Sure, Halloween is all about scaring people. But over the years, some celebrities have frightened fans by wearing costumes so provocative and offensive that the internet collectively lost its mind.
These celebrities have done it all: one dressed as a baby, fueling accusations of being groomed by her boyfriend. Another walked around with four women wearing leashes. Yet another turned into a priest, creating a Communion scene by giving bread and wine to their lingerie-clad partner, who was down on all fours.
“This is actually one of the worst things I’ve ever seen a celebrity do,” one commented on one of the outfits.
Here’s a roundup of stars still haunted by their past Halloween choices.
#1 Ashley Tisdale
Ashley Tisdale learned the hard way not to make someone else’s culture her Hollywood accessory.
The High School Musical star was accused of disrespecting Mexican culture with her Halloween costume in 2016.
While attending an annual Halloween bash hosted by her HSM co-star Vanessa Hudgens, Tisdale was seen posing next to her husband Christopher French wearing skull makeup.
The actress was dressed in a black evening gown that had a sheer embroidered bodice, while French was in an all-black outfit and white paint on his face.
Tisdale’s look was inspired by Día de los Muertos, or Day of the De*d, a Mexican tradition that honors deceased loved ones.
The celebration is rooted in the belief that the gate separating the world of the living and the world of the deceased opens at midnight on October 31, allowing the spirits of departed loved ones to return to their families between October 31 and November 2. Believers often leave food, water, flowers, and other items to help the departed souls on their difficult journey.
One of the celebration’s most recognizable symbols is the calavera, a decorated skull often depicted in colorful designs.
Many believed Tisdale’s outfit was inspired by the calavera or La Catrina, an elegant skeleton figure closely associated with Día de los Muertos.
Amid the finger-pointing, critics accused Tisdale of cultural appropriation.
“Literally this is cultural appropriation,” one claimed, while another agreed, saying: “It’d be great if you didn’t appropriate Mexican culture like this.”
Another comment on her since-deleted post said, “Día de los Muertos is not a costume, it’s a Mexican holiday, and its not something to just dress in even for fun, cultures celebrate it for their family (SIC).”
Others defended her and said, “Lighten up ppl. It’s a costume.”
Image credits: rocafitness_ / michellekdoria
“I have Mexican heritage, and I know that even in Central / South American cultures this is a costume,” one fan argued. “So that makes it quite different from appropriating a cultural identity as a costume, since to that culture it’s ALREADY a costume. … Some costumes are inappropriate, but I don’t think the sugar skull costume fits that category.”
Tisdale certainly noticed the criticism and tried defending herself, saying: “My husband is half Mexican and wasn’t offended.”
Not everyone believes wearing Día de los Muertos-inspired makeup is inherently offensive. The distinction lies in understanding the cultural significance behind the look and treating the tradition with respect rather than using it as nothing more than a Halloween costume idea.
“As a makeup artist, I’ve seen the sugar skull makeup trend blow up and fall in the line of appropriation, but I also love seeing people expressing their art and representing my culture,” Mexican-American makeup artist Valeria Leyva told Pop Sugar in 2024.
Leyva said Día de los Muertos is not just about painting one’s face like a sugar skull.
“We are honoring our loved ones that have left this earth. We see de*th as the beginning of another life, so there is a very fine line between appropriation and appreciation,” she continued. “It depends on the way you see it and also how people carry a tradition that’s not originally theirs.”
Regina Merson, Mexican-American beauty entrepreneur and founder of Reina Rebelde, said there is a clear distinction between Día de los Muertos and other holidays, like Halloween, where dressing up in costumes is a tradition.
The Mexican holiday is not about “fantasy or horror, but rather something that is meant to be soulful and uplifting and positive,” she told the outlet.
“One of the most offensive things is when people paint a Catrina and make the look intersect with something scary and bloody. That Catrina represents your de*d relative, not a comic book character,” she added.
Merson invited people to join, participate, and appreciate the culture after understanding how “sacred” the holiday is.
“The makeup you create [in honor of Día de los Muertos] should be beautiful, colorful, and uplifting,” she added. “You are channeling someone you loved, you are celebrating their life on earth and their soul’s return visit from the afterlife. That feeling of love and respect should inform the makeup.”
Image source: Katie Flores/Variety via Getty Images, ashleytisdalefrench
#2 Heidi Klum
Heidi Klum managed to enrage devout Hindu followers with her costume in 2008.
