’ll never forget… I believe you told everyone that if you had the opportunity you would ‘s*** in my wig!’ amongst other traumatic microaggressions that made me question a career in Hollywood.’
Lea subsequently issued a public apology to Samantha and vowed to ‘be better in the future.’
However, Samantha was not the only one who expressed concerns about Lea’s on-set behavior, with cast member Heather Morris claiming in a May 2021 interview that the leading lady’s mistreatment of her co-stars was something that was ‘very hush-hush on set’.
‘We absolutely could have stepped up and gone to the Fox execs and said how we felt about the situation, but no one did,’ the actress told the podcast Everything Iconic With Danny Pellegrino.
She added said she thought ‘many people were very scared’ to open up about Michele, who was one of the lead actresses on the program.
‘I know, genuinely, I felt like it wasn’t my place,’ Morris said, ‘and I don’t know why because I was a cast member.’
In 2016, Naya (pictured left on season three of Glee) released her memoir Sorry Not Sorry, and revealed that although her and Lea were once friends, their relationship quickly shifted
It was also said that she developed a fiery feud with her Glee co-star Naya Rivera.
In 2016, Naya released her memoir Sorry Not Sorry, and revealed that although her and Lea were once friends, their relationship quickly shifted went Naya went from a supporting character to ‘one with bigger plot lines and more screen time.’
Naya said that Lea ‘didn’t like sharing the spotlight’ and was extremely ‘sensitive’ to any criticism.
Lastly, Naya revealed that Lea ‘blamed me for anything and everything that went wrong on set.’
By the sixth season of the hit show, the two were no longer on speaking terms.
Jennifer Aniston ‘threw a chair at a director’ and has been slammed for being rude on set
Although Jennifer Aniston, 54, (pictured in 2023) was everyone’s best pal through their television screen, she wasn’t exactly a friend to those she worked with
Although Jennifer Aniston, 54, was everyone’s best pal through their television screen, she wasn’t exactly a friend to those she worked with.
The Friends star has even admitted that she once threw a chair at a director.
In 2011, she confessed to Elle, ‘I threw a chair at a director. It wasn’t my proudest moment.’
However, later in the interview she revealed that she decided to get violent because the director was mistreating a crew member.
Luckily, no one was hurt.
‘I missed, of course. I was like, “You can’t speak to people like that.” I can’t tolerate it,’ she explained.
In 2011, Jennifer (pictured on Friends) confessed to Elle, ‘I threw a chair at a director. It wasn’t my proudest moment’
Former co-stars have also spoken out about the actress, with her love interest in 1997’s Picture Perfect, Jay Mohr, telling Elle that ‘the leading woman was unhappy with [his] presence and made it clear from day one.’
He explained that he had gotten the part over some other big stars and his co-worker – which he later went on to name was Jennifer – frequently let him know that she didn’t want him there anymore.
Jay admitted: ‘I would literally go to my mom’s house and cry.’
Although he didn’t reveal the leading lady’s name while speaking to Elle, when he started a podcast two years later, he finally let the cat out of the bag.
In an episode Mohr Stories, he said that on the first day of shooting Jennifer made her feelings known.
He said that Jennifer told lleana Douglas, “Six guys they screen test. Six!” Allegedly, according to Mohr she then pointed at him and said, “The one f***ing guy I hate, that’s the guy they hire, him!”
No questions asked! Edward Norton is infamous for re-cutting a 1998 movie without the director’s approval
Many people remember the drama that unfolded when Edward Norton (pictured in 2019) re-cut the 1998 drama American History X without the approval of the director Tony Kaye
Edward Norton, 53, is infamous in the industry for his behavior.
Many people remember the drama that unfolded when he completely re-cut the 1998 drama American History X without the approval of the director Tony Kaye.
His re-cutting of the movie was to include himself in more scenes, according to Tony.
And while that behavior was enough for many to dread working with him, the actor was once again showed he wasn’t a delight to work with when he made headlines during promo time of The Incredible Hulk.
When Edward signed onto to play Bruce Banner in Hulk, he wanted to change things up and slow the action-packed film down.
However, Universal declined his many pushes to shift the movie.
Finally, the ‘creative differences’ were no longer tolerable. They ultimately cut Edward out of the films and in the 2012 Avengers movie, Bruce was played by Mark Ruffalo.
Lindsay Lohan reportedly cost production $500,000 a day because she was always ‘incredibly late’ to set
Lindsay Lohan, 36, (pictured in 2023) was once known as a Disney starlet, however, after letting the party life take over, she often left many of the people she worked with frustrated
Lindsay Lohan, 36, was once known as a Disney starlet, however, after letting the party life take over, she often left many of the people she worked with frustrated.
According to CBS, Lindsay – who recently announced she is pregnant – was frequently late or didn’t even show up while filming Georgia Rule. So much so that she cost the production $500,000 a day.
Five years later, after brief stints in and out of rehab, a source who worked on hit TV show Glee told Today that the actress was a complete ‘nightmare’ to work with.
They also said she was always ‘incredibly late.’
The source said that Lindsay would show up ‘three hours late’ and when she did finally arrive, it was clear that she ‘did not want to work.’
In 2013, Charlie Sheen told Jay Leno that the actress had been late to set of Anger Management by several hours, and had even ‘borrowed’ a few bracelets – which the show ended up deducting from her paycheck.
Alec Baldwin has been blasted by co-stars for being ‘angry’ all the time and his behavior once resulted in the cancellation of his MSNBC show after just five episodes
Alec Baldwin, 64, has built quite the reputation for himself in the industry, with many of his co-stars complaining about his ‘angry’ attitude
Alec Baldwin, 64, has built quite the reputation for himself in the industry.
And while those that work with the actor praise his talent, they frequently complain about his attitude.
In 2012, the star had come under fire for getting into a fight with paparazzi.
The frequent messy behavior seemed to be the cause of the cancellation of the actors MSNBC show after just five episodes.
On 30 Rock, his co-star Cheyenne Jackson revealed what it was like to work with the actor.
He said: ‘What I learned from him was really good comedic timing and don’t get in his light.’
According to the New York Post, the actor was known for being a diva around set as well.
One insider said: ‘He would only show up at work an hour a week to prep for the show, and when he did turn up, he was in an angry mood, red-faced, and shouting at all the staff. And he said the air at 30 Rock was too dry, it was bad for his voice, he needed a humidifier.’
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