To create a jaw-dropping spectacle, the Queen of Halloween chose to transform into the Hindu goddess Kali, who is worshipped and revered by millions of followers.
In Hinduism, Kali is seen as the goddess of time, de*th, destruction, and the triumph of good over evil.
Pictures and depictions of Kali often show her having blue or dark skin, clutching a decapitated head in one hand and wearing a garland of skulls or decapitated heads around her neck.
Klum said the idea behind transforming herself into Kali was seeded by her assistant when she and her ex-husband Seal were visiting India.
“It was actually my assistant’s idea. My husband [Seal] and I were in India last year, so she said, ‘Why don’t you do an Indian goddess? Like a scary Indian goddess?’” she said in 2008.
“I said ‘OK!’ So then she Googled around, and she found Kali and showed me a picture, and I loved it,” she continued.
The supermodel said she felt drawn to Kali because she’s “so mean and k*lled all these different people.”
She had “fingers hanging off [her] and little shrunken heads everywhere,” she added.
Prominent Hindu community leaders expressed outrage at the time, calling the outfit “denigrating” and disrespectful to their faith.
“Goddess Kali is highly revered in Hinduism and she is meant to be worshipped in temples and not to be used in clubs for publicity stunts or thrown around loosely for dramatic effect,” Rajan Zed, a Hindu priest based in Nevada, said at the time.
He said Hindus would welcome Hollywood and other entertainment industries to “immerse” themselves in the religion if they take it “seriously and respectfully” instead of using it “to advance their selfish agenda.”
Others defended her, including Kirit Desai, who wrote a post on the South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA) online forum: “It is in good taste, if we could tune it in properly.”
“We all know Heidi and Seal are fascinated by Hinduism. Maybe she did not know the implications of her innocent act,” read another comment.
Klum has always expressed admiration for India and asked a Hindu priest from the Indian city of Varanasi to officiate her 2008 wedding to former husband Seal in Mexico.
The America’s Got Talent judge also shared a throwback post in 2018, sharing images of her Kali transformation.
“In 2008, after an inspiring trip to India (one of my favorite places I’ve ever traveled to), with the intention of the utmost of respect, I wanted to pay homage to a part of their vibrant culture by dressing as the goddess Kali for,” she wrote in the throwback tweet.
Image source: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images, Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage for Absolut
#3 Tisha Campbell
Did Tisha Campbell use Halloween as an excuse to air some dirty laundry in public?
Campbell was accused of taking celebrity impressions too far in 2006, when she dressed up as Tyra Banks.
At the time, Banks was the centerpiece judge of America’s Next Top Model.
The show was extremely popular when Campbell dressed up as Banks, while her Martin co-star Tichina Arnold joined her as fellow judge Miss J Alexander from the reality TV series.
Every now and then, photos from their 2006 Halloween outing resurface, and netizens still haven’t settled the debate on whether Tisha’s costume was a playful homage or a subtle dig at the iconic model and TV personality.
“Yo! Why she do Tyra like that?” one asked.
One believed they might be “enemies,” while another said, “They clearly got beef with these people.”
“Why did she disrespect Tyra’s hairline like that?” one asked. Another said: “I mean the forehead disrespect is hilarious and accurate.”
Others laughed it off, saying, “omg this was epic.”
“That wasn’t disrespectful. It’s the f***ing truth. 10 out of 10,” one said.
Another wrote, “I think it was a different time then and folks were more willing to poke fun and have satirical efforts.”
Image source: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic, Evan Agostini/Getty Images)
#4 Megan Fox And Machine Gun Kelly
Apparently, supporting actors in their fight for fair pay was not important enough for Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly to care about.
For the spooky festivities in 2023, the former couple dressed as characters from Quentin Tarantino’s K*ll Bill film franchise, right in the middle of the SAG-AFTRA strike.
At the time, members of the union were demanding additional compensation for actors due to the success of streaming services and the use of AI in Hollywood.
The union shared a message to members in the lead-up to Halloween in 2023, asking members to show solidarity by not dressing up as studio-trademarked characters.
“Choose costumes inspired by generalized characters and figures (ghost, zombie, spider, etc),” read a post on the union’s website at the time.
Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly seemed unbothered by the request and decided to dress up as some of the most iconic characters in Hollywood film history.
MGK dressed up as Uma Thurman’s character, the Bride, while Fox was dressed up as the assassin Gogo Yubari, played by Chiaki Kuriyama.
The defiant couple shared pictures of themselves attending the Casamigos Halloween party. And they rubbed salt in the wounds of the members of the strike by tagging the official SAG-AFTRA Instagram account as they flaunted their looks.
Even Ryan Reynolds took a jab at the union’s advisory notice about costumes in a tweet, saying: “I look forward to screaming ‘scab’ at my 8-year-old all night. She’s not in the union, but she needs to learn.”
Actress Lisa Ann Walter, best known for playing Chessy in The Parent Trap, slammed Fox for failing to show solidarity.
“What a rebel. Keep posturing for stupid s***, pretty lady,” she said in response to Fox’s Halloween snaps. “Meanwhile we’ll be working 10 hours a day – unpaid – to get basic contract earners a fair deal.”
Walter criticized both Fox and Reynolds while responding to another SAG-AFTRA member, who said Fox’s Halloween pictures showed a “complete lack of respect” for the strike’s mission.
“I bet she likes turnaround rules and relocation fees and our ongoing battle for AI protections & streaming residuals… The union did that,” Walter wrote on social media.
“But sure – s*** on them over nonsense. This goes for Ryan Reynolds too,” she added.
Of course, one controversial outfit wasn’t enough for MGK and Fox, who had sparked immense backlash even in 2022 for their Halloween outfits.
The year before their K*ll Bill getup raised eyebrows, they turned Halloween into a religious affair that left viewers outraged.
Fox was seen posing in black lingerie, fishnet stockings, and a dog collar.
Beside her was the Bad Things artist, dressed up like a priest in a black and red robe.
One of the images captured the Transformers actress crouching on the ground with a chain around her neck. And the rapper fed her what appeared to be a Communion wafer.
“On Sundays we take communion,” the actress wrote in her caption.
Netizens were unsurprisingly outraged, asking: “Why is that all you celebs mock Christianity? What’s the agenda? And why you y’all hate God so much? I guess the devil is real.”
“Unacceptable,” said one fuming netizen. “No one should ever mock someone else’s religion.”
“What happened to cultural appropriation? Why is it wrong to dress up as an Indian but okay to mock the Catholic faith,” said another. “It’s absolutely abhorrent and offensive and I’m so sick of the double standards.”
Image source: Michael Kovac/Getty Images, meganfox
#5 Khloe Kardashian
“This is actually one of the worst things I’ve ever seen a celebrity do.”
Those were the words strung together by a social media user, baffled by Khloé Kardashian’s choice of seemingly dressing up as a p*mp for Halloween more than a decade back.
The deeply offensive look from 2003 saw Kardashian dressed in a baggy light blue suit and a set of gold chains, giving off a thug-life vibe. Surrounding her were four Black women—actress Meagan Good, her sister La’Myia Good, and twin sisters Malika and Khadijah Haqq—wearing matching white corsets and white underwear.
In pictures snapped at Avalon Nightclub in Hollywood, California, a then-19-year-old Kardashian was seen holding four leashes, connected to the four women’s necks.
“The reality that five women collectively thought this was a good idea, not one of them said maybe we should rethink this,” a social media user asked when the snaps resurfaced online years later.
“Whose brilliant idea was this?” one asked.
Another wrote, “This is the part I [don’t] get. Asking to walk [your] friend like a dog is one thing, but then four [people] being ok with being walked like a dog??? How??”
Meagan Good once tried to offer some reasoning behind why they showed up in their racially oppressive and dehumanizing getup.
“That one time on Halloween when you were young and dumb. And clearly didn’t think 15 years ahead lol smh. Welp, mistakes were made,” the Eve’s Bayou actress wrote on social media.
About two decades after her Avalon Nightclub costume, Kardashian once again came under fire for seemingly darkening her face for her 2023 Halloween look.
Image credits: khloekardashian
The reality TV star dressed up as a Bratz doll for Halloween, with long blonde hair falling all the way down to her knees.
Wearing a yellow tartan dress and a matching beret, her appearance was reportedly complete with additional prosthetics on her lips.
“Girl who the hell is this, you’re not even recognisable,” one said, while another, “I mean the blackface is clear here.”
“No one’s gonna talk about her skin being 10 times darker,” another echoed similar sentiments.
Image source: M. Caulfield/WireImage, khloekardashian
#6 Ashley Benson
Ashley Benson reminded people of a real-life tragedy with her Halloween costume idea in 2015.
After receiving major backlash, the Pretty Little Liars star was forced to issue an apology and blamed her social media management team for the massive blunder that left many viewers upset.
It all started with Benson sharing an Instagram post on a random October afternoon in 2015.
She shared a picture of herself wearing a golden outfit with a massive hood and fake ears.
“Help! Can’t decide on my Halloween costume this year!” she wrote alongside her snap. “What do you guys think of this Cecil the Lion costume? @Yandy #ThanksYandy #Halloweencostume.”
Netizens were taken aback, wondering whether she was referring to the 12-year-old lion, Cecil, who was fatally struck by Minnesota trophy hunter Dr. Walter Palmer.
Palmer reportedly paid around $50,000 to claim the lion’s life in Zimbabwe, provoking international outrage over the senseless k*lling.
As netizens began questioning Benson’s post, the caption was edited to simply ask viewers what they thought about “this lion” costume.
But it was too late by the time “Cecil” was deleted from the caption.
Many slammed her post, saying it was “offensive” and in “bad taste.”
“You have to be kidding!” one said, while another wrote, “How dare you make fun of a lion who innocently d*ed from a inhuman act!”
“It’s a shame lions can’t wear de*d ignorant humans as costumes. Totally unaware do*che,” wrote another.
Others defended her, saying: “People need to relax… she isn’t disrespecting Cecil… she obviously supports the cause. I think its as innocent as someone who loves Michael Jackson and dresses up as him.
The same use said it was most likely one of the “most popular costumes to date,” adding: “People need to stop taking things so seriously and not assume the worst in people.”
Benson later issued an apology, admitting the post was in “poor taste.”
“I absolutely regret all of the hurt that photo caused,” she wrote on social media.
Image credits: BBCNews
The actress went on to blame her team, saying: “The caption that was posted was incorrect and my costume was not Cecil the Lion, when I saw that, I contacted my management who handled the post and had it immediately changed.”
While she recognized that she was responsible for all the content posted on her social media accounts, she admitted this was “an unfortunate oversight.”
“I am a supporter of Animal conservation and I will be donating all the proceeds of this deal to the World Wildlife Fund,” she added. “I love you all and I apologize if I let you down.”
In fairness, though, she was wearing the “Deluxe Lion Costume” sold by the brand Yandy in her original post.
The brand did have a different “Cecil the Lion Costume” that had a velvet romper, a lion tail, lion ears, and a faux-fur-trimmed hood.
Image source: ashleybenson, ashleybenson
#7 Colton Haynes
Colton Haynes managed to turn Halloween into a two-year controversy.
In 2011, the American Horror Story actor dressed up as Kanye West, darkening his skin to portray the controversial rapper.
Rather than learning from the backlash surrounding the costume, Haynes returned the following year with another questionable look.
This time he dressed up as Indian independence activist Mahatma Gandhi and darkened his skin once again.
The two costumes drew criticism for their use of blackface and brownface, respectively.
Many raised questions about why the actor thought changing his skin color was an appropriate way to portray either of them.
“lol my brother went to school with him, and I’ll just say disappointed but not surprised,” read another comment.
Another seemed to agree, saying: “Yup- he makes very poor choices.”
But another reasoned, “A Halloween costume doesn’t make someone a jerk.”
Haynes eventually addressed the controversy in 2013, apologizing for his past costume choices.
He explained that he hadn’t realized how offensive the costumes were and his intention wasn’t to offend anyone.
“[I] wasn’t aware that I was offending people,” he said during the 2013 livestream video.
Image source: ColtonLHaynes, coltonlhaynes
#8 Billie Eilish And Jesse Rutherford
The internet already had plenty to say about Billie Eilish’s 11-year age gap with ex-boyfriend Jesse Rutherford.
So the couple seemingly decided to make a punchline out of it with their Halloween costume.
Back in 2022, the two artists sparked dating rumors when they were spotted kissing outside an Indian restaurant.
Days later, Eilish seemingly went Instagram-official with her romance by sharing a picture of their matching Halloween costumes.
Appearing to poke fun at their age gap, the Bad Guy singer was dressed as a baby, with a pink bonnet, big eyelashes, pink bunny slippers, and an adult-sized diaper. She was 20 years old at the time.
Beside her was the Neighborhood frontman, then aged 31, flaunting a balding head, greying hair, and plenty of wrinkles.
“Honestly, yikes,” one said about their look, while another asked, “so nobody is seeing the problem…?”
“The costumes are creepy af and a weird way of dismissing concerns when it comes to relationships that involve grooming,” one said.
“Idk if Jesse Rutherford realizes this but dressing up in a costume that makes fun of his grooming accusations is exactly what a groomer would do,” read another comment.
Another said, “I feel so sad for Billie Eilish. She thinks she’s being big and bad and grown trolling the haters but shes just showing her immaturity and proving the point. Jesse is absolutely f***ing disgusting and weird as F*** for agreeing to that costume.”
One fan claimed the backlash was simply proving the point that Eilish and Rutherford were trying to make.
“I mean they’re trolling the people that are having an unnecessary opinion about their relationship,” they said. “So In a way ur proving their point and making their joke even funnier.”
“They are both legal age consenting adults, and it’s a joke costume set,” said another. “Honestly, get a grip.”
It was merely days later when the former couple made their red carpet debut by appearing at the LACMA Art + Film Gala 2022. And their outfit choices were as interesting as their Halloween costumes, because they basically showed up in pajamas.
Looking like they hopped right out of bed, the former couple were dressed in tan Gucci pajamas with furry slippers, while Eilish even had a sleeping mask on her forehead.
The two walked around with a massive Gucci blanket wrapped around them, cozying up in front of the flashing cameras.
The couple broke up in 2023 after reportedly dating for less than a year.
Image source: Presley Ann/Getty Images, billieeilish
#9 Gwen Stefani
Dressing up as the beloved character Sandy from Grease sounds like a perfectly harmless Halloween idea.
But doing it days after Hurricane Sandy brought the East Coast to its knees is a different story.
Also called “Superstorm Sandy,” the hurricane and a post-tropical cyclone took the lives of at least 147 people in 2012 in the U.S. and Canada and caused an estimated $88.5 billion in damages.
Days after the Hurricane, Gwen Stefani stepped out in her Halloween getup, which appeared to be a tasteless joke about a real-life disaster.
Stefani channeled the character Sandy, played by late actress Olivia Newton John in the fan-favorite film Grease.
She even walked around with what appeared to be a fake bullet wound, still dripping with blood down the side of her head.
The Hollaback Girl singer even had her own Danny Zuko as her bandmate and ex-boyfriend, Tony Kanal, dressed up as the film’s hero, played by John Travolta.
Viewers found her costume “gross,” saying it was “so wrong on so many levels.”
“Oh f*** her, that storm ruined my life,” one said, while another wrote, “Omg my hometown was basically wiped off the map, and her costume wasn’t even good f*** her.”
“Every day I lose more respect for her,” one wrote.
Another said, “These just keep getting worse and worse.”
“I understand the visual pun, but that’s one of those jokes people should keep to themselves,” another said.
Image source: JJ/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images, Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty Images
#10 Halle Bailey
Even a Disney classic can land someone in hot water these days.
In 2024, Halle Bailey dressed up as Lilo from Lilo & Stitch, while her young son, Halo, was dressed as the mischievous but lovable blue creature Stitch.
The actress shared snaps of the adorable mother-and-son moment, but critics were unhappy and claimed she was s*xual*zing a child character and mishandling Hawaiian cultural elements.
“The Lilo part makes me uncomfy. Lilo was a child dude,” one commented on the look.
Another wrote, “I find it really creepy when adults dress up as children characters but in a provocative way.”
“The idea is cute, but maybe wear culturally accurate Hawaiian attire,” another commented.
One tried to reason, saying: “Feels like she had the idea of being Lilo and Stitch (which is very cute), but then felt the need to s** it up because that’s a big pressure for most celebrity women.”
The controversy was hardly the first time Bailey had found herself at the center of a Disney-related debate.
When she was cast as Ariel in Disney’s live-action The Little Mermaid, the actress faced a wave of racist backlash from people who were opposed to the idea of a Black actress portraying the traditionally red-haired mermaid.
“As a Black person, you just expect it, and it’s not really a shock anymore,” Bailey told The Face in 2023.
“I know people are like, ‘It’s not about race.’ But now that I’m her … People don’t understand that when you’re Black, there’s this whole other community. It’s so important for us to see ourselves,” she continued.
What often pushes her through the negativity are the pearls of wisdom Beyoncé offered her and her sister Chlöe Bailey.
“The fact that I get to represent all of these little young Black and brown boys and girls who are to come is really special to me because I know that if I had that when I was younger, it would have changed my whole perspective on life,” she told the outlet.
Image source: hallebailey, hallebailey
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